Dan Pitt’s Opinionated Compendium of Downtown Palo Alto Restaurants
Dan Pitt’s Opinionated Compendium of Downtown Palo Alto Restaurants
Joya has been busier than just about every other restaurant downtown, and now I know why. Food, wine, and ambiance are all spot on. I walked around the inside before it filled up and the decor is quite impressive, though hard for me to describe. The partial room dividers are fabulous, the lighting is good, the materials inviting, though I still find the white melamine bar odd. Both the chairs and the banquettes are too low for the tables. I asked the server if other people had mentioned this; her answer: “Oh yeah.” The Spanish guitar music was satisfying and not obtrusive.
I got a chance to look at the wine list in detail. You will find a large fraction of bottles selling for $28 or $32, including a 2004 Rioja Crianza. By and large the list is extremely well chosen, and the selection by the glass is pretty good. I’ve written before that the wine comes only from California, Spain, Chile, and Argentina (wait, there might be one New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc). A lot of the glasses sell for only $7 or $8, including the aforementioned Rioja. I was there for lunch so I did not imbibe.
The food was heavenly. My companion had the posole soup, with pork, lime, cilantro, radish, onion, and cabbage; he pronounced it outstanding, better than he has found elsewhere. I enjoyed two tapas, the boquerones and queso fresco crostini, and the croquetas made with potatoes, pasilla peppers, and corn and served with a jalapeño fondue; for all of $6.50 each they made a nice lunch. The boquerones were three small fish (marinated like ceviche rather than cooked) on crostini with tomatoes and a chèvre-like queso fresco, all on a bed of arugula. For dessert I had a heavenly meringue-surrounded fruit sorbet all topped with tequila flambé. My friend had something akin to a raspberry-strawberry parfait, and parfait it was.
Service was friendly and mostly attentive. It was fun to be there.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I finally tried Joya; it deserves to be full