And on this installment of I Love Food & My Friends, I bring you Palate and LA Mill courtesy of Betsy, Steph H. and the instigator: me. Just before dropping off Betsy at the airport this afternoon, we took a pit stop at Palate to partake in what we thought was their $35 3-course prix fixe menu. Turns out, that menu is only available for dinner. So, we made do with what we had: mason jars of pork and lamb; pickled beets, cucumbers and brussels sprouts; and…the Sunday Sessions Menu selection: the cassoulet—a duck confit with pork sausage coated with bread crumbs and cooked in walnut oil. The beauty of Palate (one of many, that is) is how they catered to our needs and desires even if they weren’t on the menu. Steph H. was carrying her Saturday night of fun into today and was in dire need of a hearty egg dish, so they prepared something completely off the menu: a fried egg atop toasted bread sandwiched between amazing cheese. I would list these if I could remember how they were pronounced, but they were ridiculously good. And the wine, particularly the White Dog Syrah (Larner Vineyard 2005 – Santa Ynez, CA), put an already amazing taste sensation over the top. After dropping Betsy off, Steph and I weren’t ready to separate and ended up having coffee at LA Mill. Granted we had plenty of food and drink to last us a few days, we couldn’t say no to a panna cotta and a creme brulee coffee (Steph) and an orange infused cappuccino (me). I’m an Intelligentsia girl more often times than not. But LA Mill’s comfortable sit-down atmosphere after our post decadent soiree at Palate gave me just what I needed tonight. I want to go into more thoughts on both establishments but it must wait for another time.  Another tasting session.  :)  And another time when my stomach isn’t prying me away from this keyboard and happily anchoring me to the couch.