Meet In Paris: A Neighborhood Bistro

Ron celebrated his 72nd birthday in Los Angeles.  We spent the day visiting our new grandson, Calvin.  He is the newly adopted infant of David and Tracy, who got married about 18 months ago.  He's so tiny!  You forget how little and fragile they are at just a little over six pounds, but before you know it he'll be a big boy.  Ron was afraid to hold at first, but he ended up with Calvin in his arms, fast asleep, for a half hour.  We both just loved our time with him, and enjoyed seeing David and Tracy, first time parents, adapting to everything so well.

There's nothing more that Ron likes to do is to take his children out for dinner, and that's exactly what he did that night.  Unfortunately Phil and Deborah were in Colorado and couldn't join us, but David and Tracy, Brian and Beth and Ron and I had a wonderful time together.  Here's what we did.

We decided to try one of the many upscale restaurants on Culver Blvd, in Culver City.  In the space of two blocks there must be 20+ wonderful restaurants.  As Ron is a lover of French food, he chose Meet in Paris, a neighborhood bistro that couldn't get any more French.  The bistro is small, tables are close together, there's a large outdoor eating area on the front sidewalk with lots of little tables under a big red awning.  Friendly waiters helped us select our meal from so many choices.  We were there on a Tuesday night, which is all you can eat mussels and fries night.  They have over a dozen sauces to choose from, or you can try them all.  No one in our party opted for the mussels, but they did look fantastic.  We tried the tarte tatin a la tomate as a starter (tomatoes, pears and blue cheese in puff pastry) which was delicious.  We also order escargots, my favorite, and they were delicious, served with lots of French bread to sop up the garlic butter.  I also ordered the onion soup, oozing with cheese (love the crusty part that you have to peel off the soup bowl).  Yum.  I ordered steak tartare, which was excellent.  I got the appetizer size, but you can get the entrée size which is served with delicious skinny French fries and a salad.  Ron and Brian ordered bouillabaisse.  The dish was filled with all kinds of fish, swimming in a saffron broth, with a toasted baguette and rouille.  Tracy had a simply prepared fillet of salmon over sautéed veggies, and David ordered linguine aux fruits de mer.  It was really a fine meal.  We finished with coffee and a decadant fondant and ice cream dessert.

The best part of the evening was getting to share the meal with two of our three boys and their wonderful wives.  We swapped stories, made each other laugh, and got to spend some quality time together.  A memorable evening for sure, and just what Ron wanted.  Next time you're in LA, try a meal on Culver Blvd.  Meet in Paris is a great place to eat with family or friends, or try one of the many "in" places in the area.  A wonderful evening was had by all.