The New Kid in Town: Le Saint Amour
Friday, June 19, 2009 19:26
Le Saint Amour is Bruno and Florence Herve-Commereuc’s latest restaurant. Located in downtown Culver City on a wedge-shaped block, the main entrance is actually on the Culver Blvd. side. The interior has a wall lined with booths and tightly placed tables on one side, and a bar on the other side. On sunny LA days, there’s also the patio located on the Washington Blvd. side.
I had read that Bruno was known for his charcuterie, so how could I come for my first visit without trying any of it? The decision of what to order was easy once I saw there was a charcuterie plate available for lunch ($10) with the choice of fries or salad as the side.
Before my main dish came, I was presented with a basket of bread. The bread may not look like much, but it was the tastiest bread I’ve had for a while. The crust was perfectly toothsome, and the inside was flavorful with just the right amount of chew, and delicious with butter. I had to force myself to stop at one piece of bread to save stomach room for my main dish.
The charcuterie plate came out swiftly with a side of fries. There were two types of each variety of forcemeat, which was plenty for me. Every individual piece was very pleasing to the palate, but I had favorites. Among those were the prosciutto, salumi, and the crushed pepper-corn crusted pate. I was worried that a plate full of meat would be too rich or dense, but that wasn’t the case at all. Nothing was overly salty and each bite of the cornichons (the small pickles) was a refreshing palate cleanse.
Le Saint Amour’s lunch menu offers a variety of sandwiches, salads, and more dinner-type dishes. The sheer number of dishes I can’t even pronounce makes me eager to return for more. The restaurant is the perfect place to settle down with a long, leisurely lunch and a glass of wine.
Le Saint Amour
9725 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
[map]
Louise absolutely LOVES filthy, cheap places! (See more of her posts). You can also find more of Louise's writing at her own website NakedSushi.
catty says:
June 21st, 2009 at 3:04 am
hey this is a cool blog. I’ve been scouring LA foodblogs for when I vacation there soon(ish).. this has been helpful… is there a good japanese restaurant you can recommend too?
SinoSoul says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 am
really nice pix Louise. love the tone of the color.
Louise says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 am
@SinoSoul: Thanks!
@Catty: What part of LA will you be staying at and what type of Japanese food are you looking for? On the west side, some favorites of mine: Musha (Santa Monica), Santouka (ramen @ Mitsuwa food court), Raku (Santa Monica), and K-Zo (Downtown Dulver City).
MaxMillion says:
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:52 am
I also loved your photos, Louise.
@catty — perhaps do a search on this blog for sushi. There have been several fine reviews posted.
Harold (SMM) says:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I love your photos too, Louise. You do a great job. I would love to try that “toothsome” bread. That is one of my favorite parts the meal. In fact, when it’s good I often don’t have space for the rest of the meal! Le Saint Amour sounds like a real treat.
Louise says:
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:34 am
@Viable That’s funny about Yelp because I feel the opposite. There are too many voices there and I’ve read too many reviews that marked restaurants down for non-food issues like parking. There are also those Yelpers who rate hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurants poorly because of ambiance. Come on, you don’t go to a hole in the wall ethnic restaurant for ambiance =)
As for the one plate, I was limited to what I could eat myself. I’m not sure how big your appetite was, but after that one plate, a roll, and a few fries, I was stuffed. Also, remember that most LAFB writers are not comped for their meals, so what they order is limited by their wallet. If you’d like to shell out for me to have a full tasting menu, I would happily oblige.
Viable says:
July 4th, 2009 at 7:32 am
@Louise, I like Yelp because there is a lot of variety to the reviews. You’re not subjected to just one opinion. But, I agree it can be very snooty. I care about parking, but I think ethnic restaurants without ambiance make it kind of fun!