Michelia

Parking: Street
Catering Laid Back Casual, Cozy, Upscale Bistro Quiet Outdoor Seating

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center may have the best restaurant access of any hospital in the country. Patients there, not to mention hungry visitors, can order takeout from Spago, Chaya Brasserie, Ubon, Locanda Veneta, Orso, the Ivy, Newsroom Café and more, not to mention Jerry's Famous Deli. Jerry's has a smiley face painted on the roof with the words "Get Well Soon," which is visible from certain rooms, though I don't suppose many doctors would write a prescription for pastrami sandwich as part of a patient's get-well program.

A doctor friend alerted me to another choice, a new Euro Asian bistro called Michelia on Third Street just west of Robertson Boulevard. He's been going there for lunch, when you can order any of five Vietnamese-style sandwiches for $8.50. Made typically on French baguette, they come with either a simple green salad or a bowl of soup. I like the charcoal beef version, which is made with marinated filet mignon, and like the roasted chicken version, is garnished with sliced shallots, tomato, cucumbers and pickled carrots and daikon. If you like, $5.95 gets you a half order. The one I'd choose is called the royal sandwich, filled with a savory pork meatloaf, cured pork sausage, ham and a little pate.

For anyone who isn't familiar with Vietnamese cuisine, the sandwiches are an easy introduction. Share an order of Michelia's special spring rolls, too. They're stuffed with fresh crab meat and shrimp along with crunchy vegetables. There's a vegetarian version, too, with black mushrooms and bean curd.

At dinner, owners Cary Chiu and his wife, chef Kimmy Tang, roll out a much more elaborate menu in keeping with Michelia's elegant and serene setting. Water cascades down a slate wall at the back. The glass lamps overhead are cast to resemble tortoiseshell. And out front are a handful of sidewalk tables next to a fountain in which candles bob.

Tang's specialty is a pound of Alaskan king crabs cooked with shallots and scallions. It's enough to keep the entire table busy, ferreting out the tender meat from the legs and claws. She also makes a mean crab cake with lots of crab meat laced with diced taro root and water chestnut for crunch. As a salad, she heaps shredded green papaya with grilled prawns and drizzles it in a mild, sweet peanut sauce.

She makes a graceful version of basil chicken, too.

Tang is using first-class ingredients. For example, all her beef is filet mignon. But I get the feeling the kitchen is sometimes wary of making the food too authentic. Naturally, they want to please their customers and are unsure whether the neighborhood is ready for the real thing. Though flavors can sometimes seem a touch muted, the food, especially at lunch, is a real bargain, especially if you consider the gracious, lovingly decorated setting.

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