LA Bucket List #3: Cirque du Fromage at Palate Food + Wine

Not too long ago, G and I had an AMAZING meal at Palate Food + Wine with our friend Matt and his girlfriend CJ. (I gave this experience very high marks in a Yelp review. I’d link you to it, but I’m having technical difficulties.) Palate is one of those LA treasure hunt jewels. It’s on strip in Glendale populated by auto dealerships. You’d probably miss it if you’re not looking for it, but there it is, smooshed between two car lots.

Like I said, our first dinner there was AMAZING. I was definitely looking for an excuse to go back, and when I read about their Cirque Du Fromage on Tuesday nights -- $12 for a flight of 3 wines, paired with 3 cheeses – I knew it had to go on the Bucket List. What better way to cap off the Circus Theme could there be?

Sadly, the Cirque was a circus and things did not go as planned. They do not accept reservations for this, there is no sign in list, you just have to hover and fight for any open seats. Except of course that there was no turn over. The Cirque flights are only served in one section of the restaurant, nowhere else hand down – not even the perfectly comfy and empty looking couches tucked in a corner that would easily accommodate a large group. (I gave the organization of this event very poor marks in a separate Yelp review.)

On this evening, somehow, stars aligned and many of my most beloved peeps made it out. G was once again absent – he’d been taken away by a last minute invitation from one of the bosses at his internship. However, Marc, Amy, Heather, her boyfriend Kevin, Johanna and her new gentleman caller, all made it out. (I should mention that we’ve been calling this group the Culture Club. Yeah, that’s right, like Karma Chameleon. I thought it was goofy and went with it.) I was all the more ecstatic because Wendy and Kim both came out and I hadn’t seen either of these gals I love in far too long.

So all of my peeps are in the house -- I’ve made them all come out here – and we have nowhere to sit. I was feeling pretty guilty. However, I have to hand it to the Culture Clubbers . . . they rallied. We got wine at the bar, and they were able to work out getting a table with the hostess.

Johanna’s Beau made some excellent wine selections. In fact, the white he ordered -- Saint-André de Figuière Le Réserve Delphine, blanc 2006 -- sent Wendy into a swoon. Marc was talking to her when she was first sipping the wine and she completely checked out of the conversation – just drifted away into a dream world. Wendy had her “AHA!” wine moment. She commented that just recently she’d been asking a group of wine loving friends just what the difference was between “good” wine and the cheap stuff. She said, now she understood.

+ = :-)

The Cirque du Fromage plan abandoned, we sat down to dinner in the main restaurant. We ordered charcuterie and cheese and potted meats and pickled fruits and wined and dined. Good food and good conversation. In the end, it all worked out and we had another fabulous evening.

They made it work.