Please The Palate |

Please The Palate Pick of the Week: San Antonio Winery in Downtown Los Angeles

Each week I look for the one thing that stood out, be it a glass of wine, a particular dish or a unique experience as the Please The Palate pick of the week. A couple things came to mind this week but in the end, one of the coolest things was to visit San Antonio Winery in downtown Los Angeles. Celebrating their 100th birthday, San Antonio Winery is the Please The Palate pick of the week.

I am a third generation Los Angeleno on both sides. My mother's mother was born in Los Angeles. My father's father was born in Los Angeles. My mother and father were both born in Los Angeles. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have always felt that I know this city. But somehow, while I knew it existed, I had never been to San Antonio Winery located in Lincoln Heights, just east of downtown Los Angeles. Finally, as they celebrate their 100th birthday, I spent an afternoon there.

30 September, 2017

Verlaine – From Baja to LA

Exploring the Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California over the holidays, I was on a mission to eat at as many of the incredible restaurants. On the final evening of my visit, I went to Corazon de Tierra, a restaurant located adjacent to the Vena Cava winery. At the head of Corazon de Tierra is the young and talented chef Diego Hernandez, a leader in the modern Mexican cooking movement, who has been awarded Latin America World's 50 Best winner for the restaurant. While I was enjoying my dinner, I learned that Chef Hernandez was in the process of opening a restaurant in Los Angeles in the old Dominick's space in West Hollywood. I waited in anticipation!

The anticipation was worth it and it exceeded my expectations. Located in the former Dominick's space, Verlaine is an outdoor space with a retractable roof. The front door is covered with greens and opens to a tiled walkway that was previously a parking space.

24 August, 2017

Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Ricardo Zarate’s Rosaline LA

I first tried the delicious Peruvian flavors of Chef Ricardo Zarate in 2009 when he opened Mo-Chica inside Mercado La Paloma in Downtown Los Angeles. I last saw him in 2015 when his first book, entitled The Fire of Peru: Recipes and Stories from My Peruvian Kitchen, was released and he was hosting a Peruvian pop-up called Once (on-seh) in Venice. And, lucky for Los Angelenos, he is back with the opening of his new restaurant Rosaliné, Please The Palate's "pick of the week."

Rosaliné, named after his mother, is located in the former Comme Ca space on Melrose and La Cienega. The restaurant is slated to open in mid-June but I was fortunate to get a sneak peak this past week at the final LA Food Bowl Hanging with Harris dinner and Santa Barbara County Wines, raising money for No Kid Hungry.

03 June, 2017