Category Archives: French

Valor

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Cheeseburger

Salmon

Sorry, there’s only one rib left for you. We fell on the rest like hungry wolves.

Trio of ice creams and bombe

Brussels sprouts

Broccoli

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This popular cafe serves good food with a bit of a French influence to some dishes.

We started with four appetizers. The one we absolutely loved was the Sticky Asian Pork Ribs, which were coated in a wonderful soy-infused teriyaki sauce. Popcorn Cauliflower was also very good, especially dipped in the leftover rib sauce! Warm Brussels Sprout Caesar and Roasted Broccoli and Grilled (cold) Shrimp were both just okay.

Everyone also liked their entrees, which included the Steak Frites, Salmon, and a Cheeseburger.

For dessert we had a housemade ice cream trio and a Chocolate Bombe, both of which were also good.

The wine list is a bit obscure, but we found some interesting selections, and prices are reasonable.

Service was attentive and friendly.

Valor
667 Vernon Ave
Glencoe, IL 60022
(847) 786-4324
https://www.yelp.com/biz/valor-glencoe

Taix French Restaurant

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Interior

Ceasar salad

Escolar

***** (5 stars)

It’s sad that so few of the old school restaurants are left in Los Angeles. Taix is one of those great holdouts that harken back to the days of traditional French recipes in comfortably posh surroundings.

The restaurant is divided into a number of rooms, from a dark, clubby bar to an elegant high-ceilinged dining room.

Recipes are traditional and represent excellent examples of classic French cuisine: country style pate, escargot, tarragon cream sauce on your fish.

The highlight for me is the wine list, which offers a nice selection of domestic and international wines at the lowest prices in town. Most are at or near retail. What other restaurant offers a half bottle for $14? That’s less than the price of a glass at most places. If for nothing else this is a great reason to visit Taix!

Taix French Restaurant
1911 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 484-1265
https://www.yelp.com/biz/taix-french-country-cuisine-los-angeles

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

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Foie gras amuse bouche

Salmon and caviar

Artichoke carpaccio and foie gras

Interior

Scallop

Lobster

Lobster

Black bass with lemon grass

Wagyu

Quail and foie gras

Sorbet with black currants

Chocolate

***** (5 stars)

l’Atelier is my favorite restaurant in London, Las Vegas, Hong Kong and now New York The consistency of experience is phenomenal, and this new location is the most beautiful yet.

Every course is a knock out, and the service, presentation, lighting and bon vivant spirit of the staff all combine to create an exceptional dining experience.

A special shout out to Sommelier John McKenna, who played the perfect host throughout our meal.

A truly great restaurant in a city of great restaurants.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
85 10th Ave
New York, NY 10011
(212) 488-8885
https://www.yelp.com/biz/l-atelier-de-jo%C3%ABl-robuchon-new-york-5

Noe Restaurant and Bar

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Popcorn chicken

Tuna tartare

**** (4 stars)

The bar here offers a delightful intimate atmosphere, with live piano music in the evenings, and a nice outside dining area with heaters. The menu is arranged from tinest to largest “small plates” with a wide variety of nibbles to something enough for a full dinner.

There is a small assortment of wines by the glass, and a lot of spirits.

Service was friendly and efficient.

Noe Restaurant and Bar
251 S Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 356-4100
https://www.yelp.com/biz/noe-restaurant-and-bar-los-angeles

Perch

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Patio

Steak frites

Provencal plate

***** (5 stars)

This is a delightful spot to sit outside downtown, with no noise and a great view. There are heaters and a fireplace to keep warm in winter, and clear glass windbreaks all around.

The menu offers a nice combination of small plates and main dishes. We really liked both the tuna tartare and mussel starters, and my Provencal vegetable plate was excellent.

There is a medium sized list of wines, with about a fourth available by the glass. There is also an extensive spirits list.

Service is friendly and efficient, and pricing is reasonable.

Perch
448 S Hill St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 802-1770
https://www.yelp.com/biz/perch-los-angeles

Bouchon

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Steak frites

Mussels

Interior

Pate

**** (4 stars)

There are three Bouchons at this location and Google maps, for one, is very confused about that. The Bouchon Bakery is a counter serve and Bar Bouchon offers downstairs patio seating on the park. But the real Bouchon is upstairs, and offers a brasserie-like atmosphere plus outdoor balcony seating.

The menu is similar to Las Vegas, but not to Santa Barbara. A bouchon is a cafe typical in Lyon that focuses on meat-based dishes, and that is the case here. The French classics are all exceptionally well prepared, from mussels to onion soup, pate to salade Lyonnaise.

As is typical in France, the meal begins with bread served on the paper table covering. Be sure to order something to use the wonderful pot of mustard on; there’s nothing like pate and genuine Dijon on fresh crusty French bread.

