BY NATALIE HAUGHTON >FOOD EDITOR

South Glendale never tasted so good. Close to the new Americana at Brand center, but not part of it, sits Palate Food + Wine, former Patina Group chef/co-founder Octavio Becerra's first restaurant venture of his own. Fun, innovative, enticing, the 70-seat restaurant, housed in the remodeled former Cinnabar space on Glendale's auto row, offers wonderful casual dining. The room, with its sleek, open style, sports white tablecloths and napkins, pale butter-colored walls, two gigantic dark urns (that almost overwhelm) with hand-blown glass grapes spilling from them, jade green and white floors, dark cabinets, a bar and a communal table for 12 near the front.

Becerra clearly seems to be at the top of his game, with food that shines in many upbeat, interesting flavor configurations - and beautiful presentations - and a menu that he plans to change weekly to utilize the best-quality seasonal foods.

Sit down and a lovely spread of cheese rolls and homemade butter sprinkled with fresh dill and chives arrives at the table on a wooden bread board.

Many of the glorious menu selections lend themselves to sharing. Take the porkfolio ($12), for instance. It's presented with two pieces each of various cured meats - prosciutti, salamis, lardo and pepperoni along with three different mustards (in mini sake-type cups) - grainy, Dijon and violet (infused with grape skins with a deep purple color). It's accompanied by a stack of freshly toasted baguette slices moistened with olive oil. Order one or two of the small dishes of pickled selections - zucchini, carrots, fennel or peach slices - to add pizazz. They complement the meats and mustards and are all terrific. The organic peach slices ($3), in the pickling brine for almost a week, were delicious.

A tasty butter lettuce soup ($6) came warm - the prettiest vibrant green color topped with a pool of crème fraiche and a sprinkling of chopped almonds. It could have used a little more oomph seasoning-wise (perhaps freshly ground black pepper).

If you're a pushover for fennel no matter how it's woven into a dish, give the braised fennel with roasted scallions and faro ($7) a whirl. Pieces of the sliced fennel bulb seemed more roasted than braised (but had hit a saute pan after braising, we learned later, for similar results). They were dark brown and caramelized, some pieces more tender than others. Placed over a roasted scallion and atop faro in an aromatic saucy mixture (citrus juices reduced with vegetable stock) with overtones of orange, the pairing was creative with an excellent blending of textures and flavors.

The piece de resistance, though, was the handful of bright green, crisp-tender asparagus spears presented topped with a duck egg ($10), cooked sunny side up, with a sprinkling of reggiano cheese and a drizzle of brown butter. It's not something I'd ever be inclined to order, but with the server singing it praises, I took a chance. The combination was rich, decadent and a wonderful marriage of flavors - and once the egg had been broken open it tasted faintly reminiscent of béarnaise sauce. An attractive winner.

Two other must-haves on the menu this night - scallops ($12) and yellowtail ($12), served on medium-size plates.

Three large scallop rounds (not overly thick) were enhanced with a warm kumquat-lima vinaigrette (made with sweet Mexican limes known as lima) with heirloom yellow and red cherry tomatoes scattered around and some finely chopped Italian parsley on top. The tart taste of citrus played off the seafood perfectly - a most pleasing entree.

A sizable piece of poached yellowtail cooked beautifully until still moist, was teamed with a savory light clam/white wine sauce over white tarbais beans from France and cutup pieces of haricots verts with a few cooked clams alongside. The well-executed dish sparkled.

Besides a selection of cheeses, two other dessert options were offered - a strawberry tart and a Valrhona chocolate pudding (each $5). The latter, served in a short high-ball glass, was a little runny but with great chocolate flavor. It tasted almost like a chocolate ganache that hadn't set up. It's topped with a few pouffs of whipped cream and pieces of citrus zest.

With a wine and cheese shop, wine bar and lounge behind the restaurant offering a limited menu or a seat at the restaurant's bar, there are plenty of options for enjoying Becerra's creative food at this new establishment.

At its best: If you are looking for some adventurous combinations, you'll find them on the appealing Mediterranean/California-style menu of well-conceived innovative plates from an experienced chef.

Could be better: Service, initially excellent, lagged at various times during the meal as the restaurant filled to capacity. The chocolate pudding could be thicker or call the dessert something else. Some of the tables seemed to be a little too close together for maximum comfort.

Natalie Haughton, (818) 713-3692

natalie.haughton@dailynews.com

CAPTIONS:

PHOTO 1: Gary Munez and Octavio Becerra put together a dish in the kitchen at Palate, a new restaraunt and wine storage facility. May 29, 2008 in Glendale, Californa.  Photos by John McCoy/staff photographer

PHOTO 2: Delta Asparagus with organic goose egg

review>

PALATE FOOD + WINE

>Details: 933 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Open for dinner Monday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Wine Merchant shop and wine bar behind restaurant, serving an all-day limited menu, open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (until 10 p.m. beginning June 16). (818) 662-9463, www.palatefoodwine.com.

>Cost: Starters $3 to $12, les plats (soups, salads, pasta, seafood, poultry and meats) $6 to $19, desserts $5, cheese palette $12 and up.

>Noteworthy: Fresh, simple and sophisticated cuisine with Mediterranean flair using local and artisanal ingredients in an intimate, friendly setting. Palate Food + Wine is not only a restaurant on the ground floor in the front of the seven-story Bekins moving depot turned wine-storage vault: Behind it and across the back of the building is a wine and cheese shop, wine tasting bar and lounge serving a limited menu. Corkage fee is $18 per bottle. (Wines on the restaurant list that come from the Wine Merchant will be no more than $18 above retail.) Valet and street parking.