I have to say, I was pretty psyched for Italian night. But when one of my fellow Diner's Club toasters told me we were going to an Italian Restuarnt in Reseda, I was a little disappointed. When I learned it was right across the street from our High School and I'd STILL never heard of it, I was downright pissed. The Anthony Ling Fine Diner's Club was created as a way to expand beyond the local eateries we normally go to, to explore the best Los Angeles had to offer, and and at any cost, which is why we only do it once a month. Wasting an outing on a place I could go to on the drive home from work was just very unattractive.
Which is why when we parked and we were stepping on roaches on the way to Palazzo's front door I'd pretty much given up. But when we stepped inside, I was surprised to find a very intimate place with only about 12 tables. The classic Italian opera music playing in the background was a nice touch as well.
Upon being seated, the service was great. Our waiter was polite and everything was prompt. I was happy to find the Veal Marsala I'd been wanting throughout the week on the menu, and at a reasonable price of $14.95. Along with a $5 glass of the house Merlot, we ordered Bruschetta (in Sicily was call it Broos-Ke-Tah) as our appetizer. The free house garlic bread was icing on the cake. At this point, Palazzo's had really grown on me and I was ready for a top notch meal. Sure it might have been located in the roach infested alleys behind a corner Taco shop, but the essence of Italy was alive and well in Reseda! What came next is still as unexplainable as anything on Twin Peaks...
The $5 merlot wasn't anything to call home about. A couple steps away from cherry flavored NyQuil.
"This isn't the kind of place where you order wine," Joseph tells me in Palazzo's defense. Fair enough.
Our food arrived, and for the life of me, they had to have mixed up our orders. Although ordering two completely different dishes, my meal looked exactly like my cohorts, only his had noodles. My veal looked like small slices of turkey with gravy on top, and my vegetables looked and tasted as if they came straight out of the frozen section aisle at Vons. Even my carrots were criss cut. The small side of mashed potatoes were dry, and combined with the turkey and gravy Veal, my meal tasted exactly like a Banquet TV dinner. I've had enough of them to know, trust me. I honestly couldn't get out of there fast enough.
"This isn't the kind of place where you order Veal Marsala," Joseph tells me in defense of Palazzo's.
Well then. In regards to Palazzo's getting a great review from me, and a worthy addition to the Diner's Club...
...this isn't the kind of place.
1 Luigi out of 5.
NOTE: You might be wondering why I didn't just instate the JINTAPRACHA rule right off the bat, at the first site of roaches outside the door. I'm wondering the same.
REVIEW: PALAZZO RESTUARANT (3-28-08)
Palazzo Restaurant in Reseda
An Italian fare worth looking into... if you are on the way to Sports Authority.
The Italian restaurant picked out was the Palazzo restaurant in Reseda. This little hole in the wall is located on Tampa and Roscoe. The outside is deceptive to the somewhat nicer interior. Don't let the smell of the dumpsters outside color your impressions of the place. While not the greatest Italian food I've tasted, its worth the price of admission if you are in the area.
Breakdown:
Palazzo Restaurant in Reseda.
Environment - 2.5/5 Meatballs
Service - 2.5/5 Meatballs
Food - 2/5 Meatballs
Value - 2/5 Meatballs
Overall - 2/5 Meatballs
Rating: Luigi
Environment:
On arrival, the local restaurants had outgrown their attached lot. As a result, parking was had on a side street - dumpster adjacent. While the exterior was quite dirty with a foul odor wafting about, the interior was much more pleasant. The dining area was clean, acompanied by both classical paintings and classical music. I was going in with a Veal dish in mind, but altered my decision and decided on the Chicken and Sausage Pasta.
2.5/5 Meatballs
Service:
The waiter was courteous and quick. I ordered a soda, but I had to ask to get it refilled. Yes, it sounds snooty - but I should really need to ask. In their defense, though, they didn't have much of a wait staff (only 2 people). Soon after we ordered, our appetizers arrived.
2.5/5 Meatballs
Food:
A. Ling opened up with some Bruschetta. This was accompanied by a complimentary serving of garlic bread. Both were quite decent, nothing to write home about but definitely tasty.
This was followed by my order of minestrone soup which also was a somewhat average affair.
The main course was the chicken and sausage pasta. It arrive in a heavy plate and looked good enough to eat. Following suit, it also was your run of the mill pasta dish. Of course, I wasn't expecting anything mind blowing (being that this is an "Italian" restaurant in the San Fernando Valley). I really couldn't pick the dish out of a line up which means it wasn't bad, but it wasnt great.
