At Shokolaat, dine slowly the French way
I was going to name this post “Dark dining,” but thought I should continue the French theme. We had French lunch, and here’s French dinner on the same day (we should have gotten a croissant for breakfast that morning for completeness, but oh well…). Sorry for the invisible pictures, didn’t want to disturb other customers around with the flash, and like an idiot I didn’t remember to switch my camera to candle light mode. I don’t know if that would have helped any though, the candle you see in the picture above is the only light source on the table. They meant to make a dreamy romantic setting, not one for inspection.
Let’s go straight to the food: 1. they were tasty, 2. they were small. Actually the girl next to our table couldn’t help but cried out the second remark when the food was brought to her, she also made a quick approximation that you could get 20 cheeseburgers from McDonald for the price of one of these dishes. That is true, but I don’t think I would enjoy 20 cheeseburgers as much as I enjoyed my pate chaud stuffed with quail (pictured), which appeared on the menu as “quail stuffed with brioche and foie gras pithivier, black truffle ice cream, tarragon veal jus.” Don’t get turned off by all the fancy names, (as unattractive as they may sound), because the most undesirable flavor in the bundle, which is the black truffle, is on the side thus easily avoidable. If you have not tried black truffle, it’s recommended that you try so that you know it’s very much the antonym of “good”, “pleasant”, or “alright”. Just gently move your brioche to a safe area outside the reach of the melting skunk, and eat. The brioche and the quail is simply excellent. Normally a pastry of that size would take me at most 4 bites, roughly 5 minutes, to finish. But in a restaurant like this, one oughta at least try to show some manner, so I cut the poor thing into tiny little bites and mostly licked the tip of my fork. I managed to finish in 15 minutes, with long breaks in between. The brioche kinda just melted in your mouth, and the quail was so tender you don’t really need to chew a whole lot. What slows you down is your tongue wanting to savour the sweet, buttery, slightly salty juice. Eating slowly also helps your tummy feel full, so that the modest size of the meal becomes reasonable.
We also ordered Australian lamb (it could be Californian lamb, who knows, right?). The picture didn’t come out very nicely, though. There is no weirdo in that dish, so it’s safe to enjoy everything and leave nothing left but the bones. Different taste, same deliciousness. The portion is also slightly more generous than the quail. 😉 If you’re still hungry, the bread brought out earlier while you were waiting for your entree is a good filler, albeit not a spectacular one.
The place was getting busy around 8:45. We had to make reservation earlier in the afternoon, but when we came we had a choice of sitting indoor or outdoor. That’s something many would consider quite neat in downtown Palo Alto, where you can have a nice walk along the narrow streets, glancing through windows of various shopping stores, cafes, and restaurants spilling out chairs on the pavement, or you can play the spectator role, sitting outside, gazing at people passing by. We opted for indoor, which explains the darkness. 😛 The seating would have been more comfortable if the tables next to us weren’t so close. In fact, the inside of the charming restaurant is a little cramped. There was hardly enough room for two skinny persons standing between a long dining table and the glass cabinets of chocolates. Oh yes, we did have desserts, and we spent some good time looking at the desserts to decide which one to get. Bittersweet chocolate cremeux (with banana and white rum), and chocolate caramel tart. Both served with some fruity ice cream. The cremeux was good, but a little ordinary. The tart oddly resembled the chicken crepe, with a taste of butter and cheese. The restaurant is called Shokolaat, I know, but unless one day I woke up kicking and screaming for some gold in my tummy, I would always go to Blue Danube Cafe for chocolate.
Dinner with dessert for two plus tip was $70. See website.
Address: Shokolaat
516 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 289-0719
Update: the portions are now bigger, according to Food Gal.
Thank you for sharing excellent informations. Your website is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this site. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for more articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found simply the information I already searched all over the place and just could not come across. What a perfect web-site.
1It’s really a great and helpful piece of info. I am glad that you shared this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
2This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen
3Definitely, what a fantastic blog and informative posts, I surely will bookmark your blog.Best Regards!
4Pretty component to content. I just stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to assert that I get in fact loved account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing in your augment and even I achievement you get entry to persistently quickly.
