dinner at palate

Thursday night, after a great day spent furniture shopping with my mom who came back down to help me move, we went to Palate to celebrate her birthday. We heard an interview on KCRW a few weeks ago, which piqued our interest. Palate is a lot of things, it is a restaurant, wine merchant/cellar, cheese shop, book store located right in the middle of the car dealerships on Brand in Glendale. A very strange location for a shi shi restaurant.

All silver surfaces, mood lighting, we ate at the communal table in the bar area. I was definitely expecting a less urban and more homey/rustic atmosphere, more Beast less Blue Hour. Comparing it's look to Blue Hour though is not fair to my favorite Portland restaurant. The art consisted of grape themed photos and giant urns filled with oversized grapes. It looked tacky and out of place with the suburban modern decor.

All criticisms aside. The food, french based and small plates, was delicious and beautifully presented. Mom had sweetbreads and caponata (presented in a mason jar) and I had a salad with pears and walnuts and duck confit, unfortunately for you I tried to tack photos but said mood lighting and old camera prevented them from turning out. The wine list was awesome too. They had a number of my favorite wines, including the harder to find Sancerre Blanc and Jurançon Sec. They did NOT have Beaujolais Nouveau, which was a super bummer, unlike Paris where everywhere you turn right now are Beaujolais Nouveaus...aaahhhh Paris.

We spoke briefly with the wine director Tim Goldun, we exchanged our favorite Paris restaurants and rattled off some different wine regions and their importance, who kindly brought us a fancy glass of 1989 Vouvray Sec without botrytis (wine speak for made from mold free grapes) with our dessert. My mom had some fancy descriptions for it, I just thought it was very tasty.

Our outfits for the evening:

Men's Levi's Railroad shirt, Earnest Sewn jeans, F21 oxfords, vintage bracelet

Was feeling bleh, so only took one pic. What you cannot see is a little styling detail, I usually tuck this shirt in the back, somehow manages to give it a little more shape, and you gots to show off your assets...HA! Jkfr. But, I did tuck it in the back, cuz I like the way it looks.

Oliver Peoples glasses, Gap sweater, Dries Van Noten top, Goldsign jeans, Delman flats

Isn't Mom stylish??? I found that sweater for her, and that top. And I probably picked out those jeans. But she put the outfit together herself. She is fab.