There’s something different about the old standby veal piccata ($14.99) at Palazzo’s Italian Café (3215 Westheimer, 713-522-6777). “Ah,” says the waiter with a smile. “It’s the lemon juice.” But doesn’t all veal piccata have lemon juice? I ponder the question silently as I take another bite of the light meat, cut from the inside round and pounded into fork-tender pieces. The sauce tastes like it has a double dose of the fresh juice, distinguishing this from other dishes of the same name but hardly rendering it sour. Palazzo’s mixes the lemon juice in equal parts with white wine and veal juices. Punctuated with flavorful capers, artichoke hearts, garlic and onion, the sauce is simmered until reduced, then spooned over the veal to hold the meat’s coating together. There’s enough to form tasty puddles on the plate, but not so much that it drowns the meat. A nest of angel-hair pasta in garlic and olive oil accompanies the generous serving of veal, so light it seems to tiptoe.
This article appears in Apr 18-24, 2002.