2/5 Meatballs
Value:
The value was decent, for the food (just don't order the wine). (Median $14/person; Low $9/person; High $18+/person)
2/5 Meatballs
Overall:
The restaurant is an overall Okay. It's worth checking out if you are on Tampa and Roscoe, but probably not if you are on Tampa and Saticoy. Probably, won't want to take a date here to impress her. But if the love is gone and you are just hungry, give it a shot. You should note that the dishes seem to be hit or miss. While my pasta was decent, A. Ling and A. Acosta's dishes didn't look nearly as good.
2/5 Meatballs
Rating: Luigi (Don't go in expecting Mario or you will be severely dissapointed)
Palazzo Review
Today's event involved the the fine foods of Italy. The club decided to hit a closer location known as Palazzo - a small Italian restaurant in Reseda. At first glance the location looks pretty ugly - the area around the plaza the restaurant resides in has dim lighting, awful smells and just dirty in general. However upon entering the small business - the place was decorated nicely: a couple paintings, some greenery and even had some "generic" Italian music playing. Interesting enough it was suggested to make a reservation. After doing so I was assuming that it would be packed and busy by the time we arrived. To my surprised the restaurant wasn't full and there were only a couple groups of people inside. Once inside I immediately recognized the table we were assigned for the night. The waiter brought us the menu and the club begin its "epic" search for a dish fit for them.
Now the dishes - Instead of the alway tasty calamari appetizers, this time we went with bruschetta. The appearance of this dish looked pretty common nothing amazing or disappointing. It was dressed with diced tomatoes and light cheese. I honestly was hoping there would have been more cheese on it. The taste itself was fine, after finishing it though I felt we should have order the calamari again. The reason was because we were given a plate of garlic bread or in this case garlic knots - basically garlic bread tied in the fashion of a knot. Although we were got a lot carb like appetizers, this was still tasty itself. Oh to add a couple of us decided to order a glass of wine this time around. Personally was a waste of money for me since I didn't finish it and not much of wine person to begin with. We went with red wine and I believe it was Merlot. I honestly couldn't tell if it was good or not, but I suppose if you don't enjoy the taste then it isn't that good. My main dish was the Chef's Special Pasta. I'm not sure if I read it wrong or if the waiter heard me incorrectly, but there was nothing special about it. The dish itself didn't look at all appetizing - a side of vegetables, 2 slabs of chicken with gravy and mushrooms, and the pasta was light and hidden under the meat. The description of the dish or at least the one I thought was pertaining to it was suppose to have shrimp and calamari. I know - if it wasn't what you thought you ordered then ask about it. I'm a big believer that any complaints made or disagreements about your dish will just end up bad for your next one you wanted. In any event I decided to eat this meal and it was pretty bland. The vegetables did taste the way Albert, a founding member of the club, said "..like it was a package of frozen vegetables that was microwaved." The pasta was even smaller portion than I originally thought and the chicken was dry even with the gravy.
The service was relatively fast, but that could have been due to the small amount of customers. There were only 2 waiters handling everything in the restaurant. No complaints about service - they seem to respond fast to other customers and try to attend to their needs.
The prices of the restaurant are relatively cheap the highest is about $16 - the glass of wine $5. I probably won't be coming to this restaurant to order anything that is labeled as a "special" again, but I will try something more common like my brother suggested next time for a relatively small restaurant. Time for the TALFDC breakdown.
Value 3/5
Service 4/5
Food 1/5
Environment 2/5
Overall 10/20
Rating Meatball
Recommend - I wouldn't recommend this place for its specials, but it seemed fine for the common dishes. Dinner also seemed to be a bit more pricey than lunch, but the overall price wasn't terrible.
Double Take: Fin's Creekside in Calabasas, Joseph's perspective
If you are looking for average food at an above average price, give Fin's Creekside in Calabasas a try.
The Journey:
A jintapracha was almost inadvertently called due to A. Acosta's tardiness. He, however, edged the arbitrary cutoff time set. And so we journeyed towards our destination, King's Fish House. Upon arrival I was setback due to the outward appearance of said fish house. It appeared to be no more than your standard Chili's or TGIF. My philosophy of life is to judge all books by there cover and this one looked to be a sleeper. While not an indictment on the actual food served at the restaurant (as I have yet to try it) the location did not appear to meet the standards decided upon by TALFDC. And so we made an about face towards Fin's Creekside, an interesting looking restaurant we eyed on route to King's.
Breakdown:
Fin's Creekside in Calabasas.