Service is professional yet friendly.

This is actually one of my favorite of Keller’s restaurants. I even like it better than Per Se. The only negative is that the room has no acoustic treatment at all, and even when half empty it is very loud.

Bouchon
235 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 271-9910
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bouchon-beverly-hills-4

Ladurée Beverly Hills

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Breakfast

Interior

**** (4 stars)

I’ve never been a fan of macarons, so I was pleased to see that this Ladurée, which looks like a confectioner’s shop, serves the full range of authentic Ladurée croissants. I was also pleased to discover they are just as good as the ones in Paris. The plain is still the best, with the pain au chocolat and the rose coming in second and third.

What’s not as good as Paris is the coffee. It’s just typical American coffee. Perhaps a double espresso would be better, but I was hoping for authentic French coffee. No such luck.

If you’ve been to the Ladurée in Paris on the Champs Elysee, or the original one on the Place de la Madeleine, this one is a sort of cross between the two. It’s certainly much larger than the one at Harrod’s in London.

The service was fast and friendly, and with just enough of a French accent to whet the taste buds.

Ladurée serves hot items for breakfast, too, but of course the emphasis is on the baked goods. And the case of macarons.

Ladurée Beverly Hills
311 N Beverly Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 623-1100
https://www.yelp.com/biz/ladur%C3%A9e-beverly-hills-beverly-hills-2

Tetsuya’s

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Chocolate cakr

Wagyu beef

Chicken

Bass grouper

Confit of trout

Kingfish

Scampi

Interior

***** (5 stars)

This is my favorite restaurant in Sydney. It’s far better than the other Michelin starred places, and is beautiful and sophisticated without being stuffy.

The tasting menu focuses on fish, but only one course is typically raw, so it’s not to be confused with a traditional Japanese omakase. They are doing their own thing here.

The signature dish, trout, is probably the best course, but everything I’ve had has been excellent.

The wine list is extensive, although there are no bargains.

Tetsuya’s
529 Kent St
Sydney, New South Wales 2000
+61 2 9267 2900
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tetsuyas-sydney

Pierre

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Amuse bouche

Crab

Snails and mushrooms

Gambas

Grouse

Cheese

Grand dessert

** (2 stars)

Pierre offers a lovely room with a great ambiance and view. It’s the kind you’d expect to find in a top rated restaurant. Unfortunately, the view is about the only thing that is top rated about it.

At a price equal to or above the nearby Amber and l’Atelier, it’s hard to imagine anyone returning to Pierre for a second visit. The six-course tasting meal we had was, frankly, poor. There wasn’t a single stand-out course, and no one in our party had more than a taste of the grouse entree, which had a very unpleasant bitter taste. Mine even still had a piece of lead birdshot in it.

They’ve tried to make up in quantity what they lack in quality, with a half dozen small plates bearing amuse bouche at the start, and another half dozen plates of dessert at the end. But not one of them was truly good. It’s as if they’re firing scattershot, to see if they can hit anything.

Service was also hit or miss, with the wine list not even offered until the food began showing up, and empty water glasses sitting for long stretches of time.

At about $10,000HKD for our party of three’s food alone, this must be one of the worst buys in the city. And the wine prices are just as unreasonable.

Pierre
25/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central
干諾道中5號香港文華東方酒店25樓
+852 2825 4001
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pierre-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF-2

Amber

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Interior

Amuse bouche taste: sour

Amuse bouche taste: salty (oyster leaf)

Amuse bouche tastes: bitter and sweet

Caviar tart

Tomatoes

Langoustina

Octopus

Foie gras

Brill

A5 Wagu

Kabocha pumpkin and lemon sorbet

Solies figs

Chocolate

Petit fours

***** (5 stars)

Often I find myself at odds with Michelin’s rankings, but not this time. Amber is an exquisite restaurant, with food, service and wine that all deserve the acclaim they’ve received.

The ten-course tasting menu was spot on, with every course (and the many unbilled amuse bouche and petit four bites) all scoring high marks.

The accompanying six-wine Burgundy pairing was the most educational wine pairing I’ve ever encountered. What a treat to be able to compare, side by side:
Bourgogne Rose
Chablis “Les Clos”
Chassagne-Montrachet
Puligny-Montrachet
Meursault
Nuits-St-Georges
Gevrey-Chambertin

We also started with a bottle of Taittinger Le Comtes Champagne

The wine list is one of the best I’ve encountered, well organized, and with a range of prices.

Service was professional yet not stiff, and everyone was obviously very proud of their fine restaurant.

Amber
7/F, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 11-19A Queen’s Road Central
皇后大道中11-19A號置地文華東方酒店7樓
+852 2132 0066
https://www.yelp.com/biz/amber-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF