VINO LOCALE— REVIEW
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
It’s a quaint restaurant in a quaint town: dimly lit, its wrought-iron chairs and crisp black tablecloths welcome guests with the fiery embrace of a propane-powered heated lamp.
The din of friendly conversation at surrounding tables envelops you as you scan the thoughtfully curated menu, bursting at the seams with your pick of curious wines and savory accouterments.
You choose a wine whose colorful description intrigues you for a mid-week dinner rendezvous.
As you nurse a glass of wine— careful not to empty it before your food arrives— you notice the faint symphony of pots and pans clanging in the tiny, crowded, diligent kitchen.
You wonder if that rhythmic beating of knife-on-cutting-board has anything to do with the dish you ordered, or if the chef is preparing her blessing for another table.
And then, in the midst of your wistful daydream, the waiter arrives with your order: the neatly-presented “Spicy Bleu” is rested gently before you, complete with a healthy slab of bleu cheese, a tangy, sweet, and spicy tamarind jam, baguette slices, crackers, and a fistful of lightly salted almonds.
As the menage of flavors engages your palette, it occurs to you that this small plate could pair seamlessly with almost any wine on the restaurant’s extensive menu. This is, in fact, the perfect start to a peaceful sunset dinner.
You crunch down on another perfectly balanced bite and take another listless glance at the menu that the waiter graciously left on the table. You place another order and wait for the kitchen to carefully prepare your next dish: “bacon-wrapped dates”.
The rich, unctuous dates are followed by the kitchen’s savory, flaky spanakopita, then its crispy empanadas, sour cherry brie, and its wonderfully tart dolmades drizzled with a pomegranate reduction, walnuts, and feta cheese.
Finally, the sour cherry New York style cheesecake rounds out a meal to remember.
Everyone at the table is satisfied; happy; sleepy.
And as the kitchen’s symphony sings its final notes of the evening, the bill arrives… and to your delight, the fee for this exquisite evening is modest.