Environment - 3/5 Fish
Service - 4/5 Fish
Food - 4/5 Fish
Value - 3/5 Fish
Overall - 3.5/5 Fish
Rating: Salmon
Environment:
Upon arrival, the place was noticeably devoid of the crowds expected at most standard restaurants on a Friday night. The dim lighting found indoors did not suit the company I kept. Luckily the hostess was far ahead of me and lead us outside where the cold was fended off by the powerful heating lamps scattered throughout the patio. I didn't pay particular attention to cleanliness, but it was dark so there was no problem based on what was visible. As soon as I was seated and scanned the menu I found the dish I was most interested in, the Macadamia Nut Encrusted Halibut.
3/5 Fish
Service:
The waitress was courteous and quick. I ordered a soda which was never left empty throughout the evening. We were served bread, which could have been better, soon after we ordered. Our appetizer was served soon after.
4/5 Fish
Food:
A. Ling opened up with an appetizer of calamari. I am no big fan of calamari, freaky looking stuff really, but it wasn't bad. It was the commonly found battered and deep fried calamari accompanied by copious amounts of dipping sauce which I assumed to be marinara. As far as I could tell, it was good. It wasn't oily and was all calamari with no fillers (I'm looking at you red lobster). Though the taste may have been artificially increased due to the above average price (equivalent in price to a main course you might find in a Chili's). This is not a qualifier, if you believe it tastes good - it's worth it.
The main course was the Macadamia Nut Encrusted Halibut. The fish promptly arrived, piping hot with a side of steamed white rice. The halibut itself was covered in a sweet sauce that contained nutty undertones (think liquid peanut-butter, but not as salty). The fish was, as most good food is, crunchy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. As far as I can tell, based on my extensive fishing background, the fish was fresh. I wasn't able to finish it, but even the leftovers eaten the next day tasted great.
4/5 Fish
Value:
Value is defined as the ratio of the cost to the experience. In other words a high value does not mean a high price, but merely that the food was worth the amount paid. A low value is simply the opposite, the food was not worth the amount paid. The overall price at Fin's was a little bit steep considering the offerings. It seems to me that they could afford to lower the cost per dish or at least enhance the food quality a bit. (Median $30/person; Low $15/person; High $50+/person)
3/5 Fish
Overall:
The restaurant is an overall thumbs up. It's worth making a detour to if you are in the area, but maybe not your destination if you are more than 10 - 15 miles away. A. Ling recommended it as a dating place. I guess there was live music inside, but I don't remember if it was any good. Plus A. Ling's idea of a dating place is the Olive Garden, so take that for what it's worth.
3.5/5 Fish
Rating: Salmon (Slightly above average, but it could be better)
Terms:
Jintapracha - A last minute call to retreat to a predetermined backup location. We always pick a Jintapracha location before we go out.
TALFDC - Acronym: The Anthony Ling Fine Diner's Club
Review: Fin's Creekside in Calabasas
The TALFDC was cruising for a seafood restaurant on cold February Friday night - the destination was King's Fish House . Upon arrival we first notice the neon sign - this obviously raised some red flags with some of the members. This didn't stop the TALFDC from doing some observation first - mostly because I was driving. Once we pulled up to the side of the restaurant Jintapracha was named and we went into a contingency plan. We decided to search the well known old town Calabasas. After making some skillful U-turns back and forth to locate a parking spot, we began our search for the perfect seafood location for our meeting. The new location found was Fin's Creekside. This restaurant was pretty much unknown to us so we arrived only to be place in the outdoor location of seating. It wasn't terrible since they provided heating from lamps and the service both from our waitress and hostess was great. It was unfortunate not to be seated inside though - they provide live music both from a small band or a piano player. For appetizers I chose to start with fried calamari. I know this can be generally ordered at almost any type of restaurant, but I'm a calamari fan. Surprisingly the method of cooking was nice - not oily and plenty of dipping sauce. My main dish was called Swordfish Tower - contrary to the name it was nothing but two slices of swordfish on top of each other. The taste itself was disappointing as well - it was very salty and when I attempted to disregard the salt on it the fish itself didn't seem all too great. However the service at the restaurant was excellent - We generally had two or more people help with cleaning up used plates and refills on drinks. The prices for the restaurant was an average of $30 dollars a meal - not extremely expensive, but not worth the hit to the wallet if you just want to have a fried fish. Time for TALFDC breakdown.
Overall Breakdown
Value: 1/5 Fish
Service: 4/5 Fish
Food: 1/5 Fish
Environment: 3/5 Fish
Overall: 9/20 Fish
Rating: Halibut
Recommend: Only for a date assuming you can be seated inside with the music.
Anthony
Anthony is the figurehead of the club. He decides who stays and who goes. One of the rules of TALFDC is don't piss this guy off.
