Culver City Dining

I have recently been eating out in Culver City quite a bit and enjoy the small town feeling of the place. There are a number of decent restaurants now and one in particular I enjoyed a few times in the last two weeks is Saint Amour. Right behind Starbucks on Culver Blvd. Saint Amour is one of those classic French bistros that are worth a visit.

I sat outside and had lunch on a warm and sunny day about three weeks ago and had a terrific salad Nicoise. This has to be one of the best salads ever and I teach a class on main dish salads where we learn this traditional entrée. It is a composed salad of steamed green beans, seared tuna, hard-boiled egg and new potatoes with olives and anchovies on top. It is not only beautiful but also very delicious. The Saint Amour version was very, very good.

My husband and I visited for a light meal there about two weeks ago before a movie and were impressed to find such a gem in Culver City where there are many trendy places but less with this type of quality.

The second visit was almost perfect from the service to the beautiful décor we both loved the place. We had wonderful warm baguettes with a small dish of olives along with a delicious Belgian beer. Then ordered frisee salad, parsnip soup and a charcuterie plate. The soup – made with parsnips pureed with butter, cream and chicken stock was velvety and satisfying. The frisee salad with lardons- one of my all time favorites was done to perfection; just the right amount of bacon, a lovely vinaigrette and a perfectly poached egg on top. This salad is a meal in itself and it is rare to find one of this quality in a restaurant. The charcuterie plate came with the traditional accompaniments; cornichons, Dijon mustard and pickled onions. This plate is a winner that I highly recommend.

We reserved a spot on a Sunday night with another couple to try the dinner hour. We ordered a Pot Au Feu which is a beef shank that is braised for hours and then served with a little of it’s own broth with potatoes and root vegetables – a peasant dish. This didn’t look anything like that when it arrived, somehow there were no vegetables and the meat was swimming in liquid, more like a soup with some meat and potatoes in it. I was not impressed with the presentation although it had good flavor. I ordered a half roast chicken with some greens and turnips, which was nicely cooked but just a tad bland. Our friends had mussels, steak frites and the beautiful frisee salad with lardons. The dishes were authentic bistro fare that everyone enjoyed but the salad still wins, hands down.

We then had two desserts a perfect chocolate pots de crème with a layer of salted caramel on top that was to die for and a profiterole. I said this was classic French bistro fare and as you can tell by the menu it truly is. The profiterole presented well but the cream puffs were dry and tough; something I would not recommend.

All in all I would have to say this is a lovely place, the atmosphere is charming, the staff are efficient and professional (almost all are French) and if you would like to feel you are in a bistro in Paris this is the place.

If you want to try the salad Nicoise at home here is the perfect recipe.

Classic Salad Nicoise

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

1 Tb. Dijon mustard

2 cloves minced garlic

3 Tb. Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt, pepper

1 pound new potatoes, washed and quartered

12 ounces haricot verts, trimmed

3 large eggs

2 Ahi tuna steaks, about 5 oz. each or 2 cans water packed tuna, drained and crumbled

Olive oil

Thyme, minced

Lettuce for platter

2 ripe tomatoes cut into eighths

10 nicoise olives

4 anchovies, rinsed and drained, optional

6 basil leaves, chiffonade

Procedure

1. Combine the mustard, vinegar and garlic in a bowl and whisk, add oil slowly while whisking and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Cook potatoes in a small saucepan of salted water until tender about 20 minutes, drain, set aside.

3. Blanch beans and refresh with cold water and set aside.

4. Place eggs in a small saucepan of cold water and bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile rub tuna with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Heat the grill and grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a cutting board.

6. Arrange lettuce on large platter; arrange groups of vegetables in piles around platter. Slice tuna in 1/2 inch slices and add to platter. Scatter with olives, lay anchovies on top and sprinkle over the whole platter. Drizzle the dressing over the platter before serving. Serve cold or room temperature.