With a 35-year track record, Palio has out run many other Italian restaurants in a city known for fine food.
The original name of the restaurant was Palio d’Asti, evoking the famed city of Asti in Piedmont, Italy, known for an annual bareback horse race with cultural events and medieval pageantry. A large mural of a horse race graces Palio’s side wall. While visiting Piedmont, I tasted the Asti Spumante sparkling wine and saw equine paintings and artifacts everywhere.
Martino DiGrande assumed the reins of the trattoria in 2015. Rebranding to Palio, he broadened the menu from Piemontese food and drink to pan-Italian. Renovations brought a modern ambiance with an expanded bar fronted by a comfortable seating area.
DiGrande honored the property and the city’s history during the renovation. After the 1906 earthquake, workers took red bricks from the rubble, mixed mortar from other material and sea water, and built the two columns still standing strong near the open kitchen.
Surviving the swings of the business and hi-tech economy since 1990 is a feat unto itself. Located in the Financial District of the city, DiGrande has maintained the hard-working ethos of his Sicilian immigrant father who owned a trattoria for four decades in the city by keeping with traditional Italian techniques and ingredients.
“We are a classic Italian restaurant that does everything in a traditional way to make our guests happy. Since we have three generations of Palio patrons, we aim to exceed expectations for their meal,” said DiGrande.
At holiday time, DiGrande menus classic Italian specialties. His annual Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes features octopus, a pasta course, locally caught seafood couscous or branzino, and panettone budino (pudding), tiramisu, or lemon sorbetto for under $100. Christmas Day brings entrées such as seafood risotto and pork osso buco. Palio’s Thanksgiving offers a grand feast. Passover food specialties honor the Jewish heritage of his wife Valeria DiGrande, Palio’s director of sales.
The menu at Palio presents classic Italian dishes and creative innovations. DiGrande’s version of the eggplant entrée, melanzane alla parmigiana, presented in a circular shape with fresh ricotta and San Marzano tomatoes impressed DiGrande’s father who told him, “I wish I had thought of preparing the dish this way.” The lack of thick breaded coating pleased our cousin who summed up the dish as light and savory.
The 35-year traditions at Palio include the famous, light and delicious tiramisu made by Esparanza Cuellar. Her pride in making the Italian specialty has not diminished from her start at Palio on opening day. The extra lightness and volume derive from the whipped egg yolks in the zabaglione. The judicious addition of rum crowns the flavor of the dessert.
Before the antipasti on the menu, DiGrande offers an array of snacks called “stuzzicini.” We ordered a platter for four and the three of us demolished it. The charcuterie was freshly cut, the fried arancini and polenta fritti were crisp and hot, and the polpette in tomato sauce tasted like Nonna’s mini meatballs.
A panoply of choices populates the Palio antipasti. We shared a generous portion of polpo, a creative take on a classic grilled octopus. DiGrande adds several unique Italian touches such as eggplant caponata, roasted chickpeas, squid ink aioli, and a dab of salsa verde. My husband liked the deeply flavored insalata Romana with romaine, Medjool dates, walnuts, goat cheese, and balsamic.
Made with imported, Italian 00 flour, the house made pasta and pizza are Palio’s pièces de résistance. The menu section is labeled “Pizza a legna” meaning pizza with wood or wood fired. Strategically situated near the entrance, the pizza oven has served as a Palio centerpiece since 1990.
Palio pizza wins the Italian pie race by its simplicity. We ordered the pizza margherita and appreciated the well-done thin crust, fresh oregano, basil, and mozzarella. Imported mozzarella di bufala is available for a few dollars more. The Sicilian pizza with pork fennel sausage and roasted peppers is a fan favorite.
I ordered the rotolo Bolognese made in classic style with beef and veal. Rotolo refers to the roll of lasagna shaped into a log, then cut and seared to add more flavor and texture before roasting.
The stars of the entrée list are the fresh fish of the day and branzino a Mediterranean sea bass. In addition to New York steak or Mary’s chicken breast, the vegan option is cavalofiore, heirloom cauliflower with spinach and chickpeas in a red pepper coulis.
The best known Palio pasta is tagliolini con granchio, spaghettini with crab. The chefs select Dungeness crab and mix in chili, breadcrumbs and San Marzano tomato sauce.
DiGrande likes to form the pasta into a tall mound at the table. The delight of interacting with guests is a tradition handed down from his father and Gianni Fassio, the founder of Palio d’Asti, whose family ran the now-closed Blue Fox nearby.
When his father closed his trattoria, DiGrande learned formal hospitality while wearing a tuxedo as a server at a famed, Italian seafood restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf. After working at other restaurants and acquiring a business degree, Fassio hired him as general manager at Palio d’Asti, DiGrande purchased the business a decade later.
DiGrande’s experience manifests in the high standard of hospitality provided by the Palio team and his strong bar and beverage program.
True to the restaurant’s roots, the wine list includes a Piemontese Moscato d’Asti in the “spumante” sparkling section. DiGrande offers a well-curated set of wines from Italy and top regions in Napa and Sonoma. Draft beer and bottles range from Italy and Northern Calif. to Germany and Japan.
The bar serves up two cocktails on draft including an Aperol Spritz. The cocktails range from an Amaretto sour to an Improved Brooklyn with Old Overholt Rye and Palio’s amaro blend of Italian bitter liqueurs, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, and garnished with an orange twist, and Italian amarena cherry. Nonalcoholic aperitivos and several Italian sodas including house made fresh lemon squeezed limonata are served.
I recently asked DiGrande’s wife Valeria about her role at Palio.
“This doesn’t feel like a job. Every day I make new connections with people from different cultures and ages. As San Francisco continues to thrive, we meet more international tourists and corporate business leaders. Companies, family and friends host events in our private rooms. We already have bookings for Super Bowl LX.”
The bottom line, added Martino, “We want people to feel good about their meal and enjoy being ‘at home’ here for more decades.”
-Photos by the author unless otherwise noted
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