One of Chef Graham Duncan's favorite small plates at Palette 22 in Shirlington is the Tacos Al Pastor on the "By 2's" menu. These come two per order and include: achiote marinated pork, charred onions, and pineapple salsa. Duncan likes the smoky flavors and has created the portion size to be satisfying but to leave room for more tastes. Photo by Shirley Ruhe/The Connection
Palette 22 at 4053 Campbell Ave. in Shirlington combines international street food with work stations for local artists where diners can watch art work in progress. The restaurant has been designed as an open-air creative art studio and the concept modeled on Cafe TuTu Tango in Orlando but with its own Arlington personality. Original recipes with all fresh ingredients have been created with flavors from around the world. They are served in small- plates style as soon as they are ready so the guests can share each dish as it arrives.
Prior to the planned Feb. 22 opening, the chefs have been working for weeks in the open-air kitchen, practicing the menu offerings and perfecting their techniques. Plates sit on a table by the window with two Tacos al Pastor on the By 2's menu and several Pan-fried Watermelon and Haloumi Cheese triangles on the Bites menu, ready for taste testing. Several bartenders are behind the island-style bar mixing happy hour drinks. A group of 50 servers and bartenders, hired out of 600 interviewed, crowd around tables, pencils in hand, answering questions about the menu down to detail and the ingredient level.
A puzzle of artwork is laid out on a table and propped up on the floor waiting for a spot on the wall around the room. Lizzy Lunday, portrait artist in the restaurant's Artist in Residence program, stands in front of a wooden easel inside the front door brushing small strokes as she fills in the lines of her self portrait. Lunday said along with other artists in the program she will be there two times a week for a four-hour session when diners are present. The focal mural wall that catches the attention as a customer enters the door is a work in progress. Cita Sadeli Chelove has laid down the base coat and will paint the rest of the mural by hand working every day late "until they throw her out." Cara Leepson, Palette 22's art director, says the mural was inspired by the global menu and will have a woman in the middle as well as a large Indian-inspired figure.
Leepson, who has an M.A. in Art and Museum Studies with a focus in programming contemporary art, started her job last October in preparation for the February debut of the restaurant. "First I went to local non-profit art galleries and studio websites," she said. Then she blasted out an open submissions call. What she received "touches on the whole world of artists, every medium — different sizes." There will be 14 different artists featured in the first round of the Artist in Residence program. After 90 days the artists will change "so there is always something fresh and new."
"A lot of our guests may have never been in an art gallery, but this is a laid back experience with fun music where we encourage you to get up and walk around to see the art during dinner." Leepson said, "when someone purchases a piece of artwork, the price is just added to the guest's bill and they take their purchase home with them. We put another piece of the artist's work up in the blank space."
Palette said while a lot of restaurants hang artwork on their walls, the Palette 22 concept is different because it brings artwork to the forefront with accessible prices and in a comfortable, fun atmosphere. The mostly 16x20 pieces will range in price from $20 to a few pieces at several hundred dollars.