What we’re about
Time to tempt your palate with all the pleasurable flavors that LA, and beyond, has to offer!
Join Pleasure Palate as we do culinary adventures exploring of restaurants (both high-end & holes-in-the-wall), food & beverage tastings, and more. From savory to sweet, spicy to tangy, ethnic to All-American, we'll taste it all! Come along and let us take your taste buds on the ride of their life!
Because we want to burn off some of the calories that we eat, many of our events will have both a dining and physical activity paired together. We do many day trips and weekend adventures that combine the best of both dining and experiencing what LA, SoCal and beyond has to offer in terms of dining options and points of interests.
Pleasure Palate has been around for over 13 years now and in that time we have had over 2,000 events. We offer at least 8 events per month for our members to choose from. This is a very active MeetUp group.
We will focus on various aspects of urban, suburban and rural life, ranging from architectural to cultural, historical to quirky and/or a combination of any of the above to help give you a better appreciation of where we live. Oh, and bring your camera because we encourage all our members to take photos and share their experiences with us on the event pages.
MeetUp charges over $200 each year to maintain the Pleasure Palate site. In addition, it costs a lot of money to maintain memberships to historical societies, newspaper and magazine subscriptions - all to get ideas for future events. So we ask for a voluntary $12.00 annual donation to help defray the costs that MeetUp charges. Members who donate $12 per year get Plus Member status which allows them to bump off a Regular member for a event which is already full. Plus Members can't bump off other Plus members.
To learn more about Pleasure Palate, check out the links below:
Membership and Guidelines
Attendance Policies & 3 Strikes Rule
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Labor Day Weekend Adventure: Hatch Chile Festival, Carlsbad Caverns, & MoreThirty 5ive Tavern & Grill, El Paso, TX
Please Note: Read all the information and directions below BEFORE you RSVP "Yes" for this event.
- This is a multi-day adventure which involves flying to El Paso and visiting sites including the Hatch Chile Festival, Marfa, the Carlsbad Caverns and more sites. I'm only allowing 6 other people to join me on this adventure. Anyone beyond 6 needs to provide their own transportation because the vehicle rental will only seat 6 people comfortably.
- There will be quite a bit of driving and walking involved. The Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands Monument will require a little bit of hiking. So you must be in decent shape to participate in this event,
- I am not being paid to host this event. You are basically joining me on my vacation days, so in order to attend this event, you must have attended at least a couple of Pleasure Palate events already. You must be drama free, low maintenance, and easy going. I won't hesitate kicking you out of event if you start throwing tantrums or are rude or misbehave while we are on this trip. You are not going to spoil my vacation.
- I will be renting a minivan so that we can carpool for this event. We will evenly split the cost of gas and the vehicle rental.
- On Thursday, the first day, we will visit as many museums and points of interest in El Paso.
- On Friday, we will drive to Carlsbad Caverns and explore it. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
- On Saturday, we will visit Marfa and visit as many galleries and museums as possible. Arts & Culture | Marfa, TX
- On Sunday, we will visit the Hatch Chile Festival and White Sands Monument. The 2025 Hatch Chile Festival - Farmers Chile Market
- On Monday, we just visit a few remaining sites in El Paso before catching our flight back to LAX.
- On average we will spending about $150 per day on this trip, including meals.
- Once I confirm you can join me on this trip, I will share with you my flight itinerary and motel/hotel booking so you can book them immediately.
- Hacienda Heights: Family Style Lunch at Cindy's KitchenCindy's Kitchen 金葫蘆煄醬滷味, Hacienda Heights, CA
Please Note: Read the directions carefully BELOW before you RSVP "Yes" for this event.
- This is a family style dining event, meaning we will order as a group and divide the bill evenly excluding beverages.
- You cannot have any dietary restrictions for this event.
- The estimated cost for this event is at least $40 per person, so please bring that amount in CA$H, and more if you plan to order beverages.
