Acclaimed chef and restaurateur Charlie Palmer has entered the pizza business in California wine country.
Palmer’s hospitality group recently opened Salina Rooftop, an open-air bar and restaurant overlooking downtown Paso Robles, California. The revamped venue features pizzas fired to order in outdoor ovens, along with a menu built around seasonal produce and Mediterranean-inspired flavors.
Salina Rooftop opened to the public on June 26 atop The Piccolo at the Paso Robles Inn, according to The San Luis Obispo Tribune. The Charlie Palmer Collective spent three months transforming the former Tetto Rooftop Bar with a new name, design and food-and-beverage program.
Previously, the rooftop did not have the ability to cook hot food. The renovation added outdoor pizza ovens, where the culinary team now prepares a rotating selection of seasonal pies.
One of the featured pizzas is the Sweet n’ Spicy, made with linguica, mozzarella, hot honey, chili oil and basil. The pie puts a Central California spin on the now-familiar hot-honey pizza trend by incorporating the Portuguese-style sausage that has long been popular in the region.
Other regular pizzas on the Salina Rooftop menu include The Salina (blistered tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil and cracked pepper) and the Central Coast Shroom (mighty cap mushrooms, fontina, sage and Parmesan).
Pizza is also part of Salina’s weekday “flower hour,” the rooftop’s garden-themed version of happy hour. Guests can purchase discounted pizzas, cocktails, wine and beer from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
The broader menu includes pastas cooked in cast-iron pans; a watermelon-and-feta salad with chili, lime and basil; lamb shish kebabs with locally sourced herbs; and a citrus-marinated grilled shrimp cocktail.
Palmer described Salina in a press release as a “garden oasis” designed to showcase the agricultural character of California’s Central Coast. Fresh basil, rosemary, thyme, sage and mint are grown directly on the bar for use in the restaurant’s cocktails.
Palmer is best known for founding Aureole in New York City in 1988 and helping popularize what he called “progressive American cooking,” which paired classical European techniques with regional American ingredients. During its 30 years as a brick-and-mortar restaurant, Aureole accumulated 13 Michelin stars and two James Beard Awards.
Palmer was named Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation in 1997 and inducted into the foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America the following year. His restaurant and hotel portfolio now extends across the country through the Charlie Palmer Collective and Appellation Hotels.
Salina Rooftop is located at 600 12th Street in Paso Robles. It is open from 3 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 3 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.
