Grubtrotters

Culver City has a new French brasserie with a lovely sidewalk cafe called Le Saint Amour, a couple doors down from the Starbucks on Culver Blvd. From the chef/owner of Angelique Cafe, which closed in 2006, Le Saint Amour opened three weeks ago, and I stopped by for lunch yesterday to check it out. Glad I did. Culver City continues to impress as one of the best spots in the L.A. area for casual foodies. The lunch menu has all sorts of bistro items — salads, hot and cold sandwiches and French classics such as escargot, croque monsieur, pate and tarte flambee. Mixed in were some interesting choices such as spicy Moroccan sausage with tomato, bell pepper and harissa. For dinner, you can try pig’s feet, seared sweetbread and tripe sausage.

I went for one of my all-time French favorites, confit de canard, or duck confit ($15). For lunch, the main dishes come with a choice of French fries or “lettuce,” which you can see from the picture to the left is a simple mixed green salad with a smattering of tomatoes. The dish was delicious. The duck was so tender and juicy it fell right off the bone. The skin was nicely seasoned and the portion generous for lunch. I almost took half of it home, but it was too good not to finish on the spot. What could have been a boring salad was kicked up a notch with pungent dressing and very fresh greens. Fabulous.
My friend Vanessa ordered the Nicoise salad ($14), which looked amazing. (I didn’t ask for a bite). It came with tomatoes, seared pepper tuna, white anchovies, eggs, red onions and olives. She gave it a thumbs up. The service was friendly, albeit a little slow with the check, which is fine for a leisurely lunch. You won’t feel rushed. But it could pose a problem for the nearby studio crowd with only an hour to spare midday. All the waiters at Le Saint Amour had French accents, and many diners spoke French, too — always a positive sign if you’re looking for authenticity. The decor is not quite as grand as you’ll see at Anisette in Santa Monica, but this place feels homier, less crowded, more casual — at least for now. When the foodies discover this jewel, all bets are off. — Jenny

Le Saint Amour: 9725 Culver Blvd., Culver City, 310-842-8155.

Vic and I were in a bit of a mood today, but after checking out Taste in Pacific Palisades, we cheered right up. Taste is the new beach outpost of the West Hollywood restaurant of the same name. Located just 15-20 minutes from our Venice pad in a nondescript strip mall a few blocks up from the beach, this location is a lot more convenient for us. We’ve never been to the WeHo spot so we can’t compare the two. But a hearty meal of pure comfort food in huge portions was just what we needed on a cloudy beach Sunday.

When we walked in at 6 p.m., it was still light outside, but Taste was a contrast in dark — low lighting, curtains blocking out the sun, dark wood furniture and candles on the wall. It’s not exactly a beachy spot with a patio or sidewalk cafe. It looks more like a casually elegant place you’d find, well, in West Hollywood. We weren’t feeling sunny and cheery so it suited our mood just fine.

Our helpful waiter/actor Brian Lloyd looks like the younger brother of Samantha’s boyfriend on “Sex and the City,” but I digress. He suggested we order the white truffle oil and mushroom mac & cheese, and how could I resist?  Whatever you say, Brian. Made with white cheddar and Parmesan and topped with smoked mozzarella, it was quite yummy. The smoke of the mozzarella really dominated, and the truffle oil let you know it was there without overwhelming the dish like the drunk guest at a party. Vic ordered chicken tortilla soup, which seemed oddly out of place on the menu. We also couldn’t find any tortillas, but Vic thought the soup was a winner — zesty and flavorful. He actually preferred it to the mac & cheese. (Maybe that’s just because it was one dish Brian didn’t recommend.)

Our entrees were both creamy and rich. Vic got the Kobe beef meatballs over linguine with white truffle cheese fondue. (The chef doesn’t skimp on his truffle oil here.) The meatballs were coated in a sweet tomato sauce. My dish, the wild mushroom risotto, also reeked pleasantly of truffles. The menu lists two optional additions to the risotto, chicken and black tiger shrimp. But if you ask nicely, your waiter might let you do what I did, which is to top the risotto with braised short ribs, another entree on the menu. You can’t get any more decadent than that. This heavenly dish was so filling that I couldn’t finish it and had no room left for dessert. Thankfully, my amazing human vacuum cleaner of a husband saved us from having to bring home any leftovers.

For those who are not inclined to carbo load like we did, there are healthier menu items. The table next to us was feasting on a lovely salmon salad, and Brian recommends the pear and prosciutto salad starter. Order that, and you might even have room left for the bread pudding. — Jenny.

Taste, 538 Palisades Drive; 310-459-9808

Susan Feniger’s much-buzzed about new restaurant, STREET, finally opens Monday the 3oth for dinner. Feniger is the chef/owner (along with Mary Sue Milligen) of Border Grill and Ciudad. Her new place will serve global street food inspired by her travels. I love eating food from street vendors, especially in Thailand, where I could get a delicious chicken skewer for pennies. Of course, in Cambodia, I saw street vendors selling giant black roaches, which people ate like popcorn. I suspect those won’t be on her menu. I also ordered a chicken in a tortilla from a Mayan vendor in Guatemala, and I’m certain it wasn’t chicken I was served. No idea what it was, but I didn’t take more than that one bite to find out.  Now that I’ve whetted your appetite, here’s the e-mail I just got:

At long last, Susan Feniger’s STREET will be
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
on Monday, MARCH 30th, for dinner!
Yes, it’s moved from dream to reality and we’d love
you to come check it out and see why we’ve been so
excited and passionate all these long months.

