Palate Food + Wine Glendale 91204 | 90 FoodDigger Rating

fforfood | Blogger Favorite Cuisine: Italian,French 19 Reviews

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User Restaurant Rating 93

2/15/2010 Well, well, well… To my absolute delight Dixon treated me to dinner on my birthday! Not surprising as it has become our tradition; I take Dixon to dinner on his birthday as well. Included in the tradition is that it must be a new (or, at least, new for us) and exciting spot. We had both been curious about Palate since its opening about a year ago. Read more from their blog

foodshethought | Blogger Favorite Cuisine: Japanese,French 60 Reviews

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User Restaurant Rating 93

8/29/2009 Delicious potted meats, cheese-like housemade butter, beautiful pickled veg, and wonderful service from the cheese man! Read more from their blog Recommended Dishes shrimp pot,

burumun Favorite Cuisine: Japanese,French 187 Reviews

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User Restaurant Rating 93

4/2/2009 Yes, the bandwagon had come and gone and it's too late to even jump on it. Palate was one of the big food hypes in LA in the past year, yet this was my first visit. Why? Well, besides a couple of mixed reviews, it's really because it's in Glendale!

Thanks to early pre-theatre dinner and recent daylight savings time, the natural light was great for food-porning, at least up to dessert :P

The bread was served with butter sprinkled with seasalt and presented quite beautifully.
Palate's menu is not particularly big but I think there's still something for everyone. You know, if you all eat meat.

To start off, we got the young beet salad.
The young beets, although the color doesn't look it, were all very good and fresh. Some of the lettuce, on the other hand, were kind of bruised ...

Next up, some veal ravioli.
Tender veal in al dente pasta and delicious creamy broth. A pretty light and delicious starter here.

Next I got me some pork trotters!
Loved the crispy skin. The meat was very flavorful. The meat (really the muscles/tendons) on pork trotters tend to be stringy but this one has been tenderized quite well.

I also got the Prawn & Veal Tongue.
Giant, fresh, crisp prawn. Delicious! And the veal tongue was very tender, and oh-so-good!!! Tongue was one of my ultimate fave while growing up, but besides my recent venture at FIG, I have yet found one in the state worthy of my love. But this one, yes, this one is worthy indeed!

My companion got the smoked Jidori chicken breast.
This dish is the weakest of the night IMO as the chicken meat is a bit overcooked and thus too dry and tough. I did enjoy the addition of apricots in this dish and thought that the skin was nice and crispy.

As a side dish we got some beautiful colorful cauliflowers.
This was the perfect side dish and was actually one of the highlights of the meal. Fresh and flavorful, sweet and juicy cauliflowers. I could eat this all day.

The dessert selection here was a bit limited. We went with the panna cotta.
This was pretty good, nothing to write home about though.

The chocolate mousse was better and more memorable.
It was pretty rich and dark. Both of the desserts here are solid and satisfying albeit nothing mind-blowing.

Palate was definitely good overall, and I can see where the hype comes from, although the pork and veal seems to be focused on more and done better here. Not that I'm complaining. In my opinion this restaurant is comparable to other great restaurants in LA. From what I've seen so far, it doesn't necessarily stand out on its own, but hey, each side of town needs its own great spot! That veal tongue, though ... Mmmm. That I'll come back for.

Photos: http://tinyurl.com/c8gcrm Recommended Dishes veal tongue

RawPepper Favorite Cuisine: Korean,Japanese 230 Reviews

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User Restaurant Rating 89

Rustic elegance in Glendale 10/21/2008 This restaurant is located on Brand, a street normally reserved for car dealerships. Once inside, there is a bar, a dining area, and retail wine store. I quickly perused the wine list after being seated and noticed that the markups were well within reason. This was great because fine food deserves fine wine pairs or perhaps the other way around.

Rustic elegance is the vibe here and I surmise that the best way to enjoy the experience is to work with the wine director (Steve, formerly with Woodland Hills Wine) and have him make food selections based on personal wine preferences while ignoring the suggestions of everyone else.

The menu has a California Mediterranean slant with whispers of Asian influences. I was told it continuously evolves so there should be interesting surprises on every visit. The food/wine seemed a little out of step with each other on my visit. I am eager to return and reach for harmonic transcendence.

Palate reminds me of a lighter and more casual version of French Laundry both of which are located a couple of steps away from the mainstream. Recommended Dishes Pork belly, Porkfolio (prosciutto and salumi), Cheese palette

SnooshiKing Favorite Cuisine: Chinese,French 67 Reviews

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User Restaurant Rating 96

This place rocks! 9/30/2008 One of the best new restaurants in LA.  I got the same feeling from this place as I got when AOC first opened.  It was a revelation.  The dishes are quite fun and unusual, and the flavors are explosive and piercing.  Who would have known that sliced heirloom tomatoes with salt could be so good!

It also helps that the restaurant has one of the best wine directors in all of LA -- Steve, who used to work at Woodland Hills Wine Co.  He's sourced some outstanding wines at very reasonable prices, and he's got a gift of perfectly matching the wine with the food.  VERY few people in LA do that well.

I can't comment too much on their specific dishes, since I've heard that the menu changes as often as twice a week, but go there and be playful, try something new, open your mind.  Ask Steve to pair the wine with food, and let him order for you.  You won't be disappointed.

BTW, the place is really two restaurants in one -- a slightly more formal dining room in front, and a casual wine bar in the back (no reservations needed).

tastemel Favorite Cuisine: Italian,French 0 Reviews

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User Restaurant Rating 80

5/13/2009

HealthyVoyager Favorite Cuisine: Cuban, Mexican, Italian 0 Reviews

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User Restaurant Rating 85

5/12/2009

mikeysoh Favorite Cuisine: Bar/Pub Food, Californian, Korean 0 Reviews

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User Restaurant Rating 96

12/23/2008

Palate Food + Wine

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