Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bar Bouchon, Beverly Hills, CA

I love finding little gems in Los Angeles.  Bar Bouchon's happy hour is one of them.

Truffled popcorn? Why didn't I think of this? It's so easy... popcorn, butter, truffle oil. Well, now I know, having been to Thomas Keller's Bar Bouchon, the younger, hipper sibling to the lauded upstairs establishment, Bouchon, in Beverly Hills, California.

While big brother is exacting French technique on classics like foie gras and rillettes, downstairs plays with its food, quietly offering its menu at a more approachable price point.  Turning out good old-fashioned American "casual classics" like braised BBQ pork sandwiches, served with a tangy-sweet cabbage and fuji apple coleslaw while nodding to staple French ingredients like brothy saffron-infused mussels and delicate, cured charcuterie is what gives Bar Bouchon its charm. A few haute-cuisine standards from upstairs like Terrine de Foie Gras de Canard and Rillettes aux Deux Saumons cross-pollinate, but more whimsically opulent dishes like Tartare de Saumon and fresh tomato soup and grilled cheese on brioche are at home on the sweeping zinc bar under the soft glow of rustic Edison light bulbs, breaking with the starched white traditions of upstairs.

The bar’s popular happy hour brings prices down to an affordable slice of Beverly Hills, with a daily cocktail, beer, red and white wine selection for $5-7, and menu that includes oysters of the day ($2/ea) to smaller versions of existing menu items BBQ Pork Sliders ($8/two). It's available 4-7pm Monday through Friday. When it's not happy hour, prepare to spend between $11.50 and $18.50 per entree.

Bar Bouchon
235 North Canon Drive, between Dayton and Clifton Way
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-281-5698

Wheelchair accessibility:  Bar Bouchon is at ground level. If you park in either public parking structure flanking the Bar Bouchon and Bouchon building on Canon, elevators will take you to the ground floor. From there, curb ramp accessibility is great along Canon.  Access to Bar Bouchon is a wide, tiled, covered entry, with a curb ramp right in front.




4 comments:

  1. There isn't much that makes me miss living in LA, but this does! I would so invite myself along to Bar Bouchon happy hour with you. I am a sucker for all things Thomas Keller, as well as a good happy hour. This sounds so wonderful.

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  2. I've eaten at the Montage several times now but somehow I haven't had the opportunity to eat at Bouchon. Truffled popcorn is now my incentive!

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  3. Right!? Bar Bouchon > Bouchon by tenfold! I just want to rub my bare ass on that bar (post shower), it's so freakin' exquisite.

    I mean, I did pay $7 for half of a grilled cheese sandwich here once, but hey, it's "TK".

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  4. HAhahaah! Best comment.

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