We think you’ll find it as irresistible as we do, we can’t wait to see you there enjoying the fruits of our labor of love.

So come eat at STREET soon!

Best,
Susan and Kajsa

In order to best serve you,
please make reservations by calling
323.203.0500
or go to www.eatatstreet.com

STREET
742 N. Highland
(above Melrose)
Los Angeles, 90038

Valet Park in the alley at the back of the restaurant.

Eating at Green T. House Living on the outskirts of Beijing is like participating in an avant garde performance art piece. It was truly a unique dining experience. Everything from the setting to the decor to the presentation to the taste of the food surprised me. A friend of mine described it as the restaurant equivalent of the Kubrick film ”Eyes Wide Shut.”

Located in a suburban setting in the high-end Wen Yu River quarter of the city, the restaurant sits behind huge concrete walls in a large glass and concrete compound inspired by the Zhanguo period. A serene, white pebble courtyard the size of a football field leads up to the restaurant, giving you the feeling that you’re in the desert or on the moon, but definitely not in Beijing.

Inside, you’re greeted by trippy, ethereal music, a video wall resembling a shape-shifting Rorschach test, fat Chinese lanterns, lanky candelabras atop a baroque desk, daybeds and lots of white space sparsely decorated with works of contemporary art and about three massive tables. The place is like a Zen temple on acid.

Green T. Living is the brainchild of JinR, a musician, artist, interior designer and tea-master. This woman’s mind must be brilliantly twisted. She has a kitschy sense of humor, designing Ming-style chairs and a table in clear, Phillipe Starck-style plexiglass. Downstairs, the ceiling is made from hanging twigs, and the bathrooms are impossible to find behind a wall of mirrors. Web-like structures sit atop chairs. There is a mannequin and an underground concrete tunnel. Don’t ask. I should probably stop trying to describe it because you really have to experience this place and its wonderful oddities for yourself.

Pictures were not allowed, but I snuck a few anyway and didn’t get caught this time. Oh, yes, and there was food, too. Dishes with names such as “Erotic Dance By Six Mushrooms Around a Lonely Chestnut.” OK. I didn’t try that one. But I did have the delicious pork and fennel dumplings with a gingery vinegar spring sauce, which was served with an artistic looking twig. I have never used such long chopsticks, but you need them because everything about this place screams space, and the person sitting next to you feels ridiculously far away. I also tried the pear crostini with nuts, goat cheese and honey mustard. That was served with a live goldfish swimming in a wine glass.

There was also a lamb dish served with tea and cilantro and my favorite, the curly chicken with crispy Sichuan pepper. The peppercorns in this dish tingled so much my tongue went numb. Curly little funnel-cake like croutons were sprinkled throughout to cool the heat. Bizarre but good. The whole experience ended with a lovely tea ceremony. I was in Beijing for business, but if you’re heading there for the Olympics in August, give yourself some time to check this place out. It’s not exactly traditional China as you may have imagined it, but it may just be the epitome of new China — full of creativity and vibrancy and its own quirky way of doing things. –Jenny

Feeling a bit under the weather, I ordered the spicy chicken soup ($9) for lunch at Axe on Abbot Kinney in Venice. Made with white chicken and rice in a simple, clear broth, it tasted clean and healthy. I’m not usually a huge fan of cilantro so I asked for the spicy relish on the side. But after tasting the onion-heavy mix, I dumped the whole batch into my bowl to kick it up a notch. One question: Would it kill them to add a few veggies?

Axe (pronounced ashay) has always been a top choice for a local lunch, namely because it never sends me into an afternoon food coma. The dishes are light and healthy, a simple mix of soups and salads made with fresh organic ingredients from local farms. The lentil sausage soup with tomato onion relish is a wonderful and hearty choice for cloudy beach days.

I was a little surprised, however, to see the “fall salad” (with chicken, apple, potato and celery) still on the menu in April, given that Axe touts itself as seasonal. When I inquired, the hostess said they switched the dinner menu but won’t have a new lunch menu for another few weeks. Fall ended more than three months ago. How seasonal can it be?

The bottom line: If you’re a vegetarian or just someone who enjoys simple food that won’t hurt your waistline or the environment, you will probably dig Axe. (This place sends its kitchen scraps back to its farm suppliers for composting.) If you’re looking for inspired, high-concept cuisine, go elsewhere. Axe is essentially a minimalist’s paradise.

The basic rice bowl, which I always order with brown rice, bursts with beans sprouts, carrots, cucumber and onion, radicchio, peanuts and huge sprigs of basil and mint. You can add “mostly wild” salmon (whatever that means), chicken, tofu or a hard-cooked egg. You can also construct your own salad plate with choices such as beets, hummous, quinoa, goat cheese and greens of the day.

The dinner menu is more substantial, with soy braised beef short ribs, porterhouse pork chop and sake marinated filet of beef. But whatever you order, be prepared to sit on hard benches amidst bare white walls and artsy Venice types. It can get crowded and loud, and yet I keep finding myself coming back again and again.

Axe, 1009 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA; 310-664-9787.