To celebrate Daisuke’s birthday (now my brother-in-law), we all decided to meet at The Palm Restaurant for dinner. Even though it was not the actual date – Taro’s mom was actually in Japan on the actual day – it was nice to get together and have dinner since all of us are constantly busy. It was a time to catch up and talk about Daisuke’s upcoming events that he will dj for, hear about Mrs. Takeoka’s trip, and share our trip with her since she left the day after we got back. It was a “catch-up” session surrounded by great food.
Taro and I have actually been to The Palm a few times and each time, we think it gets better. The first time we came was for his birthday a couple years back and even then, I remember how tender and perfectly cooked the lobster was. Since then we have brought my family to the restaurant and Taro has dined with a friend at The Palm. So when Taro suggested having steak for his brother’s birthday, I mentioned The Palm since we are members of the 837 Club and they had a pretty good deal for the month of April-May. We each were able to order either a 9 ounce Filet Mignon or 12 ounce New York Strip. Since Taro’s mom does not eat meat, she ordered the Pan Roasted Wild Alaskan Halibut Fillet. To make the night even more fun and special, we ordered a four pound lobster! It was a beautiful sight as our waiter set it down in the middle for all of us to share – and gave us lobster bibs so we wouldn’t make a mess all over our clothes.
As always with the The Palm, there was an excessive amount of food since a starter – either salad or lobster bisque – was included and there was one side included with everyone’s entree. To end the night, we shared a slice of Key Lime Pie (one of my favorites at The Palm and the best Key Lime I have found so far) and Tiramisu. It was nice to go out as a family, which we have not done for a while, and celebrate Daisuke’s birthday.
Happy birthday again, Daisuke, and cheers to good eating with family!
I started off with the Lobster Bisque, which is not too bad. Taro ordered the Caesar Salad with Anchovies so it was a nice balance of soup and salad. Our food came out relatively fast. Taro ordered the New York Strip au Poivre – Aged USDA Prime 12 ounce with brandy peppercorn sauce served with sweet potato fries and creamed spinach. It was a nice cut, but nowhere as tender as my filet!
At The Palm, I have learned to order my meat medium-rare, but on the rarer side. It was delicious, especially since my filet mignon came with jumbo lump crabmeat with hollandaise sauce served with grilled asparagus and three cheese potatoes.
The Takeoka Family:
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Before I even begin sharing my experience at Palate, I have to admit that these are not the best photos of the food. The lighting condition was pretty difficult – dark with a pink hue and glow throughout the restaurant. So I was conflicted. Do I post about my experience despite the not so fantastic photos (which kills me internally)? Do I skip it over and just hope that everyone stumbles upon Palate? I decided it was better to share my experience rather than forego expressing my fondness for Palate.
If you did not know before, Taro and I actually discovered Palate at Gold Standard. It was one of the few places that stood out amongst the rest and I wanted to go to the actual restaurant to try the rest of their food. We were finally able to go on a Sunday night; prior to this dinner I actually checked out their menu online and was thrilled that they were constantly changing their menu and offering unique dishes on a weekly basis. So we hopped onto the 134 to venture out to Glendale.
Upon arriving at Palate, we discovered that on Sundays, it was a set menu. I was surprised at the cost of it – $35 per person – because that is pretty reasonable for a three-course prix fix. I especially thought it was a good value after dinner since the portions were quite generous. So on this particular Sunday, this is what the menu looked like:
Appetizer: Red Little Gem Salad/Yellow Beet/Blood Orange/Green Goddess Dressing
Main Course: Grilled Swordfish/Bloomsdale Spinach/New Potatoes/Fava Bean + Green Garlic Ralout or Lamb Porterhouse/Baby Turnips/Radicchio/Meyer Lemon + Olive Nage
Dessert: Brown Butter Betty/Creme Fraiche/ Strawberry + Rhubarb Compote
In addition to the dessert on the set menu, Palate has a staple dessert that you can choose from. So to begin with, I really enjoyed the appetizer salad. Ever since XVI, I have picked up an appreciation for beets. They really do add an extra touch and slight crunch to a salad and I especially liked having blood oranges mixed in with my greens. The portion was larger than I expected and I could not even finish my appetizer! It was especially hard to balance because we also ordered the Potted Lamb Mason Jar and Pickled Green Tomato/Mustard Seed/Savory. The Potted Lamb spread on toasted bread was delicious! It reminded me of pate and I was definitely savoring the flavor of the lamb. (Peanut enjoyed a taste later that night when I brought the rest home.) Our waiter suggested ordering the Pickled Green Tomatoes (I love tomatoes and pickles in general.) so it was a nice contrast with the tanginess of the tomatoes with the richness of the lamb.
