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| - My boyfriend surprised me with dinner at La Palette for our anniversary. Though I'd walked by the restaurant many times, I'd never been there before. I could see where he was going with his choice - the décor is quaint, the atmosphere is cozy, romantic, and not pretentious. Unfortunately, we didn't luck out with a table on the patio, which was completely packed, but the dining area was fairly empty when we arrived and we got a table near the front. An hour later, the whole place was packed (including a party of ten who were taking up literally one third of the small restaurant). Tight seating doesn't usually bother me, but the volume level was so high, we practically had to shout across the table to hear each other. I guess those are the perils of Friday night at a popular dinner place.
Though the evening started out with extremely attentive service, by the time La Palette was at capacity, the three servers on duty could barely keep their heads above water. I've waited tables, and I can sympathize, but waiting 20 minutes for a server to take your credit card is annoying (to be perfectly blunt).
Anyway, on to the food. We started with a plate of charcuterie which had delicious smoked meats, pate, and foie gras. My boyfriend played it safe with steak frites (with delightful, crispy, thin fries) for his main, but I decided to get experimental and I ordered the horse steak. I can honestly say I've never eaten such tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat. It's incredibly lean, too. We were both wowed by the horse. We ordered the crème brulee sampler for dessert. The texture seemed a bit runny (though this is a French restaurant, so perhaps this is more authentic than the standard crème brulee?) and I tend to prefer firmer, more custard-like crème brulee - though it's difficult to really go wrong with this creamy, sugary goodness. The amaretto flavored one was good, though the standard vanilla one was the best. The third crème brulee was flavored with some liqueur that I can't remember, but I found it bitter and only had one bite.
Overall, this is a great date spot, dinner was delicious, and I'd love to come back (perhaps on a weekday evening).
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