faulker056

Last Sunday, we were invited by our wine connoisseur friend MM for a Sunday Brunch at Palate. He first told us about Palate back in July and since then, I think we've been there at least a dozen times. Besides Chef Octavio Becerra's usual assortment of fine California cuisine dishes and extensive list of wine, he started serving up delicious vinyl on Sundays. This time, with a super special guest dj... Cut Chemist of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. At exactly 12 pm, the wine started flowing. 1 minute earlier and we'd be in the alchi category. How many Chefs out there know how to go back and forth between cooking and spinning? Bottles and bottles later, the Chemist decides to show up around 4 pm, relieving both Chef and his sommelier, who was also in the rotation. They all spun soul/funk. For Sunday Brunch, one dish is featured for $12 along with a small selection of appetizers and his mason jars, which he is known for. Last time I ate at Palate, I fell in love with his po...

My first encounter with a raw oyster was about eight years ago and I remembered feeling curious and anxious as I stared at this soft, slimy-gray creature that resembled a bodily organ. It was peacefully floating in a bed of salmon roe and fresh uni, and drowned by a nameless sake . It wasn't on the half-shell but it was definitely a real oyster. My friends passed the glass to me and we all held it up in a strange, gratuitous toast to friendship and whatever oceanic concoction brewing in my glass. First, the taste of the cheap sake. Gross. Second, an avalanche of salty salmon roe and mushiness that is uni. Mmmmm. And finally, the soft foreign object that feels like an oblong egg yolk. *Gag* This is the point in time where your brain has the finger on the gag reflex switch in your body. It will either project the foreign object as your eyes well up in tears, or it will let it go down smoothly like a fat kid on a water park slide. But instead of swallowing it all, I sank my te...

***Update 8/8/08*** Since writing this posting, I actually came here another two times in the SAME week. I've added a few more dishes and sat in a different part of this large restaurant. Right now, they are having wine tastings from 5-8 pm on Fridays and 2-5 on Saturdays for a limited time only. I can tell you that the back dining/bar area by the wine shop is a ton of fun. And not to mention that the flight of wines are complimentary. Sign me up please. ****** You know when you're a kid, your brain is like a sponge – soaking in everything and anything around you. You're told certain things. You're told to act a certain way. You're told to trust whatever elders tell you. Naivete is a part of the learning process that dissipates at different rates for everyone. As for soaking up things, I had a hard time putting disturbing things I have seen in the trash can side of my memory. There are two movies that have not left the better half of me because they are j...

On the way back from Audrey Kawasaki's latest exhibit at the Bergamot Station , Mayoi Michi , J & I drove with rumbling stomachs. We started to flip through our mental rolodex of late-night food options in the Silver Lake adjacent. Soup noodles at Torung or Ruen Pair in Thai Town? Tacos Arizas, the taco truck that catered our first date in Echo Park? Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada ? I wish! They close too early. Two Tacos for $.99 at Jack in the Crack? Fried Chicken at The Prince or Toe Bang in Koreatown? Pho Cafe in Silver Lake? No, thanks. Raw oysters and tasty fries at Hungry Cat ? We didn't feel like drinking. We couldn't decide on a place because there was a con for every pro. But heading on the 10 towards the La Brea exit, we both shot a slight grin... as though we knew what would be best for us right now... Pizza. Specifically, Mario Batali's & Nancy Silverton's delicious pie at Pizzeria Mozza . Beautifully-crafted dough with minimal, yet suffici...