A night at the House of Palmese

Last night I had the privilege of eating at the House of Palmese, a wonderful place to dine if you're ever in Plainview, Long Island. I arrived to a warm welcome from the entire clan, a great way to start my experience off right. For starters, we feasted on some toasted matzah with an array of delicious spices, prepared by Rebecca, the youngest Palmese chef.

Then, seeing as it was Passover, we sat down to the table for the Seder. After several readings and wonderful renditions of songs from "The Concise Family Seder" (and Grandpa Lenny thanking the Concise Family for letting us borrow their prayerbooks), we had our first course, matzah ball soup. The balls were fluffy and delicious, making a nice pillow at the bottom of my stomach for the rest of the meal to sit on.

Speaking of the rest of the meal, after the soup course was cleared, we enjoyed a HOST of wonderful dishes, including mouthwatering brisket, delicious turkey, kugel (a yummy noodle dish), a potato kugel, and Sara Palmese's favorite - Brussel Sprouts! Everything was cooked perfectly and I began stuffing myself silly as I listened to the kids table reminisce about the weird red toothpaste their grandparents used to have back in the day. After I cleaned my plate, I didn't think I could eat another morsel.

But wait! I could! There's more! There was also a variety of yummy desserts up for grabs - I enjoyed a chocolate cupcake with a glass of milk. A great end to a great meal.

After dessert was finished and family members began leaving in a steady stream to make their respective trains, I almost fell asleep on the couch in a stuffed, content stupor. But I had to shake myself awake and start my journey home. It was tough to leave the house that was so full of family and love, and it made me wish I could have celebrated with my own family as well. But I am lucky to have such a great extended family who has as much fun with each other as my own family seems to.

So if you're ever in Plainview, make sure you check out the House of Palmese. The food is impeccable, and the company is second to none. Well worth the price of the LIRR ticket - and then some!