Thu, May 14 2009 04:39 PM Posted By: Franco Te
La Dijonaise
8703 Washington Boulevard
310-287-2770
www.ladijonaise.com
I finally found a Culver City restaurant that has the most important component in a restaurant for me—cute waiters! Hallelujah. Not just cute, but patient and accommodating. Love those French boys! (At least two, Guillaume and Sebastien, are French.) Tres Bien.
While I was chatting, partly in French, (really, just un peu), my pals were qvelling over the food and wine. (That word’s Jewish, not French.) I’ve known of La Dijonaise as a lunch spot for several years now, but as I’m struggling to pull myself away from watching every second of Wimbledon coverage, I opted for Sunday brunch here, because that’s the only day the tennis is halted in the fortnight. (FYI—don’t expect a lot of reviewing during the Olympics!)
So, I didn’t get to review the regular menu. Shame. But the ladies went wild over what we did try. They were most impressed by the crab cakes, which Jodi deemed “spectacular.” Eadie said they were the best ones she’s ever had. (“Very wellminced, not lumpy, perfect.”) They also loved the “pungent and savory” merguez beef and lamb sausage. The only appetizer I ate was the crevettes provencale, which is tiger shrimps in tomato sauce. Glad I saved my ’tite for that one.
[Sidebar: Don’t get confused with the menu headings, because they erroneously labeled the appetizer section “Les Entrees.” For a minute, I thought that I had a basic phrase of French wrong, but, after grilling the native speakers there, turns out the menu has the mistake.]
Jodi raved about the salmon salad, which was actually a generous serving of hot, grilled salmon fillet on a giant salad that included “luscious” al dente green beans. Mr. X, my salmon expert, would have loved it! But, luckily for him, (and for me because I like to pass along the male opinion), my group got full fast, so I brought the spinach lasagna special home to him. He loved it and said it was quiche-like in consistency, which made it interesting as well as tasty.
I was happy to be at brunch there, instead of dinner, when I saw the perfectly crisped bacon. An order is only $1. 95, which is pretty rare. Same for the side of breakfast potatoes.
The grown-ups (as opposed to ME) were enamored of the “lovely” wine selection, which was mostly French (mai oui!), while I just bided my time until dessert.
And there was plenty to choose from, vreiment! A whole case-ful. We had to try many, just to pass the info on to you, my readers. See the sacrifices I make for the people of Culver City?
With all the Parisian pastries to choose from, you’ll never guess my favorite— the brownie! No kidding—it was perfect. Jodi went for the creamy berry and custard tart and the napoleon, which both came surrounded by vanilla sauce. Eadie was into her unusual apricot creation. I thought I was going to need a bunch of the beckoning chocolate chip cookies, but not wanting to cheat on my brownie, I passed the cookies on to Mr. X, who was in heaven from them.
Until we can make it to Paris, La Dijonaise will do the trick!
© 2009 Culver City News