Paclo: Go to Paclo for some Southern/West Indian fare

By Carol Brock

Paclo is a Southern/West Indian bakery/restaurant that opened in April. The “Grand Opening” sign still proudly stretches across the store front from side to side, over two feet high — absolutely the largest I’ve ever encountered.

Paclo sparkles with newness. One side is a bakery and a serving counter with a low wrought iron fence smack down the middle — bakery on the left, dining area on the right. Dark green marble counters for the bakery and food section add class. There are a few booths plus tables and chairs with colorful paintings of West Indian scenes hanging on the wall. A white ceramic tile floor adds a handsome accent.

The owner had a restaurant in Miami and in Tampa, and Paclo is the first up north with a second in Brooklyn in the planning stage. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is offered for eat-in or take-out. The cooks are three — Jacqueline, Clair and Shoune.

Come early for supper when the choice is greatest. I had a savory West Indian stew of meat with spinach, okra and potato. With it comes rice, a choice of three: rice and beans; a “pilaf” with peas and green beans; and limas and white rice. The “pilaf” was delicious. You’re given a “Say when” serving of rice plus a salad.

I spied potato salad, which looked intriguing. It was a mayonnaise type with a delightful hotness to it. Select from the array displayed and tote your tray back to the table.

With it, I sipped a cool drink from the refrigerated case. Pat’s gourmet beverages come in a milky white rectangular container with an attractive green label. Sour sop is a prized drink in the Caribbean and much sought here. This version uses evaporated milk, and I was surprised — I liked it better than previous punch-like versions I had had before. Pat has other exotica, and I’d like to try them all. Even at $3 a serving, I think they’re worth every sip.

For dessert, peruse the up front bakery/coffee station. Longue de boeuf looked yummy — squares of puff pastry sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. It reminded me of mother-made goodies of long ago. And, for “scientific purposes” in writing this review, I sampled a cheese-topped pastry. The combination of a cheddar cheese with pastry excites my palate. Sorry, this didn’t.

My dining companion tried what was identified as “what we call lambi.” New to me, but my companion, who visits grandchildren in Florida, took one bite and identified as conch. She loves rice and beans, and chose it. A plantain slice, dipped in batter and fried to a golden brown, complimented it along with a tossed green salad. Her beverage was Pat’s cucumber drink, which I thought sensational and expect to take out for some entertaining. My dining companion’s go-along finale with tea, served with a lemon wedge, was cookies — a mini linzer cookie with the red jam cut out and a buttery round. She bemoaned that the freezer was being scrubbed. No moose track ice cream, a favorite. “I’d come back just for it,” she sighed regretfully.

I’m sorry we hadn’t asked for a soup. There’s chicken, vegetable and watercress (doesn’t that sound good!) daily and consommé, Saturday only. On Sunday it’s squash (pumpkin) soup, the No. 1 favorite. I would have liked to try a beef or chicken patty or the pate with cod, beef or chicken filling in a French pastry dough, but we arrived at 7:30 p.m. and all were standing room only.

Take-out bakery samplings were: a rectangle of dense bread pudding; a mini, cellophane wrapped, 2×4 pound cake; four meringue-like cookies stacked in cellophane, prettily tied with a topknot; an incredible, baseball mitt-sized whirligig of cinnamon and sugar; and an incredible, delectable, breakfast “sinker.” Winners, all.

Breakfast is omelets, French toast and oatmeal. Lunch is chicken wings and fries, fish sandwiches, fish and chips and macaroni and cheese.

So, if you have a hankering for Southern/West Indian oxtails, broiled spicy fish, fried goat or BBQ wings, come on over.

The Bottom Line

A newly opened, Southern/West Indian restaurant/bakery. Eat in, take out seven days for breakfast, lunch and supper. Bright and shining. Most attractive with very pleasant staff.

Paclo

229-10 Linden Blvd.

Cambria Heights

718-276-6336

Fax 718-276-8188

Chef’s Choice

(All dinners include rice & salad)

Squash Soup…$2.99/$3.99

Oxtail…$8

B-B-Q Chicken…$7

BBQ Ribs…$10

Turkey Wings…$7