La Dijonaise

I eat here fairly often. 

Why? 

Because it offers French food at very reasonable prices. 

That’s not the only reason, but it is a major one. There is no less expensive French restaurant in Los Angeles than La Dijonaise. It’s not fancy, the decor is basic, but it is clean, very friendly staff and owners, and its at a nice location. They are not trying to be fancy, but do take pride in being good. Not great, but consistently good basic French fare. From escargot to steak frites, poulet dijonaise to duck confit, it is all good, especially when considering the prices. They also have an above average moules frite. Way above average, and for less than anybody else in town that I’ve been able to find. 

Even their desserts are good. Nothing extraordinary, nothing at the level of Anisette, but that’s not why you go here. You go here because you want some good basic French food, friendly service, and your wallet is thin – for that La Dijonaise can’t be beat.

Best,
Le Capitaine


Here's the link to their web page:
http://ladijonaise.com/

Anisette Brasserie

Paris in L.A.

Let’s get a few things out of the way
1. It’s noisy
2. It’s expensive
3. The service is good, considering the atmosphere, noise, crowding and general liveliness of the place.

OK those are the negatives. Here are the positives: This brasserie is just like eating in Paris: It’s noisy, expensive and the service is good considering the atmosphere, noise, crowding and general liveliness of the place....+READ Let’s get a few things out of the way
1. It’s noisy
2. It’s expensive
3. The service is good, considering the atmosphere, noise, crowding and general liveliness of the place.

OK those are the negatives. Here are the positives: This brasserie is just like eating in Paris: It’s noisy, expensive and the service is good considering the atmosphere, noise, crowding and general liveliness of the place.

The place is ALIVE. The décor is authentic. And the food is REAL French food, which mean’s it’s absolutely fantastic. This is not a place you go to, to see and be seen. This is a place you go to because flying to Paris for dinner is at times impractical. 

I’ve eaten at Anisette a dozen times now, and it has NEVER failed to delight the senses. They serve Badoit water – the best in the world. The house carafe of wine is always good, such as you don’t have to look at the wine list if you don’t want to, but if you did the selection of French wines is designed to please the wine lover, not impress the snob. And that philosophy applies to all the food at Anisette. It’s designed to please the senses not impress the snob. Look, you may get stuck at a tiny table on the balcony crowded against other people, but if you love good food, it just won’t matter. Yes it’s expensive. Figure $100 a head for dinner if you have a cocktail, appetizer, entrée, desert and wine. And aside for that little pang of pain when you pay, you won’t care, because your mouth, nose and stomach will be in heaven. You will walk out thinking to yourself… when can I come back?

If you are on a budget, then go for lunch (not breakfast). Things are a bit quieter, and the prices cheaper. You can go in for lunch and get out, including a glass of house wine, for about $35. Not the cheapest lunch in the world, but probably amongst the best in LA. My only regret is that they took the Soup de Poison Provence avec ca Rouille off the menu, and it was the best I’ve ever had in the states.

Last word: Go now before something changes, like they get bought out, or Chef Alain moves on to someplace else, or the in-crowd discovers it and ruins it.

Best,
Le Capitaine


Here's the link to the restaurant's web page:
http://www.anisettebrasserie.com/

Beginings

I'm going to start by just posting some restaurant reviews I wrote about some of the local French restaurants here. These were all done last year, well, actually the one on La Dijonaise was about a week ago... that's how goes.

OK, restaurant reviews are not deep thoughts or profound pontification, but it is useful, right?

They'll be more.

Le Capitaine