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.
I really appreciate you for providing this interesting article. I absolutely love your web page. Thank you for providing a space for me to comment on your web page. I hope more informative publications from you soon.
1Thank you for every other informative web site. The place else could I get that kind of info written in such an ideal means? I have a mission that I’m just now operating on, and I have been on the glance out for such information.
2Greetings from Carolina! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to check out your blog on my iphone during lunch break. I really like the knowledge you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how quick your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, great site!
3Hey I am so happy I found your website, I really found you by accident, while I was browsing on Askjeeve for something else, Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a tremendous post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the moment but I have bookmarked 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 excellent job.
4I would like to thank you for sharing such wonderful article. I truly enjoy your blog. Thanks again for letting me share my thoughts on your website. I hope more informative publications from you in the coming days.
5This design is steller! You most certainly know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
6You need to take part in a contest for among the finest blogs on the web. I will suggest this website!
7Hello my family member! I want to say that this post is amazing, nice written and include almost all significant infos. I’d like to peer more posts like this .
8Hi! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it very difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Appreciate it
9I must show my appreciation to this writer for bailing me out of this type of matter. Just after checking through the internet and seeing principles which were not pleasant, I thought my life was gone. Being alive minus the solutions to the problems you have resolved by means of your main short article is a crucial case, as well as ones which might have in a negative way damaged my entire career if I had not noticed your web blog. Your main skills and kindness in playing with all areas was very helpful. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I hadn’t discovered such a step like this. I can also at this point look ahead to my future. Thanks a lot very much for this professional and results-oriented guide. I will not be reluctant to refer your web blog to any individual who should have tips about this situation.
10Hi my friend! I want to say that this article is amazing, great written and include almost all important infos. I would like to see more posts like this .
11Keep functioning ,terrific job!
12Some genuinely tremendous work on behalf of the owner of this web site, absolutely outstanding subject matter.
13Very interesting points you have mentioned, thanks for posting.
14I’ve read some good stuff here. Definitely price bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how a lot attempt you put to make one of these fantastic informative web site.
15I like what you guys are up too. Such intelligent work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my web site 🙂
16I like what you guys tend to be up too. This sort of clever work and exposure! Keep up the terrific works guys I’ve included you guys to my own blogroll.
17I am really loving the theme/design of your website. Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility problems? A small number of my blog readers have complained about my site not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome. Do you have any suggestions to help fix this issue?
18I always was concerned in this subject and stock still am, thankyou for posting.
19This is the precise weblog for anyone who needs to search out out about this topic. You notice a lot its nearly arduous to argue with you (not that I truly would want…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply great!
20I conceive other website owners should take this website as an model, very clean and good user genial design and style.
21Hey there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to work on. You have done a outstanding job!
22I truly enjoy examining on this website, it has excellent articles. “And all the winds go sighing, For sweet things dying.” by Christina Georgina Rossetti.
23I have been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or blog posts in this sort of area . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this site. Studying this info So i am happy to express that I’ve a very good uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed. I such a lot for sure will make certain to do not put out of your mind this web site and give it a look regularly.
24hey there and thank you for your information – I have certainly picked up something new from right here. I did however expertise a few technical points using this web site, since I experienced to reload the website many times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will often affect your placement in google and can damage your high quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for a lot more of your respective exciting content. Ensure that you update this again very soon..
25Hey! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to check it out. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Outstanding blog and outstanding style and design.
26Wohh precisely what I was searching for, thankyou for posting.
27Good info. Lucky me I reach on your website by accident, I bookmarked it.
28Somebody essentially help to make seriously articles I would state. This is the very first time I frequented your web page and thus far? I surprised with the research you made to create this particular publish extraordinary. Great job!
29Great site. A lot of useful info here. I’m sending it to a few pals ans additionally sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you on your effort!
30I like this site so much, saved to fav. “Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.” by Peter De Vries.
31Regards for helping out, superb info. “Courage comes and goes. Hold on for the next supply.” by Vicki Baum.
32Very interesting points you have noted, thanks for posting. “Pleasure and love are the pinions of great deeds.” by Charles Fox.
33I like what you guys are up too. Such smart work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my website :).
34I am not sure where you are getting your information, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for great information I was looking for this information for my mission.
35I always was concerned in this topic and stock still am, thanks for putting up.
36Great post, you have pointed out some wonderful points, I also conceive this s a very good website.
37But wanna remark that you have a very nice website , I love the pattern it really stands out.
38I am so happy to read this. This is the type of manual that needs to be given and not the accidental misinformation that’s at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this greatest doc.
39观点很清晰，例子也很贴切，对我帮助很大，谢谢！. Thanks for sharing this useful information.
40Excellent read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. And he just bought me lunch as I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thank you for lunch!
41I’m still learning from you, while I’m trying to achieve my goals. I certainly love reading all that is posted on your site.Keep the stories coming. I liked it!
42You got a very wonderful website, Glad I detected it through yahoo.
43Hey there! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us so I came to look it over. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Exceptional blog and outstanding design.
44Hello! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My web site looks weird when viewing from my apple iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to fix this problem. If you have any recommendations, please share. Thanks!
45Good blog! I truly love how it is easy on my eyes and the data are well written. I’m wondering how I could be notified when a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your RSS which must do the trick! Have a nice day!
46누누티비의 서비스 종료 이력과 같은 이름의 사이트를 확인할 때 알아둘 내용을 정리했습니다. 드라마·영화 다시보기 제공 여부, 회차·자막·화질 확인 방법과 자주 묻는 질문을 살펴보세요.
47부산오피를 검색하며 부산 지역 일반 마사지·스파를 알아보는 분들을 위한 안내입니다. 프로그램 선택, 관리 시간과 비용, 시설·위생, 주차, 예약 전 확인사항과 자주 묻는 질문을 정리했습니다.
48부산오피를 검색하며 부산 지역 일반 마사지·스파를 알아보는 분들을 위한 안내입니다. 프로그램 선택, 관리 시간과 비용, 시설·위생, 주차, 예약 전 확인사항과 자주 묻는 질문을 정리했습니다.
49광주호빠를 찾는 분을 위한 광주광역시 예약 안내. 라운지 분위기, 인원별 공간 선택, 가격 상담, 첫 방문 준비와 자주 묻는 질문을 확인하고 원하는 일정에 맞춰 문의
50