The Palomino

The Palomino:

I had read about this pub in FFWD Weekly, Calgary's Art's & Entertainment Weekly. It's located on 7th Ave near 1st Street in an area that's....shall we say, rundown. The building is old, the sign just plain and simple. After seeing all of this, I just KNEW the place must be good.

Stopped in for breakfast around 1:30PM on Saturday. The Flames game was on the 20 foot TV set they have on the wall. The pub is obviously not a sport hotspot, which is a good thing in my eyes.

Inside it's a touch "old" but with classic western flare. It gives you that feeling of being someplace that's not pretentious where you just go to go. A guy was sitting at the bar eating lunch, alone, watching the game. Another sign it would be a good place.

The customers; a Chinese couple, some construction workers, a punk rock couple & some average looking types with Flames shirts. No one seemed concern about each other, they were just there to do their thing.

The food there is good. Breakfast is interesting, they offer a peanut butter & banana sandwich toasted on French toast. Another option was the usual omelette but it was served on top of beans, covered in cheese with tomatoes & green onions on top. The potatoes they serve are cooked in what tasted like garlic & olive oil, covered in some type of seasoning salt. A little different than the normal breakfast, but I like it. Only they don't serve toast. They also sell Big Rock Beer for 4.50 a pint until 3 PM.

The decor is interesting, it's truly old skool, with a western flare. As if they went out to find rickety old chairs & tables that had been rotting away in a barn. It gives the place a style of ambiance I've never seen prior to going there. In the evening, it doubles as a live music club, with it's focus on Indie Rock with a western flare (rock-a-billy).

Worth the trip just to eat and have a Big Rock Grasshopper. I'll check it out one Saturday Night