la.foodblogging

Lately…oh, hi. I’m Steve, a new contributor.
Lately, I’ve been on a tour of French Bistro/sidewalk cafe food. This was not deliberate, it just ended up that way, and when I say ‘tour’ it means I’ve been to four in the past few weeks. La Dijonnaise, Rouge, Bouchon and Figaro Cafe. The one I frequent, uh, frequently is Figaro Cafe.

Figaro Cafe is a charming French sidewalk cafe and boulangerie set amid the quaint storefronts and theaters on nouveaupunk Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz Village. Figaro is a truly cozy venue. Even the emulation of the French sidewalk atmosphere offers a cocoon where diners can enjoy a quiet meal without the distractions of other diners or passers-by. There is no barrier, just the environment effectively washes away extraneous city bustle. Inside, dark mahogany and antique fixtures set up an old world feel.

I’ll avoid the obvious euphamistic jokes on how I surrendered myself to the lobster bisque, or why I question the fact that every time I go into a French restaurant, it is magically staffed by people with French accents even though there is no definitive French community anywhere in Los Angeles. Yes, the city is populated with actors, I already figured that out.

Bistro food to the French is what McDonald’s is to Americans, and they have us beat, hands down. Service is quick, the food is reasonably priced and prepared with care and affection. Some other time I will do a deconstruction between haute cuisine and bistro, but I’ve discovered the foundation is the same. Bechemel, cognac cream peppercorn, melted guyere, are all some of the common ingredients between the two distinct cooking styles.

Figaro offers the staples of bistro dining. A sweet, lovingly simmered onion soup, with plenty of browned cheese hugging the crock starts off any good meal.

Their escargot, however, are prepared differently than the drowned-in-garlic butter style…and I like them drowned in a pool of garlic butter. This is your only warning, they are presented stylishly, but a bit too much of the gamey snail creeps through the tomato garlic dressing. At first chew, it is rich and flavorful. By chew three it is rubbery and snailish. By chew six it can taste a bit like spent gum. Chew 12 finds it broken down into a gut-like, muddy ball. Yes, I wish I could swallow at chew three, but you are probably familiar with the dynamic of trying to choke down something rubbery and slightly too large, and its ability to trigger the gag reflex. You have to choke through six of them.

Escargot aside, if you are familiar with bistro fare, you proabably know the standards, but I’ll run down a few: Chicken and mushroom crepes with cream sauce, ham and guyere sandwiches, beef bourgnion, thyme chicken, fromage plate, creme brulee, fondue. All the foods are rich and exciting (except the aforementioned escargot…try the ones at Rainbow Room, you’ll be surprised). I know I may be speaking in generalities, but, like my comparison to McDonalds earlier, any competent French bistro will make these dishes with the care and flavor they deserve. I’ll get into specifics when the food fails to live up to my expectations, and Figaro surpasses them.

They have a respectable wine list, but I stick with Chimay Red label on tap. Chimay is Belgian ale brewed by Trappist monks. It has a fruity taste, nice weight, and decent alcohol content. Other Belgian ales can suffer from being overmalted, thickly sweet and undercarbonated, but Chimay Red is perfectly paired for a hearty French meal.

Figaro is located at 1802 Vermont Ave in Los Feliz, valet parking is available to shake you down, or you can circle for six hours and park nine blocks away…if you’re not familiar with Vermont Ave.

By Zteve (see more of his posts). You can find more of Zteve's writing at his own website Gastrologica