Home > Los Angeles Restaurants > Restaurant Review > First impressions: Palate Food + Wine

Culinary trends, just like the freshness of food, can get old real quickly. For example, where can you not get tapas these days? But just when we think we’ve had our fill of portion-challenged plates, chef and Patina Group alum Octavio Becerra may just make us eat our words.

In the old Cinnabar space just on the Glendale side of Brand Boulevard, Palate Food + Wine is like a mini conglomerate: A narrow restaurant faces street-side, while a wine bar complete with a retail shop, a cheese cellar and what’s been deemed an “eno-gastronomic library” completes the adjoining area in back. Visitors come through the rear service entry to find a stylish, industrial, loft-like space where they can select a book on gastronomy, sip wine and nibble on the impressively curated cheeses. Becerra seems to have plans for every square inch of the former Bekins building.

The restaurant itself is an Adriatic excursion, from the monumental goblets of ornamental grapes decorating the room to the rotating menu of sophisticated, thoughtfully updated Mediterranean flavors. There is an obvious love of the grape: We are eagerly encouraged to partake in the Bacchanalian way throughout the meal, and neither the robust wine list nor our server’s confident recommendations disappoint. Service is leisurely but attentive, and no one seems to be breaking a sweat in the open-air kitchen. Best of all, the price point is right. On the night of our visit, no dish is more than $20, and 2.5 oz wine pours are available.

A little of this, a little of that: It turns out to be a winning formula as we start to graze. And Palate has its fun with equations. One menu item is written like this: “Violette artichokes, arugula, Reggiano + fresh pasta = cannelloni.” Our deduction: Salty cheese and lush greens + tender pasta = three cigar-sized servings of pure bliss.

Everything is made in-house at Palate. The pasta, certainly, but the butter is also house-churned—then beautifully adorned with radish slices and fleur de sel. Becerra also has a mind to cure his own pigs. He gleefully shows us lamb curing in back as a preview. Any restaurant that offers a charcuterie plate and calls it a “porkfolio” might as well.

And we head straight for the hog. It’s one choice among food products potted in Mason jars, and Berkshire pork is anything but the stuff of wartime rationing. The forcemeat is nicely spiced and pairs well with toasted bread; it's even better with anything pickled, a variety of which is (you guessed it) done in-house. Corn soup—a generous bowl you can share, but won't want to—is a creamy wonder. And there’s house-cured pancetta in there too. The rich puree is so good, we stop the server from taking the last dregs before we wipe the bowl clean with bread.

And then there's the oxtail, braised into melt-in-your-mouth richness and topped with crispy bone marrow. Nothing is better than velvety marrow—unless it’s bone marrow with a crackling crust. Becerra’s version is so decadent, this climax to our meal might as well be dessert. The Valrhona chocolate pudding, which is deep and lush in flavor, is merely a close rival.

Food: Small plates with intelligence and soul; house-made delicacies such as potted meats and pickled veggies; impressive inventories of charcuterie, wine and cheese.

Scene: Discerning diners with time and engaging servers who can gab forever about what's to eat and drink.

Insider tip: You’re in luck if Todd Jasmin is in the house and available to attend to you. Known in foodie circles as the ultimate cheese guy—ex of the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, Sona and Comme Ça—he's certain to suggest the right cheese to go with your wine.

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