About us
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
5
Westlake: Family Style Dinner at Gra "Pizzeria"
Gra, 1524 Pizarro St., Los Angeles, CA, USPlease 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 between the group, excluding beverages.
- You cannot have any dietary restrictions for this event.
- Menu and pricing: 08-01-26.pdf
- The estimated cost per person for this event is about $40 per person. Please bring that amount in CA$H.
- There is a $25 deposit required to RSVP Yes for this event. The deposit is non-refundable within 72 hours of the start of the event. The $25 will be deducted from your portion of the bill at the end of our dinner.
You can send me the $25 deposit via Zelle, PayPal or Venmo. My email address is: rjhemedes@gmail.com or you can use my phone: 714-658-4099. My account is under Robert Hemedes
Those of you that know me, already know that my favorite style of pizza is Neopolitan. Gra is known for Neopolitan style pizzas, but with sourdough crust. I have had sourdough crust before, but they tend to be rare. So come join me in the Westlake neighborhood of LA to try out Gra's pizzas for an early dinner.
5 attendees
Garden Grove: Brunch at Oc A Chay (Vietnamese Seafood)
Oc A Chay, 13123 Brookhurst St, Garden Grove, CA, USPlease Note: Read the directions carefully below BEFOR 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 between $50 to $60, so please bring that amount in CASH.
- Yelp reviews: OC A CHAY - Updated August 2026 - 345 Photos & 214 Reviews - 13123 Brookhurst St, Garden Grove, California - Vietnamese - Restaurant Reviews - Phone Number - Menu - Yelp
Many of you already know that Oc & Lau is my favorite restaurant in SoCal, which is why I host the very first event of each new year over there as an annual tradition. I recently found out that some of the chefs at Oc and Lau started their own knock-off restaurant just 2 blocks away from Oc and Lau and called it by the "original" name of Oc A Chay. Pretty bold if you ask me. Anyway, I want to see if this copycat restaurant is as good as the original, or maybe even better. So come join me at Garden Grove fro brunch at Oc A Chay!
17 attendees
Glendale: Family Style Early Dinner at Yerord Mas
Yerord Mas Bakery & Deli, 6800 San Fernando Rd, Glendale, CA, USPlease 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 between $30 to $40 per person, so please bring that amount in CASH.
- Yelp reviews: YERORD MAS BAKERY AND DELI - Updated August 2026 - 115 Photos & 67 Reviews - 6800 San Fernando Rd, Glendale, California - Armenian - Restaurant Reviews - Yelp
I read about Yerord Mas Bakery & Deli a few months ago when the LA Times did a positive write up on it. Then more recently, the NYTimes also gave the restaurant a glowing review. Yerord is supposed to be an Armenian fusion type of restaurant serving a mixture of deli foods like Armenian inspired sandwiches and interesting takes on classics like pistachio hummus. So come join me in Glendale for an early Armenian dinner at Yerord Mas!
11 attendees
Gardena: Family Style Lunch at Nam Kitchen
NAM Kitchen, 1530 Artesia Boulevard, Gardena, CA, USPlease 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 per person for this event is between $30 to $40, so please bring that amount in CA$H.
- Menu and pricing: Menu
Nam Kitchen in Gardena has been around for a few years now and more recently opened up a location in Lomita as well. Their menu is mostly Vietnamese but they also have a few Peruvian dishes, so best way to describe them would be Vietnamese fusion. They have consistently been highly rated on Yelp, so I want to finally check them out and see if the food really lives up to the hype. So come join me in Gardena to try out Nam Kitchen for lunch!
12 attendees
Past events
2702
