My plans tonight were simple. Drive downtown, pick up a ticket to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah then wander around for a time, grabbing a burger or pizza before the show started. Well, the best laid plans of mice and men, blah, blah, blah. My plans were quickly dashed as I found out the show was - sold out. Disappointed, and hungry, I turned my thoughts to making the most of being downtown and finding somewhere to get a quality meal for the price of a ticket to see a show. Well I can say I found a place to eat; and while the price was far more than I intended to spend it was worth every penny.

I had seen the Palace Kitchen on a couple of occasions downtown near the Cinerama. I had always wondered if the food was any good. Only in the past month had I stopped for a quick happy hour drink and took a quick peak at the bar menu, fairly impressive. It was with this experience that I decided to dine there tonight.

When I walked in there were a few patrons at the bar and one table in the restaurant. I was quickly seated by one of the large plate glass windows that afforded me not only ample light by which to read by but also a great vantage point for people watching the adjacent sidewalk. The service was very friendly and attentive, anticipating my need for water along with my cocktail. The first order of business was to get an appetizer in me while I browsed the menu and Palace Olive Poppers ($5.00) were to be them.

What arrived were little pillows of golden brown, fried perfection. What appeared to be an exterior coating turned out to be breading but made from real bread dough. Imagine the outer crust of cheese bread, warm and flaky or better yet, a Nabisco Cheese Nip. This is what ensconced the salty, cool olive. And biting into one you got the multiple flavors of briny, bready, salty and cheesy. It came with a dill herbed sour cream for dipping that helped lighten the fattiness of the olive and smooth out the buttery, cheesiness of the crust “coating”. These are not cheaply battered and fried affair; they are in fact - love.

For my entree I splurged and got the Whole Idaho Trout ($21.00). While more than I would typically spend I was feeling generous to myself. When my plate arrived I had a whole, decently sized, fish sitting on pewter serving platter. Let me make a confession here, I’m not normally squeamish when it comes to food. I’ve dressed game and seen all manner of weird dishes but I have a weird time of food that comes to the table with the head on. Fortunately I was able to get around this, as the fish itself was excellent. Firm, white flesh with the freshest of fish flavor was complemented by the lemon and thyme that was stuffed inside it. A wonderful drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon and a generous sprinkle of huge flakes of sea salt supported the crispy, crackly, grilled skin. Perfectly seasoned I can’t think of anything that would have made this fish tastier. But try as they might Palace Kitchen accompanied the fish with a small side of braised greens and whipped potatoes. While the greens were buttery and mirrored the lemony flavor of the fish, the leaves were left a little large for the slightly tough texture that they were. And the whipped potatoes, well, I know that Palace Kitchen is not scared to season their dishes but what happened here? Good potato flavor but they could have been better.

By this time, with drinks, my meal was becoming pretty pricey but I couldn’t find it in myself to leave just then. Yes, I ordered myself some dessert. As many of you who read this on a regular basis know, desserts are not typically something I order for myself. Tonight was the exception, once I spotted the Local Blackberry Shortcake ($7.50) on the menu. The bowl arrived with a steaming warm, sugary, buttery biscuit in the middle of a pool of dark violet blackberries. Just smelling it as the waiter sat it in front of me I could tell the shortcake would be butter and rich. And that it was but it was also flakey and just right for the sweet tartness of the blackberries and the smooth creaminess of mascarpone cream. Add to all this a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream and the flavors melded perfectly.

Palace Kitchen does what many place only dream of doing, getting the meal right in so simple a way that you don’t realize what hard work probably went into making it. I never thought for one moment about the training the chef in the back had or how he probably would want my meal to be the best. But I think that’s ultimately the goal of a good restaurant, is for the diner to forget about everything and just focus on a wonderful dining experience. A dining experience I hope to enjoy again in the near future.