As with all meals, by the time the entrees came, I felt pretty full. However, both the Lamb Porterhouse and Grilled Swordfish were great. (I love eating with another person just because you can get one of each.) Usually I am wary about ordering swordfish, but the fusion style of Palate really presented something different and interesting. Since I am already a fan of lamb, the porterhouse was a delight. Palate really does do something extra special with their food. Last, but not least, dessert. It was a nice balance with the chocolate and the Brown Butter Betty. And again, for $35 (not including the Mason Jar and Pickled Green Tomatoes), it was a great value.
Palate was definitely a good find and with the menu changing every week, you literally don’t know what to expect. Even if you do not want to go for dinner, they have some fun alternatives. On Tuesdays you can enjoy Cirque Du Fromage and then there is Offal Good Wednesdays. If none of the above suits your fancy, you can always have a glass of wine since it is A restaurant with a wine shop, a wine shop with a restaurant.
Stay tuned for photos from an Offal Good Wednesday!
I actually went to Church & State right before leaving for Japan and since I have returned from Japan, I have been furiously blogging and posting pictures from our trip. However, now I can return back to some of the places I visited before the trip and since then. I feel like I need to catch up on my life and also share the interesting and fun places I have been so fortunate to dine at.
I heard about Church & State via a friend through Facebook and then later approached Kris, my foodie friend/maid of honor/best friend since middle school, about it. She told me that she didn’t get a chance to go yet and really wanted to try it out. So we actually went the night before I left for Japan. I arrived at Church & State first and was fascinated with the location. First, the restaurant is situated in the National Biscuit Company Building, which was built in 1925. I loved the brick and the historical aspect of the building. In addition, the sun was setting and there was this beauty of the tranquility of Downtown Los Angeles on this quiet street. Cars were lined up, all parallel parked, the restaurant was on one side and an upscale apartment complex and bar was on the other, lampposts dipped down, and the backdrop of the sun was there. There was silent beauty and the lack of traffic, noise, and the busy feel associated with a city.
When Kris arrived, we sat down, only to come to the indecisive nature on what to order. There were a handful of dishes we wanted to try, and that did not include the daily menu written up on the blackboard. Whenever this happens, I initially feel overwhelmed and finally just say, Order whatever you feel like. I am pretty easy in that way – willing to try anything at least once. However, it can drive people mad and that day, I was responsible for picking at least one dish.
We finally settled on Mœlle de Bœuf – Roasted Marrow Bone, Loup de Mer -Sea Bass, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Red Flame and Thompson Seedless Grapes, and Bavette à la Bordelaise – Braised Beef Short Rib, Wild Mushrooms, and Red Wine Sauce. We figured with these three dishes, that would be enough to share and feel satisfied. After placing our order, though, an aroma filled the air and both of us looked around curiously at what it could possible be. A couple tables over and back had Escargots de Bourgogne – Snails Baked in Garlic and Parsley Butter – and at that point we had to get it as well. So at this point, we had way more than enough food for the two of us.
The Roasted Marrow Bone came out first and this was the first time I ever had it. I saw it on the show The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network and thought it was interesting while Taro, on the hand, found it mildly questionable. I figured that the best person to have it with was Kris and when I initially told her about wanting to try it, she was glad to since she really enjoys it. So it came out, and I spooned the marrow onto a piece of bread. My impression of it? Very flavorful and tasty! I think you have to initially get used to the texture of it – gelatin like – and after that, it is just a different warm spread that you can eat with bread. I enjoyed it enough to want to have it again; hopefully Taro will be open to experiencing it.
The Escargots de Bourgogne came out shortly after the Roasted Marrow Bone and I loved the presentation of it! It reminded me of Bouchon, but on a larger scale, and it looked like mini-potpies. I thought there was a good balance of snail, which frankly, was quite large, to the baked crust of the pastry. I have really come to enjoy escargots and am not sure where the appreciation of it came from, but it is definitely a treat to have them!
Our main dishes then came out and I was at the brink of feeling stuffed. The Braised Beef Short Rib was extremely tender and the wine sauce complimented well with the beef. The Sea Bass was equally as good and both of us were pleased by the food at Church & State. Again, it was another great night with my friend, Kris, who is always fun to hang out with and dine. There is always a lot of chatter, a glass of wine each, silence as we deconstruct the food and smile at the delightfulness of the dish, and friendship as we bond and continue to share our lives together.
Where to next? Palate. I told her how much I enjoyed it with Taro (Photos will be posted soon!) and we are planning on going for Offal Good Wednesday very soon.
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