#tbt #2 - Palomino, Westwood

     A couple months back a friend and I decided to try the hip, upscale looking restaurant situated on the corner of Lindbrook and Wilshire, a restaurant I had been passing by for years, each time with a lingering curiosity. The floor to ceiling windows showed off classy white clothed covered tables and formal waiters dressed in vests. I had never heard anything positive or negative about Palomino, so before we went, I took a peek at Yelp's review, which generally seemed pretty good. Google gave it 3.9 stars. Most of the feedback was given in regard to the happy hour menu, which we decided to forego since both of us were way too hungry for small plates.
     We started our meal with drinks - I ordered a Champagne Supernova (Grey Goose vodka, strawberry purée, Prosecco float) while my friend had the The Pomegranate (Ketel One, pomegranate juice). Truthfully, the Supernova tasted like it was made with frozen strawberries, yanno, that kind of off flavor berries develop after it's been frozen? Overall it wasn't terrible and I wound up sipping it throughout dinner.

Ahi Crudo

     Next we ordered the Ahi Crudo, ahi tuna slices, jalapeños, seasonal citrus, castelvetrano olives. I really liked this dish, although the jalapeños were pretty darn spicy; they completely overwhelmed the flavor of the ahi and citrus at first bite but the tuna became more apparent in the after taste. Castelvetrano olives are my absolute favorite, after first having them at Poggio in Sausalito, in a veal dish no less. They're buttery and ultra smooth on the palate. Definitely wish these guys put more on the plate since they were difficult to pick up with a fork (too lazy to knife it!).

Portabella Mushroom Soup

     Ok, this is straight up (yes, I said straight up, get over it) the best mushroom soup, the most tasty, creamy yet light, soup I've ever come across. While I love mushrooms, I never developed a particular liking for mushroom soup, and I never actually had one that left much of an impression. This soup, however, had a perfect balance of cream and broth but it didn't lack one bit in flavor. We decided to share a bowl since we both ordered fairly big entrées. Almost fought over it (ha).

Tuscan Filet

      The rest of the food, sad to say, was very disappointing. I had the Tuscan Filet (unusual for me, since I don't like filet), which came with glacé potatoes, a caprese salad and some mushroom-artichoke relish on top. I'm usually not terribly picky with plating but... WHAT THE HECK IS THIS. It looks like a bag of groceries vomited onto the plate. Ok that's a bit extreme... come on though! You can barely see the steak, everything else just looks crowded and messy. This was pretty unimpressive when it came to, well, everything. I ordered the filet medium rare and it came rare. Not just kind of rare, pretty freaking rare. I also don't like sending food back, moreso out of politeness than anything else, so I ate most of it. I try not to toot my own horn so much but I know I can make a better steak at home without spending $35 on 8 ounces.

Lamb Shank

     My friend ordered the lamb shank with parmesan mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and a rich mushroom demi-glacé. The lamb was fall-off-the-bone tender, needed more salt, though with the demi it was flavorful enough. I don't have the habit of salting my food, so I've not noticed if this is normal practice in a restaurant. Can't remember any salt shakers on the table.
     While the ahi and the soup were delicious, the rest of the food really left much to be desired and I don't think I'll be returning unless at someone else's request. I wish I had better things to say since in my mind dinner at Palomino panned out much better. Perhaps I'm just getting pickier with food?