GLENDALE CALIF. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
That’s a phrase Octavio Becerra repeats often as he attempts to explain why his restaurant Palate Food & Wine, in the off-the-beaten-path Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, Calif., is a beacon of success despite the increasingly gloomy economy. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Part wine shop, part wine bar and part fine-dining restaurant with casual-dining prices, Palate is celebrating its first-year anniversary in May and the venue is one of few in town with a packed dining room nearly seven days a week. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The 165-seat restaurant is expected to surpass the anticipated $2.1 million in sales, said Becerra, and the adjoining wine shop is close to hitting its estimated $2.3 million mark. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
It’s no real surprise, given that Becerra was a co-founder of the Patina Restaurant Group with former mentor Joachim Splichal, before leaving the corporate restaurant life in 2005 to develop Palate. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The project allowed him to tap into his 25 years of experience in the industry as well as his simple desire to “nurture something on a daily basis,” he said. Now Becerra is ready for a next step, though he won’t say what just yet. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
“A single restaurant doesn’t exist in my scope,” he said, noting that he has opened 44 restaurants in his career, including the original Patina restaurant in Los Angeles, where he was sous chef to Splichal. What became the Patina Restaurant Group now includes venues across the country, including such concepts as Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse, Café Pinot and Kendall’s Brasserie. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
At Palate, Becerra has pulled together the threads of wine, good food and graceful service with the head-turning prices of all plates under $20. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Splichal, who is not involved in Palate other than as a friend and customer, said the restaurant “is a perfect concept for now, for these times.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Palate opened last year just as restaurants in Los Angeles were beginning to feel the pinch of recession, he said. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Becerra, however, “kept his pricing low and his food experience very high,” Splichal said. “He used a lot of ingredients that are not used in high-end restaurants, and he was innovative with his menu. People could walk out after spending only $45. It was a great deal and a great value to the customer.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Palate’s moderate pricing may be possible in part because Becerra decided to open in the relatively low-rent neighborhood of Glendale, instead of the more costly restaurant-heavy pockets of Los Angeles. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Press accounts of Palate can’t help but mention the restaurant’s location amidst a sea of car dealerships, a point that makes Becerra cringe. A recent unfavorable review by New York Times critic Frank Bruni questioned the buzz about Palate, suggesting the restaurant was being “graded on a geographic curve.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
But Becerra said the location has been a plus. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
“I didn’t want to get caught up in the hype of what my first post-Patina restaurant would be,” said Becerra. “If I opened in Hollywood or the Westside [of Los Angeles], expectations would have been different. Here, people don’t know what to expect. And, once you’re in the restaurant, you don’t know you’re in Glendale.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Los Angeles Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila in August gave Palate three stars—rare, particularly for a restaurant with a per-person check average of less than $50—hailing the California Mediterranean bistro and wine bar as “fresh and direct, polished but not showy, food that anyone can understand, food that celebrates California’s great bounty of local ingredients.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The menu is short and changes weekly based on whatever is at its best at local farmers’ markets. The wine list changes weekly to match. Always on the menu, however, are the “porkfolio” salumi plates, and the selection of potted meats, such as Berkshire pork, duck or salmon rillettes. There is also always “something pickled,” such as apples, sweet onions or carrots. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The entrée plates are not small, but not conventional portions either, Becerra said. The chef is fond of “alternative” meats and cuts that require a bit more skill but also help keep costs low. Guests are willing to try pigs trotters for the first time when priced at only $13 per plate, he said. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Attention to details adds to the perception of value. The butter, for example, is churned in house, made from organic cream, and served in a thin slab, garnished with radish slices. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The low prices on food have helped build wine sales, said Becerra. About 43 percent of the restaurant’s sales come from wine, much higher than the industry’s more typical target of 30 percent. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
A key aspect is the extensive wine list, 95 percent of which is available in the adjoining shop, which is called the Wine Merchant. Roughly 50 wines are available by the glass or half glass in the restaurant. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
If guests find something they like in the shop that’s not on the menu, they can buy the bottle and have it served with dinner for the shop retail price, plus an $18 corkage fee. The retail-price-plus-$18 formula is also used to price most of the wines on the menu. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The shop includes a bar where guests can try new wines in flights and order off the restaurant menu. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
And, of course, if guests taste a wine on the menu they must have, they can take it home that night. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
“How often did I hear that in a restaurant,” said Becerra. “People would say, ‘I love this wine; where can I get it?’ Our response now is, ‘How much do you want in the trunk of your car when the valet pulls up?’” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
It’s a scenario that plays out every night, he said, another opportunity to upsell. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Steve Goldun, Palate’s wine director and a partner, said the relationship between the restaurant and shop is “like having a record store next to a stereo store.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Becerra calls Goldun “the wine person’s wine person,” saying he makes a point of scooping up hard-to-find or little-known wines that are affordable and “drink bigger than they are.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The wine shop is Euro-centric, Goldun said, in part because the wines tend to work better with Becerra’s dishes, but also because the strengthening dollar is bringing in better deals from France and other countries. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The shop also has access to boutique vineyards that don’t typically sell to restaurants. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
The shop offers online wine sales, and Palate also has a connection with wine lovers by its location: The building’s upper floors are home to a temperature-controlled wine storage center. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Palate was funded with the help of 26 investor partners, four of whom are managing partners, including Goldun and Gary Menes, Palate’s executive chef. —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
Becerra, who is the group’s principle, said he counts his blessings daily that Palate appears to have “struck a chord.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”
“I’m an optimist,” Becerra said with a laugh, “but I have just enough pessimism to know the hammer can come crashing down any minute.” —“It’s about quality and access to quality.”