12/25/2023 0 Comments Sonora restaurantHe believes in sharing in his success and compensating his team generously. Palomino’s passion for cooking and being a part of an industry he holds so dear is matched by his dedication to his staff. “It wasn’t meant to be,” reflects Palomino, “And I soon realized that it was more important to nurture the restaurants that had forward momentum and nurture my staff who were all counting on these restaurant jobs to support themselves.” Chef Rafael Palomino’s Paella That too was unable to find its groove, whether it was due to its isolated location so far from the center of town, or its quick turnover and consequential mixed messaging. It struggled to find an audience and so the duo quickly morphed the restaurant into a more casual, albeit, upscale tavern, called Greenwich Tavern. Bistro Latino, a sophisticated restaurant and bar, open in 2013 in the former Boxing Cat Grill location in Old Greenwich. The partners sold Pacifico in Rye after 8 years and soon tried their hand at a location in Greenwich in hopes of expanding upon their large Greenwich customer base from Sonora. We were quickly accepted by a city with a large student population and mix ethnicities.” Whereas, the New Haven spot was a home run from the beginning. “We soon realized that we were competing with ourselves with the Rye location. Upon the success of Sonora, Palomino and his partner Moe Gad introduced their Pacifico concept a mere 2 miles up the road in Rye, NY and another up the line in New Haven, CT. A chef’s career met with great successes and unique challenges. One could say “and the rest is history” as Palomino continued to open more restaurants and pen 5 cookbooks Bistro Latino, Viva la Vida, Nueva Salsa, Fiesta Latina, and Latin Grill!. Colombian-born, Palomino drew from his childhood in Bogotá, his earlier years in New York City alongside such culinary legends as Larry Forgione and Charlie Palmer, and his time in France honing his craft with renowned Chef Michel Guèrard in Eugènie-les-Bains. Palomino’s classically trained culinary background shined through. While the clientele may not have been familiar with the dishes, they knew quality and could appreciate the creativity. I knew I had to stay true to my concept though and educate the consumer,” Palomino says of his long-term plan and his mission to have people fall in love with his food.įortunately, his long-term plan was accomplished in the short term as it wasn’t long before his Miami Beach-meets-Port Chester restaurant and bar was the talk of the neighborhood. Ceviche was for the adventurous and Latin inspired tequila and rum-based cocktails were not hot like they are now. “Cilantro and chipotle weren’t flavors people were craving. Downtown was filled with taquerias and bodegas, a few neighborhood pubs, and an old-school steakhouse. Port Chester had yet to attract any major culinary talent at the time Palomino swooped into town. The location was a bit quirky too, which only added to its appeal.” “It was perfect,” recalls Palomino of the physical space and the juxtaposing communities, “It had just enough edge to it and the canvas I needed to create my Latin concept. Spearheaded by restaurateur Denis Ossorio and Chef Billy Rosenberg, Two Moons, in its day, was somewhat of an enigma, a mash-up of Southwestern cuisine comprised of uncharacteristically Southwestern ingredients, a cocktail menu that was ahead of its time (“waiter, there’s an herb in my cocktail.”), and a design aesthetic that was dubbed a “Mesa Verde cave of the Anasazi” by the New York Times. Rafael Palomino was introduced to the former Two Moons restaurant space in Port Chester, NY, straddling the border of Greenwich, CT. The plan was a simple one to relocate his family and replicate his Sonora concept (Eastgate Tower Hotel, NY) closer to home and create his elevated Latin cuisine for a new clientele. In the spring of 1999, Manhattan-based Chef Rafael Palomino moved his family out of the steamy city and into the picturesque ‘burbs of Westchester County.
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