The last time I was in 11266 Ventura Boulevard, on the curve as the roadway heads towards Universal City, it was a most peculiar restaurant called Gadarene Swine — a dimly lit vegan eatery, with tiny portions of artfully arranged ingredients served at outlandish prices.
As I recall, the artfully arranged ingredients couldn’t really be seen. So, it wasn’t until you had racked up quite a bill, that you realized…you were still hungry. After paying far too much, I went down the street to the Turkish skewer house called Spitz — and finished the evening with a proper meal, at a fraction of the cost.
These days, the space is home to a remarkable French bistro called Montresor, with proper lighting, decent portions — and prices that are still up there. But, at least, you get great a meal for your money, served efficiently by cheerful folks, happy to be working a full house of many folks hungering for what may well be the next culinary wave in the Valley — a return to French bistro cuisine. (Consider Ludo Lefebvre’s newly opened Petit Trois in Sherman Oaks. The prices are considerable — and you need a dinner reservation well in advance!)
Montresor is a reminder of why, for so many of us, French cuisine was the gateway drug to fine dining. I grew up in a world of Jewish delis, pizzerias, chop suey joints, roadside diners, burgers and dogs. Tablecloths were unknown in the restaurants of my youth. Any hint of graciousness was treated with suspicion. Servers took your orders, vanished into the kitchen, and dropped it on your table moments later. And then, I discovered the world of coq au vin and boeuf Bourguignon — and my universe was flipped on its side.
I don’t want to give the impression that Montresor is fancy or fussy, for it isn’t. There are no tablecloths, though the table tops seem to be made of polished gold. Service is affable. But it’s also concerned, efficient and helpful if you’re not sure of what’s meant by Bloomsdale spinach and Zuckerman asparagus, and what a veloute and a confit might be.
Salmon at Montresor in Studio City
And once you get past words that you probably knew once, but have forgotten as you’ve filled your life with hamachi and uni, you’ll find a menu that’s actually very downhome, though more upscale than a bistro or a brasserie, and decidedly fancier than a café. Montresor is Modern French that’s also decidedly old school. It’s where you go for memories — and for good food too, that won’t have you grabbing the Lipitor before the meal is over.
The menu is manageable — just a four by 11 card about the size of the checklist menus at sushi bars. There are nine appetizers, and eight entrees, along with whatever specials are being served that night.
And this is more or less classic French cooking, though not entirely so. The chef is Paul Shoemaker, a veteran of such edgy joints as Bastide and The French Laundry.
So, not surprisingly, he puts his own twist on the dishes. But these are lite twists — as with the bake avocado and salted plum served with the American wagyu beef tartare, and cocoa ginger sauce with the seared foie gras.
The chef marks many of the dishes with his touches — how about getting your beef tenderloin with a carrot coriander veloute (a white sauce thickened with cream and egg yolks), and a nice fat dab of bone marrow, a guilty pleasure if ever there was one!
More great eats: Salad days are here in the San Fernando Valley
But if you want a taste of the French cuisine so many of us got all emotional about so many years ago, consider the fine roast chicken with baby root vegetables (and pork belly too, just because…), the roast duck with navel orange, bacon and tasty Le Puy lentils. or — classic among classics! — the French onion soup, with a thick mantle of melted Gruyere, and croutons made in house from baguettes.
The mussels in garlic wine sauce are as Proustian for me as his madeleine.And for dessert, there are profiteroles, along with creme brulee, panna cotta and a chocolate broche bread pudding.
There is, unexpectedly, an outdoor patio — of sorts. It’s really more of a counter, in front of the restaurant, where you can order a glass of wine, and perhaps a platter of the Kumamoto oysters. With a classic mignonette sauce. Cars speed by on Ventura Boulevard, heading for Hollywood, while you imagine yourself being in the Marais.Happiness is French Cooking…rediscovered.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Send him email at mreats@aol.com.
Montresor
Rating: 3 stars
Address: 11266 Ventura Blvd., Studio City
Information: 818-760-7081, www.montresor.la
Cuisine: French
When: Brunch, Sunday; dinner, Tuesday through Sunday
Details: Beer and wine; reservations essential
Atmosphere: Intimate, elegant French café/bistro, very atmospheric, with a small outdoor patio, and an irregularly shaped interior, offering a small menu of tres Gallic cuisine.
Prices: About $50 per person.
Suggested dishes: Bibb Lettuce Salad ($14), Asparagus with Truffle Fondue ($26), French Onion Soup ($12), Wagyu Beef Tartare ($18), Foie Gras Torchon ($26), Seared Foie Gras ($26), Crab Cake ($20), Bouchot Mussels ($20), Turbot ($38), Black Bass ($38), Salmon ($34), Chicken ($28), Duck ($36), Short Rib ($40), Beef Tenderloin ($48)
Cards: MC, V
Dining and Cooking