5Hi, i feel that i noticed you visited my web site so i came to “return the prefer”.I’m trying to in finding issues to improve my web site!I suppose its adequate to make use of a few of your ideas!!
6You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
7Yay google is my king aided me to find this outstanding site! .
8Some genuinely interesting points you have written.Aided me a lot, just what I was searching for :D.
9I do agree with all of the ideas you’ve presented in your post. They’re really convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are too short for newbies. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.
10Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely glad I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back often!
11As I website owner I conceive the written content here is very good, thanks for your efforts.
12You have brought up a very superb points, appreciate it for the post.
13I just couldn’t depart your web site prior to suggesting that I extremely enjoyed the standard information a person provide for your visitors? Is going to be back often in order to check up on new posts
14Howdy I am so happy I found your site, I really found you by accident, while I was browsing on Yahoo for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a incredible post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read through it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the superb work.
15Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
16This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely discover it.
17Thanks for another informative blog. The place else could I get that type of info written in such a perfect way? I’ve a mission that I’m just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such information.
18I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this site. Thanks, I will try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your web site?
19Hello my friend! I wish to say that this post is amazing, great written and include almost all vital infos. I would like to see more posts like this.
20Hi my loved one! I wish to say that this article is amazing, nice written and come with approximately all vital infos. I would like to see more posts like this .
21Really enjoyed this post, can you make it so I get an email sent to me when you write a new post?
22Good website! I really love how it is easy on my eyes and the data are well written. I am wondering how I might be notified when a new post has been made. I’ve subscribed to your RSS which must do the trick! Have a nice day!
23I like this post, enjoyed this one thankyou for posting.
24I am always invstigating online for posts that can facilitate me. Thx!
25I have recently started a website, the information you provide on this web site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.
26Hi there, You’ve performed a great job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m sure they will be benefited from this website.
27I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is attractive, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an shakiness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again as exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this increase.
28I’m impressed, I need to say. Actually not often do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me inform you, you’ve got hit the nail on the head. Your idea is excellent; the difficulty is something that not sufficient persons are talking intelligently about. I’m very pleased that I stumbled throughout this in my seek for something referring to this.
29Only wanna state that this is handy, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
30Im now not certain the place you are getting your info, but great topic. I must spend a while studying much more or figuring out more. Thanks for great information I was looking for this information for my mission.
31Hai semua, saya menjumpai situs Anda lewat Google ketika mencari subjek yang serupa, website Anda tampil di hasil teratas. Saya perlu mengakui bahwa saya terkejut betapa baik penulisannya. Saya sangat menyukai membaca ini dan saya akan kembali untuk melihat konten lainnya. Terima kasih banyak!
32Hello, i think that i saw you visited my web site so i got here to “return the want”.I’m attempting to in finding issues to enhance my web site!I assume its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
33Thanks a lot for sharing this with all of us you actually know what you are talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my website =). We could have a link exchange agreement between us!
34Menikmati membaca keseluruhan ini, sangat bagus, terima kasih.
35Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!
36I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. many thanks
37Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Appreciate it
38Sweet internet site, super pattern, real clean and apply friendly.
39I’ve been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your site?
40What i do not realize is in truth how you are not really a lot more well-liked than you might be now. You are so intelligent. You know therefore considerably on the subject of this subject, made me in my opinion consider it from numerous varied angles. Its like women and men are not interested except it’s one thing to do with Girl gaga! Your individual stuffs great. All the time take care of it up!
41Hey, you used to write wonderful, but the last several posts have been kinda boring… I miss your tremendous writings. Past few posts are just a bit out of track! come on!
42After research a couple of of the weblog posts on your web site now, and I truly like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark web site record and will probably be checking back soon. Pls take a look at my website as properly and let me know what you think.
43Outstanding post, I conceive website owners should larn a lot from this blog its really user genial.
44I am always invstigating online for ideas that can help me. Thx!
45Thanks, I have recently been looking for information approximately this topic for ages and yours is the best I’ve discovered so far. However, what concerning the conclusion? Are you sure concerning the source?
46Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a blog web site? The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear concept
47Hey there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a few months of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any methods to protect against hackers?
48My brother recommended I might like this web site. He was totally right. This post actually made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
49I have recently started a blog, the info you provide on this web site has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work.
50