Palermo Viejo: 1st Restaurant Review!

Andy and I eat out once a week.  Fridays, usually.  It's just our way of having a "date night," but at the same time, allowing us to not do the cooking, for once.  We need a break sometimes, right?

And we don't just eat out anywhere.  We like to test our palettes with something delicious, preferably supporting the local restaurants!  Olive Garden and O'Charley's just don't do it for this girl (it's just my inner food snob, I guess!, but I look at it as, I can make most of those dishes at chain restaurants, and I can make them better... so why waste the money?)

On my birthday, Mallory, one of the pharmacists I work with, made the kind gesture of getting me a gift card to a restaurant Andy and I had been wanting to go to for quite some time - the Argentinian restaurant, Palermo Viejo.  We were not disappointed.  And you'll definitely have to excuse the poor photos - I wasn't about to bring my bulky Nikon with me, and so the cell phone would have to do!  I really need to invest in a pocket digital!  Maybe Christmas??

We had made reservations and our table was not quite ready when we got there, so we sat at the bar for a drink.  The atmosphere was definitely great, the interior design was beautiful - I would have never guessed it would have been that nice inside from the outside of the restaurant!

The bartender quickly attended to our orders - I ordered a Sweaty Betty. (quite possibly my new favorite beer!)  It's a blonde ale from the Denver Brewing Company and it was delicious.  Now, only if I can find it in town somewhere!  And Andy had his drink of choice - whiskey with a splash of ginger ale.

Delicious!

The wooden menus were a nice touch!

Our table was ready within a few minutes and we happily made our way to a table in front of the open kitchen.  I absolutely love open kitchens in restaurants.  It gives the diner a chance to see what goes on and with an open fire grill... it was quite entertaining!

The pre-birthday boy!

Love open kitchens!

 We ordered an appetizer of quesos which was a cheese plate that included Reggianito, Sharp Cheddar, Port Salut, Havarti, Gorgonzola, Grapes, and Olives.  It was definitely different from our normal appetizer choices, but the cheeses were definitely delicious!  We also had some delicious fresh bread, and the butter served along with it, was fresh, soft, and delicious!

Gotta love a cheese plate

While perusing the menu, we couldn't decide what we wanted, so we decided to get the La Completa - a shared dinner which included 2 pieces, each, of Housemade Chorizo, Short Ribs, Flank Steak, Sweet Breads, Chicken Breasts, Pork Tenderloin, and Fries.  They were out of Short Ribs, so we received an extra two pieces of flank steak as a replacement.  With the exception of the chorizo being a little bit on the dry side, for my taste anyway, everything was delicious.  The meat was juicy, I LOVED the sweetbreads (if you look past what they actually are, you'll love them too!), and the authentic chimichurri served alongside the meal was fantastic!

That was a TON of meat!  Love how they presented it on a mini grill too!

A TON of fries

Even got a simply delicious salad!

So after using our $40 gift card from Mal (thanks pal!), our total came to about $36.  So around $75-80 for 2 drinks, an appetizer, and a large entree (we had tons of leftovers!), that's not too bad in my book!  If you're in the Louisville area or know anyone that is... I highly suggest Palermo!

Rating: 4.5/5