Le Saint Amour: Walter Manzke does Fried Chicken

Le Saint Amour, the French brasserie in Culver City, recently hired former Bastide and Church & State chef Walter Manzke as a consulting chef to help them with their menu.  As part of the changes, a new Sunday night fried chicken served family style special has been added to the menu.

The chicken with sides and a dessert is $29 per person and included slaw and french fries on the evening I visited.  The meal is described as "A Volonte", which means as much as you would like, which is a more polite way of saying that the family style meal includes second helpings.  The waitress told me that "if my stomach told me it wanted more then I could tell her I wanted more and she would bring it."  Very cute.

The chicken itself had good flavor and was more moist than the version I had tried the week before at Vertical.  However, it was largely served off of the bone, which is a big drawback to making excellent fried chicken.  Despite this drawback I felt the chicken was better at Saint Amour than Vertical, though Vertical's side dishes were superior and overall offering felt more bountiful.  All in all, it was a draw, and I'd recommend either, if you are in the area, though neither is worthy of a long detour.

The slaw was light and I enjoyed it so much I had seconds of it.  The french fries were nice and crisp.  If the chicken had been on the bone, I would have been thrilled.  Although the menu emailed to me and on the chalkboard advertised dessert inclusive with the meal at $29, perhaps because I was alone it was not offered to me on this basis.

The brasserie itself has the genuine feel of a casual and lively brasserie in Paris.  If you have seen the film Avenue Montaigne, Le Saint Amour is reminiscent of the cafe at the center of the movie.  I would happily return but cannot place the fried chicken there in the top echelon in the city, as it does not compare to what Josef Centeno is making at The Lazy Ox Canteen or to Flossie's in the South Bay.  The hunt for the best fried chicken continues.

Le Saint Amour: 9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City.  Phone: (310) 842-8155.  Website: http://www.lesaintamour.com/

Vertical Bistro: Sunday Night Fried Chicken

Lately fried chicken seems to be everywhere in foodie circles and restaurant menus, along with gourmet hamburgers and desserts with either salt or pork or both.  Vertical Bistro launches its entry into the All You Can Eat fried chicken sweepstakes with a $29 Sunday dinner, a concept that Eva Restaurant had success with last year and which Le Saint Amour also launched in this month.

On a recent Sunday the meal began with a first course of poached hen egg, bacon grits and frisee (above).  I ate the hen egg and skipped the rest of the dish with the pork in it.  The egg was cooked just right with a warm runny center.  The second course was the star attraction, the fried chicken, which came with a variety of sides including collared greens, slaw, loaded smashed potatoes and jalapeno corn bread.

The side dishes were great.  The slaw was refreshing and didn't include mayonnaise, which earned bonus points with me. The potatoes were rich, light and fluffy.  The sides were generously portioned and like the chicken were all you can eat.  The fried chicken (below) arrived alongside the sides and was good but not amazing.  The chicken was nicely crispy and the crispy outer layer stayed on when taking a bite.  (Nothing is sadder than seeing all the breading/crust fall off of a piece of chicken once it has been bitten or cut into.)  I just wish the chicken had been moister; it was too dry.  That did not stop me from having a second portion.

The jalapeno corn bread was a nice balance between the sweetness of the corn and the kick from the japapeno peppers.  This was not a dessert, as some corn breads often taste like.

Dessert was a choice of apple tart with vanilla gelato or blood orange & pear sorbet.  I chose the tart and was pleased.  The caramel and apple are a classic combination and this version did not disappoint.

At $29, for all the meal includes, the Sunday night Fried Chicken dinner is a good value and a fun way to eat. The chicken and the side dishes are served family style, and everyone can have as much as they want of anything.  For only $9 more you can have a generous carafe of wine with your meal, which I gladly did.  My dinner companion and I ate in the lounge and it was quite comfortable; I think I prefer it to the main dining room.

Vertical Wine Bistro: Upstairs at 70 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena.  Phone: (626) 795-3999.  Website: http://verticalwinebistro.com

Tuesday night fried chicken and beer at Eva

On June 22nd, Mark Gold, the chef/owner of Eva Restaurant, began an inspired weekly Tuesday tradition: all you can eat fried chicken and all you can drink microbrew beer from a keg for $25. A couple of weeks ago when I went, there were four sides offered for $5 each - creamed corn, creamed spinach, potatoes or salad.



On Tuesdays the regular menu is not available and the whole restaurant is given over to fried chicken and beer. The chicken pieces came to the table piping hot and were served family style. Thighs and legs were available. The chicken was crispy and the bird was of high quality. The chicken was moist and the skin had a nice crunch to it.

The beer was served in plastic cups, like you might find at a college party with a keg, to keep up the fun casual festive vibe. Refills were offered frequently; there is no danger of not getting sufficient liquid refreshment at Eva. When there was an issue with the keg, the server offered a choice of two other beers that presumably came from bottles/cans, which was an example of good service by proactively offering a solution. The keg was quickly fixed, so this wasn't an issue for long.

The server mentioned that on previous occasions there had been fried chicken wings as well. If that is important to you, I'd recommend to call ahead the day of to confirm. Gold himself was not there that evening, as he was on a family vacation.



The initial dinner on June 22nd was mobbed with people waiting to get in for their fix of bird and beer. When we went on July 6th, it was much quieter, with no wait (we had a reservation) at any time, likely due to long holiday weekend immediately preceding.

Overall I thought the chicken was good but not amazing. I prefer the chicken at Bastide, Flossies and Lazy Ox, in that order; but I would still recommend this chicken and the Tuesday special. There is something very American about all you can eat and serving family style. The food is good, the beer is free flowing and you don't have to worry about what to order. Basically with one side per person, it is $30 + tax & tip, which is fair for food of this quality and quantity.

Your next chance to try it is tomorrow night, so make a reservation.

Eva is located at 7458 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles. Phone: (323) 634-00700. Website: www.evarestaurantla.com