the merchant of glendale
January 12, 2009
This may be the best kept secret in Glendale. I am so reluctant in letting this cat out of the bag. But as it goes, I was told the secret by Bob’s mom, Gloria, about this wonderful Sunday treat that has become my latest, neighborhood hangout and favorite Sunday activity.
Bob is a black lab that my dog, Guinness, has become buds with for the last several years. Bob’s parents are total foodies and travel to Italy to taste all the good stuff right from the source. One sunny day, shortly after all the holiday buzz was dying down, Bob and Guinness were having a play session on my front porch. During these play sessions, we humans interact as well and compared food notes. I was tipped off on a Sunday special at Palate in Glendale which was voted one of the best 10 places in LA for 2008. I forgot what magazine or poll that was from. Palate had been on my short list of places to try and since it’s only about 10 minutes away from me, not a huge commitment. I was waiting for the next special occasion, but the words ‘affordable’ and ‘delicious’ don’t need to be repeated.
I also knew I could trust a recommendation from Gloria. Well, after I heard about the Wine Merchant Sunday thing- a one dish special for a very reasonable price- I was there in a flash with a couple of friends, and have been two weekends in a row. hehe. It’s only open 12-6 on Sundays, but if you want the fun to continue, you can always head over to City Sip in Echo Park right afterwards and have a few glasses until their Sunday special kicks in: half price glasses on any open bottle of wine after 8pm.
chicken rillette and pot of Bershire pork
thin baguette crisps, perfect for delivering the spread
seasonal picklings of persimmon and cucumber
The first day I went was shortly after New Year’s Day and shortly after I learned about the tradition of eating sauerkraut and sausage on New Year’s Day. Funny how serendipitous that is. We ordered the pot of Berkshire Pork and the chicken rillette with persimmon and cucumber pickles. Their pickles are really something unusual and special and complement the meats so well. We shared a hearty portion of the special for the day, Choucroute, which was assorted sausage and smoked pork chop with homemade sauerkraut. The word ‘choucroute’ is French for sauerkraut. The smoked pork chop had the fatty skin on it and the whole thing just melted in your mouth. Better than ham. This was definitely the super highbrow version of the Red Lion.
sausage party, again
To round things out we ended with a ‘cheese palette’ of our choice, a triple cream brie, Montgomery’s Cheddar from Somerset England, raw aged 18 months, and a semi-soft mitacana from Spain. The loveliest part of this course was that it was served with a variety of pairing sweets. We had dollops of honey, honeycomb and some red fruit syrup that were all so delicious. Even the whole grain mustards they have are delicious. It’s this attention to food detail that I can really get behind.
We each had a couple glasses of red wine, varying from a cabfranc to a syrah. I should start writing these down. I recently tried the porkfolio, assorted salumi and mustards, and the salmon rillette. yum.
The cool part about dropping in on this place is the overall vibe. The Wine Merchant is located in the back of the regular restaurant. You enter through a loading dock to an industrial back area. The hospitable owner and chef, Octavia Becerra, can either be found behind the bar and chatting it up with everyone or behind his turntables geeking out on music.
On my latest visit, him and the sous-chef told us about the Sunday Sessions they are gonna start as of next week, January 18th, 2009. Right place, right time. Friends and guests can bring vinyl or cd’s and play a set of 10 minutes or 30 minutes. It’s all about creating community and having good food, good company, and good music.
There’s not much more one needs for the ultimate formula for Sunday bliss. You know where to find me on Sundays.. forget brunch.
some meats are cured on the premises. love writing on glass. so european.
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This may be the best kept secret in Glendale. I am so reluctant in letting this cat out of the bag. But as it goes, I was told the secret by Bob’s mom, Gloria, about this wonderful Sunday treat that has become my latest, neighborhood hangout and favorite Sunday activity.
Bob is a black lab that my dog, Guinness, has become buds with for the last several years. Bob’s parents are total foodies and travel to Italy to taste all the good stuff right from the source. One sunny day, shortly after all the holiday buzz was dying down, Bob and Guinness were having a play session on my front porch. During these play sessions, we humans interact as well and compared food notes. I was tipped off on a Sunday special at Palate in Glendale which was voted one of the best 10 places in LA for 2008. I forgot what magazine or poll that was from. Palate had been on my short list of places to try and since it’s only about 10 minutes away from me, not a huge commitment. I was waiting for the next special occasion, but the words ‘affordable’ and ‘delicious’ don’t need to be repeated.
I also knew I could trust a recommendation from Gloria. Well, after I heard about the Wine Merchant Sunday thing- a one dish special for a very reasonable price- I was there in a flash with a couple of friends, and have been two weekends in a row. hehe. It’s only open 12-6 on Sundays, but if you want the fun to continue, you can always head over to City Sip in Echo Park right afterwards and have a few glasses until their Sunday special kicks in: half price glasses on any open bottle of wine after 8pm.
chicken rillette and pot of Bershire pork
thin baguette crisps, perfect for delivering the spread
seasonal picklings of persimmon and cucumber
The first day I went was shortly after New Year’s Day and shortly after I learned about the tradition of eating sauerkraut and sausage on New Year’s Day. Funny how serendipitous that is. We ordered the pot of Berkshire Pork and the chicken rillette with persimmon and cucumber pickles. Their pickles are really something unusual and special and complement the meats so well. We shared a hearty portion of the special for the day, Choucroute, which was assorted sausage and smoked pork chop with homemade sauerkraut. The word ‘choucroute’ is French for sauerkraut. The smoked pork chop had the fatty skin on it and the whole thing just melted in your mouth. Better than ham. This was definitely the super highbrow version of the Red Lion.
sausage party, again
To round things out we ended with a ‘cheese palette’ of our choice, a triple cream brie, Montgomery’s Cheddar from Somerset England, raw aged 18 months, and a semi-soft mitacana from Spain. The loveliest part of this course was that it was served with a variety of pairing sweets. We had dollops of honey, honeycomb and some red fruit syrup that were all so delicious. Even the whole grain mustards they have are delicious. It’s this attention to food detail that I can really get behind.
We each had a couple glasses of red wine, varying from a cabfranc to a syrah. I should start writing these down. I recently tried the porkfolio, assorted salumi and mustards, and the salmon rillette. yum.
The cool part about dropping in on this place is the overall vibe. The Wine Merchant is located in the back of the regular restaurant. You enter through a loading dock to an industrial back area. The hospitable owner and chef, Octavia Becerra, can either be found behind the bar and chatting it up with everyone or behind his turntables geeking out on music.
On my latest visit, him and the sous-chef told us about the Sunday Sessions they are gonna start as of next week, January 18th, 2009. Right place, right time. Friends and guests can bring vinyl or cd’s and play a set of 10 minutes or 30 minutes. It’s all about creating community and having good food, good company, and good music.
There’s not much more one needs for the ultimate formula for Sunday bliss. You know where to find me on Sundays.. forget brunch.
some meats are cured on the premises. love writing on glass. so european.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
yum - definitely want to try. And yes- I just read it In Los Angeles Magazine - naming Palate #1.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
oh thanks kyra! we should try the back area on a Sunday as well as the front restaurant soon!!!
January 13th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Expect for you to take me there in July.