La Vie
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About
Amid the thousand or so Asian eateries that sprawl across the San GabrielValley stands one notable French restaurant, La Vie, completely obscured by thehulking 99 Ranch Asian supermarket up the street.
The menu at this sweet, family-run dinner houseis thoroughly old-fashioned. Of course, dishes such as escargots and canardau Grand Marnier suggest the hackneyed Continental restaurants of the '70s,which Calvin Trillin justly lampooned as "La Maison de la Casa House."Actually, though, La Vie is just the kind of terrific, offbeat find Trillinwould be thrilled to discover.
The boxy, vintage-'80s dining room has been madecozy and welcoming with valentine-pink tablecloths, flickering candles andmodest reproduction art. The cuisine is French as interpreted by La Vie'sVietnamese owners. Each dish takes you straight to old Paris, although the chefdoes know how to lighten rich sauces. The sumptuous aromas of roasting meat andcaramelizing sugar drift in from the kitchen whenever a waiter -- one of thefamily's teenage sons -- strides through the swinging doors, arms filledwith plates of the house specialties.
Most dishes are textbook Escoffier; the chefdoesn't impose lemon grass or fish sauce or any other element of Asian flavoror technique. Hors d'oeuvres include a thin slab of homemade pork and chickenliver pâté, infused with juniper berries and garnished with a fanned cornichon;it's the size of a CD and would probably satisfy two people.
The escargots may be a tad rubbery, but they comein a good, garlicky parsley butter.
The familiar French soups, usually purees ofseasonal vegetables, have the uncomplicated taste of their main ingredient andenough cream to make them silky yet not so rich that they blunt theappetite.
When I ordered duck with orange sauce, I expectedthe familiar lacquered duck slathered with sweet sauce. As a measure of thekitchen's skill, what came instead was boned duck, slightly flattened androasted to render the fat almost completely from the skin, making it as crispas pork rind. The juicy meat lay on a pool of brown sauce that subtly balancedthe flavors of oranges and rich duck stock. It was generously accompanied withartfully cooked green beans and seasoned rice. (Some entrées, such as the rackof lamb in garlic crust, may come with potatoes Anna, a sort of gratin ofpotato slices baked in cream.)
The chicken in the coq au vin is alsopartially boned before being braised with wine, bacon and mushrooms. Thebraising liquid is then meticulously reduced to a thick, glossy sauce. There'sa similar exactness in the preparation of lapin chasseur, stewed rabbitwith a chunky tomato-mushroom sauce, and in the tender sweetbreads (ris deveau) in Madeira cream.
If La Vie has an imperfection, it's excessivecaution in using strong flavors. A generous hunk of expertly grilled salmon,though moist throughout, comes with sorrel sauce that barely tastes of theherb. A special of lamb chops (côtes d'agneau) in peppercorn saucecontained only a few lonely peppercorns.
Still, there is plenty of good news here. Unlikethe many places that make everything à la carte, even a sauce, La Vieincludes soup, butter lettuce salad and good coffee with each entrée.
The dessert to get, a soufflé au Grand Marnierabout four inches across, comes billowing dramatically from its mold. Itgets the full traditional flourish at the table: The young waiter ceremoniouslypunctures the soufflé top and pours crème anglaise into its center.Order it in advance, as usual.
Crème caramel and crème brûlée withthe usual crunchy sugar surface are both deftly prepared. On the other hand,the pear belle Hélène -- made with canned pears, commercial ice creamand chocolate sauce -- doesn't live up to the rest of La Vie's cooking.
La Vie may seem out of touch in its neighborhoodof dim sum and Taiwanese noodle parlors. But the restaurant has already built afan club among locals who haven't forgotten why haute French cookingfrom the right kitchens endures as a classic.
The menu at this sweet, family-run dinner houseis thoroughly old-fashioned. Of course, dishes such as escargots and canardau Grand Marnier suggest the hackneyed Continental restaurants of the '70s,which Calvin Trillin justly lampooned as "La Maison de la Casa House."Actually, though, La Vie is just the kind of terrific, offbeat find Trillinwould be thrilled to discover.
The boxy, vintage-'80s dining room has been madecozy and welcoming with valentine-pink tablecloths, flickering candles andmodest reproduction art. The cuisine is French as interpreted by La Vie'sVietnamese owners. Each dish takes you straight to old Paris, although the chefdoes know how to lighten rich sauces. The sumptuous aromas of roasting meat andcaramelizing sugar drift in from the kitchen whenever a waiter -- one of thefamily's teenage sons -- strides through the swinging doors, arms filledwith plates of the house specialties.
Most dishes are textbook Escoffier; the chefdoesn't impose lemon grass or fish sauce or any other element of Asian flavoror technique. Hors d'oeuvres include a thin slab of homemade pork and chickenliver pâté, infused with juniper berries and garnished with a fanned cornichon;it's the size of a CD and would probably satisfy two people.
The escargots may be a tad rubbery, but they comein a good, garlicky parsley butter.
The familiar French soups, usually purees ofseasonal vegetables, have the uncomplicated taste of their main ingredient andenough cream to make them silky yet not so rich that they blunt theappetite.
When I ordered duck with orange sauce, I expectedthe familiar lacquered duck slathered with sweet sauce. As a measure of thekitchen's skill, what came instead was boned duck, slightly flattened androasted to render the fat almost completely from the skin, making it as crispas pork rind. The juicy meat lay on a pool of brown sauce that subtly balancedthe flavors of oranges and rich duck stock. It was generously accompanied withartfully cooked green beans and seasoned rice. (Some entrées, such as the rackof lamb in garlic crust, may come with potatoes Anna, a sort of gratin ofpotato slices baked in cream.)
The chicken in the coq au vin is alsopartially boned before being braised with wine, bacon and mushrooms. Thebraising liquid is then meticulously reduced to a thick, glossy sauce. There'sa similar exactness in the preparation of lapin chasseur, stewed rabbitwith a chunky tomato-mushroom sauce, and in the tender sweetbreads (ris deveau) in Madeira cream.
If La Vie has an imperfection, it's excessivecaution in using strong flavors. A generous hunk of expertly grilled salmon,though moist throughout, comes with sorrel sauce that barely tastes of theherb. A special of lamb chops (côtes d'agneau) in peppercorn saucecontained only a few lonely peppercorns.
Still, there is plenty of good news here. Unlikethe many places that make everything à la carte, even a sauce, La Vieincludes soup, butter lettuce salad and good coffee with each entrée.
The dessert to get, a soufflé au Grand Marnierabout four inches across, comes billowing dramatically from its mold. Itgets the full traditional flourish at the table: The young waiter ceremoniouslypunctures the soufflé top and pours crème anglaise into its center.Order it in advance, as usual.
Crème caramel and crème brûlée withthe usual crunchy sugar surface are both deftly prepared. On the other hand,the pear belle Hélène -- made with canned pears, commercial ice creamand chocolate sauce -- doesn't live up to the rest of La Vie's cooking.
La Vie may seem out of touch in its neighborhoodof dim sum and Taiwanese noodle parlors. But the restaurant has already built afan club among locals who haven't forgotten why haute French cookingfrom the right kitchens endures as a classic.
-- Linda Burum
Special to The Times
Special to The Times
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What's Nearby
| 1 | La Vie 0.00 miles |
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| 2 | Phong Dinh Restaurant 0.11 miles |
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| 3 | Tasty Food 0.28 miles |
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| 4 | Lien Phat 0.28 miles |
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| 5 | Nuoc Mia Vien Dong 0.28 miles |
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