- Yelp reviews of Cindy's Kitchen: Photos for Cindy's Kitchen
I read about Cindy's Kitchen a few months ago and bookmarked it. Its not a large restaurant but they serve dishes that I enjoy like beef noodle soup and pork chops. They do have a dish called House Special Fried Beef that I really want to try along with other items on their menu. So come join me at Hacienda Heights to try out Cindy's Kitchen.
- Rowland Heights: Family Style Lunch at Gao's Crab & Kabob老高烧烤洛杉矶店 Gao's BBQ & Crab, Rowland Heights, CA
Please Note: Read the directions carefully below BEFORE you RSVP "Yes" for this event.
- This is a family style dining event. We will order as a group and divide the bill evenly, excluding beverages.
- You cannot have any dietary restrictions for this event.
- The estimated cost per person for this event is about $60, so please bring that amount in CA$H. Your cost will be higher if you order beverages.
- Menu at Gao's: Gao's BBQ & Crab - Allen - Food Menu
I recently heard about Gao's BBQ & Crab and thought it was an interesting mishmash of Louisiana style seafood broil and Chinese style skewers, especially lamb skewers. I enjoy eating both types of foods, so I figure why not give it a try! So come join me in Rowland Heights to try out Gao's!
- Mexico: Day of the Dead at San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca & Mexico CityEl Palomar, San Miguel de Allende
Please Note: Read the directions carefully below BEFORE you RSVP "Yes" for this event.
- This is an overseas event where we will fly to San Miguel de Allende, then to Oaxaca and finally to Mexico City during the Day of the Dead festivities.
- In order to participate in this event, you need to have attended several PP events, preferably the weekend/day trips that I have offered so that you get a really good sense of how I lead tours/excursions. I am not being paid or earning money on this trip - you are essentially joining me on vacation. So I only want low maintenance, "drama free" travelers who don't get easily upset if the itinerary suddenly changes due to circumstances beyond control - like heavy rains, natural disaster, site we were supposed to visit is suddenly closed, etc. An adventurous spirit is a must!
- I do not have a total cost yet for this event and I am partnering with two tour companies to cobble the itinerary together. The estimated cost will be around $2,500 per person, not including air travel. You will need to book your own hotel and air travel. For some tours or sites, we will need to take Uber. For others, we will have a passenger van. Our lunches and dinners at San Miguel are not covered by the tours, so that's out of pocket.
- We will fly out of LAX on Friday, October 25th early morning to San Miguel de Allende. Visit the botanical garden and Chael of Jimmy Ray.
- October 26 - Historical and cultural walking tour, lunch break and then cemetery and withes tour
- October 27 - Visit the Artists Market, Las Ranas, Fabrica, Galeria Atotonilco, Otomi and dinner.
- October 28 - Fly to Oaxaca. Have lunch and visit the botanical garden and textile museum. Dinner.
- October 29th - Very full day of markets, specialty shops, workshops and local restaurants
- October 30th - Monte Alban and Mitla with lunch and dinner
- October 31st - Fly to Mexico City - have lunch and visit National Anthropology Museum, Chapultepec Castle and Museo de Templo Mayor
- Nov 1st - Xochimilco Canals, lunch, Day of the Dead Parade
- Nov - any last minute shopping and possible lunch before flying back to LAX
- Check out a video of the Day of Dead Parade in 2022: Day of the Dead celebrations: "La Catrina" skeletons parade through Mexico City (youtube.com)
In the past 14 years or so, I have taken the group to Mexico about a dozen times. 3/4 of these frays were into Baja. The other trips were to Mexico City (twice), Michoacan, and Puebla. Mexico is a large and wonderful country, with many places to visit and experience. This time we are going to San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca and Mexico City. The focus will be experiencing all these cities during the most festive time of Mexico - Day of the Dead! I have been wanting to visit Oaxaca and San Miguel, and even though I have been to Mexico City twice already, I want to experience teh Day of the Dead parade there. So come join me on this adventure filled with wonder, enchantment of course, delicious food!
