Good to Go: Even for Takeout, Palmieri Cafe Makes You Pause and Savor the Moment

Good to Go is a column where our food writers explore Dallas’ restaurant scene through takeout orders, delivery boxes and reheated leftovers.

Up until this week, it had been a minute since I had been to Palmieri Cafe in the Farmers Market.

But it’s one of those places that’s just good: I’d recommend it to people as a good coffee shop with interesting pastries and balanced espresso, and it’s one of those on my list to visit now because I’d like to see it serving when we’re out of COVID.

When I first visited in 2016, I sat down with its Italian owner, Corrado Palmieri, at a small table outside, sipping the small cup of espresso with the proper sparkling water right next to it (I loved that they had it on tap, too).

This week, I ordered online from home for curbside pickup; 15 minutes later, I was parked out front, calling their number (listed on the signs at parking spots) to let them know I was there.

And soon, I had a delightful Italian pastry and a lovely Americano, delivered by a masked employee (whom I do wish had been wearing gloves).

The weather that day was gorgeous, too: Sitting there with my windows down, letting the light breeze of 72 degrees flow to me, my dog (who insisted on sitting in the front seat) and my breakfast propped on my dashboard. I wasn’t leaving this spot; I took the time to enjoy my coffee as one should, even if it meant sitting in my turned-off car awhile.

I went for the chocolate-filled cornetto ($3.50), which folks mostly describe as something like an Italian croissant. Sure, it has layers of pastry dough, but it’s denser and heavier, lacks butter and offers a breadier experience. The chocolate is what you’d find in a chocolate croissant — a good one, of course, not those crappy croissants that find “chocolate” from goodness knows where.

Palmieri also has savory croissants to take in the afternoon, such as calzones, savory, stuffed croissants and paninis.

The chocolate-filled cornetto is perfectly fine, but complement it with that balanced Americano ($3.50), and you won’t find yourself missing that flaky croissant one second. At first, I thought the pastry was heavy enough that I should save half of it, but once I experienced it with the Italian espresso, I didn’t quite want it to end at the halfway point.

At a table in the sun, inside a car with windows rolled down or sitting at your kitchen table, this duo makes for a breakfast that makes you want to pause and take your time for a while.

Palmieri Cafe, 920 S. Harwood St., Suite 100 (Farmers Market). 214-684–9932.