final vacation dinner from hullabaloo
Downtown West Palm beach isn’t what you’d expect- the area, especially Clematis Street (a recreational/business area closed to traffic), is hopping. As my mom put it, there’s “like, every vibe imaginable” on the street- night clubs with loud Latin music, pictaresque gardens and trees adjacent to bookstores, and, most noticeably, a ton of restaurants. The street is mostly lined with Italian, Mexican, American, and Japanese spots, all complemented by beautiful outdoor seating, typically with string lights and possibly a band gazebo. If I hadn’t decided where we were eating beforehand, I would have been overwhelmed. Thankfully, I had already placed reservations at Hullabaloo, a trendy Italian-American spot.
I know I’ve said that a lot of food on this trip was great. But this was, without a doubt, the best meal I ate in Palm Beach. For appetizers, we had the house salad and eggplant parm. As my main, I ate the sweet garlic pork sandwich with fried zucchini chips.
Salad
This was a great salad. The greens were solid, and the accompanying bread was great. The best parts were the tomato and cheese; the tomato was super juicy, and the Gorgonzola was fantastic. The dressing was a simple olive-oil vinaigrette.
Greens: 6/10
Cheese: 9/10
Dressing: 7/10
Dressing integration: 6/10
Tomato: 8/10
Overall: 7.7/10
Eggplant Parm
Typically, Eggplant Parm has too little eggplant and too much bread/cheese. Not the case here; the breading was definitely heavy, but there was more than enough eggplant. The cheese and marinara were the best part, obviously. Both were tasty and not overdone.
Marinara: 9/10
Sauce to eggplant ratio: 9/10
Eggplant prep: 8/10
Batter: 9/10
Overall: 8.7/10
Sweet Garlic Pork Sandwich with Fried Zucchini Chips
This was actually phenomenal. I have no complaints. The pork was super tender, and flavored well. The cheese was a great addition. The sauces on the sandwich paired very well with the pork’s prep. Finally, the ciabatta roll was fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The zucchini chips were battered and fried to perfection, and went perfectly with the chipotle dipping sauce.
Bread: 9/10
Bread/meat ratio: 9/10
Cheese: 8/10
Pork flavoring: 9/10
Sauces: 8/10
Portion size: 10/10
Chips: 10/10
Dipping sauce: 9/10
Overall: 9.5/10
Good eats.