BBE Editor's Pick

Le Saint Amour

9725 Culver Blvd., Culver City

Chef Bruno Herve-Commereuc, a charcuterie wiz and the former owner of Angelique Café downtown, turns out brasserie classics in all their rich, butter-soaked glory: house-made sausages, duck confit (salt-cured and poached in its own fat, bien sûr), juicy steaks and piles on piles of frites. It’s refreshingly un-LA to see suited-up diners (likely from nearby Sony studios) ditch their diets at the door. And it’s refreshingly un-Paris to gorge in such cheery surrounds, with a modern open kitchen and attitude-free waiters. There’s no Gallic, dark and moody mise-en-scène here and you won’t miss it, not even for a minute. This is French dining hybridized in all the right ways for SoCal.

menu musts

Assiette de charcuterie (house pâtés and prosciutto)
Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French onion soup)
Merguez et carottes au cumin (Moroccan lamb sausage with cumin carrots)
Confit de canard (duck confit with oyster mushrooms fricassee)
Entrecôte béarnaise (grilled rib eye in béarnaise sauce with pommes frites) view full menu here

sweet seats

Outside, when the jacarandas bloom in fall and spring, purple flowers shade the spacious sidewalk patio. Inside, slide into the red banquette that runs the length of one wall for a view of the action in the kitchen.

chew on this

Husband-and-wife owners Florence and Bruno named their boîte after one of the best (and most expensive) Beaujolais. Usually hard to find, the cru-status Saint-Amour is stocked in their cellar.

hours

lunch: Mon.–Fri. 11:30 AM–3 PM;
dinner: Sun.–Thurs. 5:30 PM–9:30 PM;
Fri.–Sat. 5:30 PM–10:30 PM
brunch: Sat.–Sun. 10 AM–4 PM

price range

$16 (cassoulet aux legumes) to $24 (steak frites)

9725 Culver Blvd. (between Duquesne Ave. and Lafayette Pl.), Culver City, CA 90232; 310-842-8155 www.lesaintamour.com $$$