As Camryn and I enter a restaurant, we both have a sense of purpose. We study the architecture, sights and smells knowing that we came not just for a meal, but for a reason. We have been chosen to be Cinco’s official food critics. We will be running around Katy to find and dine at new restaurants and report back with our take on their food, customer service and overall, just how awesome they are.
Palio’s Pizza and Italian Grill on South Grand Parkway was our first attempt to observe, eat, take pictures, and tell Cinco whether the restaurant is worth spending any money on. Although we tried to be serious while we chomped on our pounds of pasta, you can only be so serious while shoving your face with food and going to the bathroom just to rate its cleanliness. It just went to show that I could do something productive for the school while having a good time, even if it meant gaining twenty pounds in the process.
Palio’s Pizza and Italian Grill is nestled between a cigar shop and a somewhat random business (the actual purpose of which still remains unknown) off of South Grand Parkway. Coming in, the smell of tobacco absolutely reeks throughout the restaurant.
Their menu is huge, with everything from soups to salads, to pizza (obviously) to pasta, to wings to burgers. Camryn and I both decided on pasta, she on Fettuccini Alfredo and I ordered Chicken Piccatta. It was fairly cheap, the average meal cost being around ten dollars, and the portions were rather large. As we went to sit, we caught a whiff of another rather unpleasant smell, something Camryn described as “dirty feet.” We smelled it a few more times that night, and every time we did, a sour look came across our faces.
Waiting for our food seemed to take a while, especially since we were the only customers in the restaurant. After about thirty minutes the nice cashier brought it to us, so she kind of made up for it. The food itself was okay. Our chicken was overcooked, and the sauce was so thin on mine it seemed like I was just eating plain noodles.
However, the one great thing about the meal was the bread. Two giant pieces of garlic bread with mozzarella cheese melted on top.
After we finished, Camryn went to the restroom and was not so pleased with it. The restroom was as unsanitary as public restrooms generally are.
Still as we walked out the door, the cashier waved goodbye, and it seemed like our evening had been a success.
Restaurant’s Final Grade: B-
We came, we saw, we devoured. All I could think about was which restaurant we could go next. The possibilities seem endless, as do the number of hours I will spend at the gym this year. But for you, Cinco, we are glad to do it and we will report back to you as soon as we can.
