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Paclo
Restaurant Bakery
229-10 Linden Boulevard,
Cambria Heights
718-276-6336
Cuisine:
West Indian and Southern
Hours:
10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday
If
it’s good enough for the billionaire mayor of the most important city in
the world, it has to be good enough for you.
Paclo,
a sparkling new restaurant and bakery on Linden Boulevard in Cambria
Heights, had a special visitor on June 5 when Mayor Mike Bloomberg, on his
way to a late-morning event in the neighborhood, dropped in for breakfast.
Mayor
Mike’s order was simple: rye toast with butter and a large light coffee.
But
he stayed long, spending 45 minutes over his a.m. snack as he talked
business with some of his aides and signed autographs for constituents.
You
have to assume it was a pleasant experience for the mayor, because Paclo
is probably the nicest place to sit down and chill out on Linden
Boulevard.
The
restaurant opened on April 12; to the delight of passersby, the $250,000
renovation done by the owners has brightened up the block severalfold.
Paclo
is as bright and clean as a furniture showroom. Features like white
ceramic tiles, a marble countertop, wicker and dark wood chairs and black
wrought iron give the place a definite touch of class missing from most
take-out-friendly restaurants in Southeast Queens.
Another
distinguishing feature of Paclo is its artwork. Original paintings of
agrarian black life — it could be Africa but looks more like the West
Indies — grace the walls. It’s all for sale, but it doesn’t come
cheap — the colorful framed pieces go from a few hundred dollars to up
to $4,000. An $800 group portrait had a “SOLD” sign on it.
The
30-seat restaurant is so nice to look at we almost forgot to describe the
food.
Freddy
David, one of the owners, called the restaurant’s offerings “black
people’s food.” He rejected descriptions like “West Indian” or
“Southern,” even though that’s what most of the food is, noting that
“I don’t want to label the food.” He later settled on the word
“American.”
The
restaurant’s specialty is a modest and small but memorable item: the
patty.
These
patties — made of beef, fish or chicken, bite-sized and costing only $1
for two — are great.
What distinguishes them is that they are fluffy like popcorn — a
real treat.
The
description “American” really applies during lunchtime at Paclo, when
continental dishes you’ll find at any diner rule.
French
toast is the most popular breakfast item, especially with fruit and
sausage ($3.50).
Lunch
specials, at $5 or less, sell well.
The most popular is the vegetable rice with buffalo wings. Grilled
chicken and turkey breast sandwiches also sell well, at under $4 each.
Green and Caesar salads sell well, too.
During
dinner, the restaurant’s more ethnic flavors come out.
A
$12 shrimp dish, cooked Creole-style, is the best-selling dinner entrée.
Oxtail, an $8 West Indian dish, and vegetable stew ($7), come in
second and third.
A
small bakery section with Italian and continental pastries, cakes, muffins
and other treats round out a meal at Paclo.
With
a great food, a brilliant atmosphere, lots of open space and sunlight and
even electrical outlets by the seats, Paclos is a great place to get a
meal on the run, for a business meeting or even just when chilling out.
—
Shams
Tarek
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