Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Palio’s Pizza Cafe. FWMB contributor Emily H received a complimentary meal. The following comments are Emily’s own words and opinions.
Going out to eat is a rare occasion for my family. I don’t mind cooking (most of the time), and my kids eat large amounts of food multiple times throughout the day, so having food in the fridge is a must around our house. Additionally, going out to eat can actually be MORE work. I may not want to cook, but the concept of wrangling my three boys so close to bed time out in public while they are hungry is enough to send me straight to the stove. In order to entice me, restaurants have to be pretty amazing, family-friendly, and easy to pack up the food and leave on a dime.
Enter Palio’s Pizza.
Now there are multiple Palio’s restaurants in the DFW area. My family and I visited the one in Mansfield, which shares an owner with the
restaurant in Fort Worth on Bryant Irvin. The trek to Mansfield isn’t too bad from our East Fort Worth home, but it isn’t super close either. My boys talked about pizza the whole way there. Once we arrived, they were already a little hangry, so I was relieved to see that it was a restaurant where you order at the counter and sit down. Can I just say that this is my favorite set up for dining out with my family and with large groups? Order as soon as you get in, THEN sit down. No waiting to be seated, then on a waiter, then for drink orders, etc. Score one for Palio’s.
Regardless of car travel discussions, my boys wanted both pizza AND pasta. We compromised and got two kids’ pizzas and a kids’ pasta to split between the three of them. They were mollified and went off to find us a table that had a decent view of the pretend fireplace and the television with baseball on (YAY BASEBALL!!!). The hubs and I debated over the menu for awhile. There were so many yummy sounding choices. After much debate we decided on the Il Diavlo for the hubs (spicy!), and then a custom made pizza for me (which was ideal because I order food like Meg Ryan from When Harry Met Sally). We also chose to split a salad to start. We sat back and waited, but not for long!
Our salad came out quickly and was delicious. My youngest kept stealing “leaves” off my plate. He was also a big fan. When our pizzas came out, the staff was very helpful with bringing out extra napkins, plates, forks, etc. for our high maintenance family. The boys were quiet and still for awhile (miracles do happen), while they inhaled their food. They have healthy appetites, and we didn’t have any leftovers from their order. In hindsight, I would probably have ordered a regular sized pizza for them to split instead of the two kid pizzas, especially since they only drink water. Hubby and I ate our pizzas with minimal disruption thanks to the distracted kids. After stealing bites of each other’s, we were both extremely happy with our respective choices. It was really, really good. Each of us took about half our pizzas home to have leftovers. (It was just as good the next day.)
To end the meal, even though we were already stuffed, they brought us out a hot palookie, which is their own special 
chocolate chip cookie pizza. As my husband said, if everything else had been just okay, the palookie would have made it worth it. It was amazing. The kids were happy to help us polish that off, and despite my dire warnings, no one threw up from eating two giant pieces of cookie pizza, although there was a bit of a sugar coma in the car on the ride home.
Palio’s has quite a few things going for it. First, the menu is varied and easy to customize, which makes it great for picky eaters and families with wide ranges. They even have a gluten-free crust option, and according to reviews, the crust is Celiac friendly. Second, it’s very casual with ordering at the counter, outside table options, and a couple of televisions. Kids don’t have to be silent or perfect, it’s really low key. Third, and possibly most important, it’s BYOB so you can bring in your own beer or wine. Mega win!
I definitely believe we will visit Palio’s Pizza Cafe again, when I lose my battle of wills with the stove, when we go out with a large group, or maybe just when I’m craving a really, really large cookie.
