The front of the Palisade's Restaurant
The Bar and the Front of the Restaurant
When my friend and I arrived at the Palisades we were shocked to see where it was located. It seemed as if it was in a very rural part of Virginia on a dead end street. The atmosphere surrounding the restaurant was impressive with the rolling hills behind the quaint building and the scenery driving to the Palisades was beautiful. It was definitely worth the drive to experience such a unique meal at a neat restaurant.
Inside of the Palisade's Restaurant
The main meal served was a marinated flank steak with chimmichuri sauce, beef empanadas and Argentinean potato salad, all which was delicious. The wines served with the meal were Pulenta Pinot Gris 2011, Arido Malbec 2010, and Tilia Bonarda 2009.
The Food with the 3 Argentinean wines
The first wine I tasted was the Pulenta Pinot Gris 2011. This particular wine had a flowery smell with a hint of peach. My first sip of the Pulenta I definitely could taste the floweriness along with a bitter hint. There seemed to definitely have heat to the wine. At first the aftertaste I tasted was mainly peach, but a few seconds after I could taste the peach I got a weird after taste of almost like vomit. That part was unappealing to me but I noticed when I tried it with the potato salad it definitely helped bring out the best in the wine. The food pairing with the Pulenta and Argentinean potato salad benefitted the wine.
The second wine I tried was the Arido Malbec 2010. I watched the wine being served and noticed the deep, ruby red color of the wine. When initially sniffing the wine I immediately smelled a red fruit smell with slight violet aromas. My first reaction when sipping the wine was that it was a pungent taste with a little hint of spice to it. Behind the spice had a little bit of suttle fruit. I was very impressed with the aftertaste as it gave off an even stronger flavor of fruitiness. When I paired the Arido with the food, I noticed that the flank steak helped make the taste of the wine even more exceptional. Out of the three wines I tried that night at the Palisades, the Arido Malbec 2010 was my favorite wine.
Finally, I tried the Tilia Bonarda 2009. On the nose I could smell a hint of anise , violet, raspberry and some cherry scents and a strong scent of pepper. On the paper that we received when entering the restaurant talking about the specifics of the wine it mentioned that the Tilia had been stored in French and American oak for a total of nine months. When I tried this wine I got a strong oaky flavor which I wasn't too fond of. Not at first I didn't notice the overwhelming taste until the wine was in my mouth for a couple of seconds. The oaky and peppery taste is what my palate tasted the most while tasting this wine. I didn't get much of the red fruit taste while trying the Tilia. Overall, this wine was my least favorite. When I tried this particular wine with the food I noticed that the flank steak somewhat helped the wine taste a little better.
This was my very first time at the Palisades and I'm glad that I ventured out to a new restaurant. Not only was the food great, the atmosphere inside of and around the restaurant were very enjoyable and unique. Overall, my favorite wine was the Arido Malbec 2010 and I enjoyed the empanadas the most. However, when I ate my flank steak I would be sure to take sips of the Arido frequently since these two food pairings were the best tasting on my palate. I was very impressed with the Palisades and enjoyed my dinner and wine tasting there.
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