fancy french food

Last week was the final week of the winter version of dineLA Restaurant Week, an annual foodie's dream-come-true when some of the best restaurants in Los Angeles offer special prix fix lunch and dinner menus that showcase some of the yummiest and/or prettiest plates of food their chefs can conjure up.

This year, I had a dineLA dinner at Firenze Osteria in North Hollywood during Week 1, but was too busy catching up with friends I hadn't seen in forever to really pay much attention to the food. It was fine, as most meals at Firenze Osteria are... nothing to write home (or here) about.

But last week, a fellow-foodie-friend (Hi Mari!) wanted to go somewhere fancy to take advantage of the prix fix menu during our catch-up lunch. So we braved the evil 405 and headed to Beverly Hills for a fancy lunch at Bouchon, a great french bistro I've never been too. (So bonus -- this also counts as something new for 2013!)

As Mari and I are both ladies of leisure these days, and since last Thursday was a beautifully unseasonal 75 degrees, we sat out on Bouchon's terrace and enjoyed a leisurely 2-hour lunch, savoring the delicious three-courses for a mere $25 dollars.



Here are photos of what I ate for you to drool over :)

First Course/Appetizer: Tartare de Saumon -- I've never been a big salmon tartare eater. In fact, this might have been the first time I had it. Overall, I give it two thumbs up. It was pretty huge for an appetizer. In addition to the plate above, there was a plate of crispy bread chips that have an official name I can't remember for you to spread your salmon, egg, capers, scallions and red onions (not pictured because this was Mari's plate and she doesn't like onion) on. The capers and onion added a bit of a kick to the bland egg and salmon, creating an overall pleasing and very filling appetizer.

Second Course/Entree': Quiche Florentine -- Over the last few years, I've come to love the combination of egg, spinach and cheese. Add a crispy crust and you've sold me. This was delish, and it actually had a cream filling holding everything together, not egg, which was new and interesting. The only odd thing about the plate was the large amount of sea salt sprinkled on the mixed greens... it was a bit too salty for moi. 

Third Course/Dessert: Creme' Caramel -- I was hoping this would turn out to be something like a creme' brulee (aka my favorite dessert). Alas, it was more like flan, but it was a really-smooth-and-creamy-but-not-too-sweet flan. So it also gets two thumbs up. It also photographs in a really cool shiny way ;)