A Note on French Restaurants in LA

My buddy Billy has a penchant for french onion soup, so at his behest, we have gone to a few swank French restaurants in LA.

Cafe des Artiste
1534 N Mccadden Pl
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 469-7300

Despite our walking in at 10 pm on a Sunday night, wearing classically collegiate attire (zip-hoodies, skinny jeans, etc.), and not ordering entrees or alcohol, we received perfectly respectful service. The french onion was good, but we will continue to explore LA until we find the one we cannot substitute. We also ordered from the dessert menu and I have to say: the Brioche Pudding with caramel sauce, I die!
However, the real winner was the ambiance of this tiny, reclusive restaurant. Most of the seating is in the front or back patio, supplemented with plenty of heat lamps and dim lighting. I'd love to come back to this place a little older, a little richer and a lot in love.


Mimosa
8009 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-8895

Next we tried Mimosa, owned/operated by the same Chef as Cafe des Artistes. It has a home-y, comfortable and simple interior, though some of the 'flame' lamps didn't quite go with the rest of the decor. We were a bit more prepared in terms of attire, but the host and service were on point regardless. A jar of olives, a jar of cornichons and a basket of bread were immediately brought to the table. Once again we sampled the french onion soup, which overall I preferred to the previous spot, but it could have used a larger proportion of cheese and fewer onions. We also split two appetizer's: the House Country Pate with onion marmelade, and the Mac and Cheese gratin with prosciutto. The pate was not what I was expecting-I suppose I prefer a smoother texture. The mac and cheese, while oily, was really damn good and the bits of bacon were a nice touch. I often steer away from Mac and Cheese cuz Kraft just does it so well, haha, but in terms of 'gourmet' mac and cheese, this succeeds.

The prices at both places were, ahem, what you might expect of a French spot. So, go collegiate like us, and stick to appetizers/dessert, or win a lot in Vegas and splurge.

link for both:
http://mimosarestaurant.com/client/mimosa/index.html

Have I been watching too much Top Chef? Methinks yes. But I am no Padma. Thank God.