“Chez Mimi”- A Great Secret Romantic Restaurant in LA (7/06)
Located in a charming, courtyard chalet with outdoor dining in the
; (310) 393-0558. Entrees $12.50-$23.50.
Chef-owner Mimi Hebert’s talent for bringing out the best in wonderful locations rivals her delicious French Canadian cuisine and capability to run a silky smooth operation at full capacity. All are evident in her own eponymous restaurant Santa Monica restaurant on the border of
Even the entrance of the beautifully appointed Chez Mimi is classic perfection: a huge, specially designed wrought iron gate with no actual door. And if the air is too chilly, there are six more rooms from which to choose, each holding approximately 30 guests and can be used for private parties. The entire restaurant, in fact, is a sumptuous, comfortable setting for grand events such as weddings or birthdays.
Thousands of twinkling lights on each tree climb the walls in each of the courtyard, in a display designed by server, Rayjean Fontaine, who also holds several Waiter of the Year titles from the California Writers.
Off to one side is the first dining room – entered through an open door with a sparkling beveled glass insert. A glimpse into the room reveals ten tables covered with immaculate white tablecloths and soft lighting by deco wall sconces. Look to the right and the ghost of Robert Stack may stare back; the corner table was always his. Or you may actually see the likes of Phyllis Diller, Betty White or Robert Wagner enjoying themselves with a party of guests and comfortable because they are among friends.
French Canadian Mimi (short for Micheline) Hebert first earned her own reputation as a pioneer restaurant owner with partner, Helene, at Chez Helene on what was then a sleepy Abbott Kinney in
in
Due to popular demand Hébert’s menu remains fairly much the same country classics although it is seasonal. There is the standard liver pate with chicken livers, onions, butter and a splash of
The menu of seasonal standards is prepared with fresh ingredients without a fancy name next to them. Her soups are perfection and there is a wide selection: chilled cucumber in the summer and carrot with no butter or cream are extraordinary for their flavors. Tomato and chilled leek potato soup are also outstanding. The menu continues with straightforward salads (endive, walnuts and Gorgonzola), simply prepared fresh fish (tuna, say, with a fresh tomato-caper sauce), excellent calves’ liver – and, of course, the well known golden-crisp Chez Helene chicken dish, golden-crisp and perfumed with rosemary. It is served with popular individual corn soufflés. The smoked salmon is not to miss!
Specialties include puff pastry with goat cheese, or the refreshing chilled cucumber soup for bouillabaisse, the cassoulet (very mixed reviews) or the lighter leg of lamb with herbs de Provence or the fresh trout with almonds.
Entrees also include a lean, roast duck and a steak with crispy pommes frites. The Filet Mignon with a wine reduction sauce was amazing and I couldn’t pass on the ever so tasty Frog Legs (A unique dish to find anywhere in LA). The wine list offers several good choices at very fair prices.
Sand dabs from Catalina are a rare find in a
Still a favorite from the very first Chez Helene is Poulet Chez Helene, roasted chicken infused with lemon and rosemary flavor. Gigot d’adneau or roasted leg of lamb is the favorite with a generous amount of crispy skin and golden toasted almonds.
The wine list includes a two-page "special limited selections" insert in the middle, which includes the vintages and describes the style of the wines and which dishes they might best accompany. We had the Macon Village Louis Jadot from
Desserts: classic crème Brule. The homey dessert, a Quebecois cookbook: favorite, has as its base a cake-like pudding called chômeur, laced with either caramel or raspberries. This item tops the dessert menu and every French-Canadian has a childhood story from home about eating the dessert with the first berries of the year. Like most French Canadian desserts, it’s sugary, and best served with some vanilla ice cream. This unpretentious sweet can make a regular customer out of the most reluctant diner..
Other nice selections are the Lemon Pie and the Apple Tartan a la mode.
Mimi Hébert presides over her namesake
She has special lollipops for children, who seem to delight in picking a color from the bowl she keeps behind her desk as much as she had given them an expensive toy. She remembers birthdays of patrons and special likes and dislikes. It is not unusual for regulars to call in on their way home for a favorite dish or two every night she is open even as Mimi presides over her doman, fielding phone calls, writing out bills and chatting with customers who stop by.
On the evening we visited, she was doling out bills for a patron’s valet parking fee and making herself a reminder to bill a customer for his dinner the next time he came in since he had forgotten his wallet
Mimi’s well-trained staff is hand-picked and most speak French.
Chez Mimi is a former dentist’s home and office. It is to the credit of the dentist’s wife that she turned at least the front in the beginning into an engaging restaurant long ago (the now elderly dentist has happily dined and reminisced at Chez Mimi’s more than once). It was also the former home of the highly successful Chamelions in which Chef Elka Gilmore got her start. Each room holds approximately 30 guests and can be used for private parties and the entire restaurant is a sumptuous, comfortable setting for grand events such as weddings or birthdays.
A painting by Chez Mimi admirer, the famed French painter, Guy Buffet, now hangs in the kitchen near Mimi. It is a replacement by Monsieur Buffet for one that formerly hung in a dining room which a guest thought was for the taking!
Patrons argue good naturedly whether the space reminds them of
All in all, this romantic restaurant is a great date place among the fantastic food. There is a nice patio when the weather is nice. The atmosphere is beautiful with many, many candles. Chez Mimi is a hidden secret and a place for an unforgettable evening. If possible, request the excellent service from long time waiter Rayjean.