Mes Amis - Hollywood

PorkyBelly · May 21, 2022, 3:20am

mes amis is a new french restaurant from lincoln carson opens 5/27 in hollywood right next to

thanks @rlw, review forthcoming?

bread service - house levain with bordier butter

channel island rock crab claws, sauce remoulade

perfectly cooked and shelled sweet crab

chicken liver mousse napoleon, puff pastry, cherry gastrique

the puff pastry tasted a little over done and was starting to taste bitter

prime creekstone steak tartare, egg yolk jam, crispy shallot, “everything” lavash

this was fine, could have used some acid. pro tip save some butter for the lavash.

japanese mackerel, market baby vegetables escabèche, coriander

kind of like a fresh version of conservas.

duck pâté en croûte, black truffle, frisée, pickled rhubarb

didn’t taste any truffle in this

little gem lettuce, buttermilk, radish, salted egg

couldn’t taste any salted egg

savory vegetable galette, celery root, leeks, madeira sauce

not sure why this is called a galette, this seemed more like a pithivier. pretty good for being vegetarian, more sauce would have been nice. if lincoln ever decides to do a duck pithivier I would be all over it.

steak au poivre, potato millefeuille, prime shortrib, peppercorn jus

highlight of the night. potatoes were great and the short ribs were extremely tender with just the right amount of fat. but this needed way more sauce.

setting the table needs work

chocolate soufflé, valrhona chocolate, green chartreuse, génépy gelato

Mes Amis
1541 Wilcox Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028

DTLAeater · May 21, 2022, 6:20am

I miss the pastries at Bon Temps, so have been looking forward to this.

PorkyBelly · May 26, 2022, 5:21pm

rohto · May 30, 2022, 4:51am

have a res for 2 on fri at 8p that i can’t use. anyone want it?

rlw · May 31, 2022, 1:06am

The laminated god has returned…

Mes Amis is a couple doors down from Mother Wolf, in probably the “hottest” neighborhood for new openings right now, but you might not never know it because it’s hidden be a curtained red door and doesn’t have any obvious signage.

Once you step inside though, you’re brought into a classy dining room, that’s for better or for worse shut out from the rest of the outside world (it’s a nice, tone setting room, but doesn’t have any natural light).

On their first night of service, our waiter walked us through the menu, recommending we start with the cold fish section, then get some hors d’oeurves, before moving on to entrees or sharing some of the large plates designed for two. We decided to go hard on the hors d’oeuvres and split a couple of the entrees to try more stuff.

Bread Service

Free? I guess? I’m really not sure (they comped it on the bill)

Channel Island Rock Crab Claws - Sauce Remoulade

Started strong with some sweet bites of crab!

Prime Creekstone Steak Tartare - Egg Yolk Jam, Crispy Shallot, “Everything” Lavash

Lavash was slightly sweet?

Chicken Liver Mousse Napoleon - Puff Pastry, Cherry Gastrique

The puff pastry seemed a bit overdone?

Little Gem Lettuce - Buttermilk, Radish, Salted Egg

No ingredient fraud here, but I low key could have made this at home.

Duck Pate en Croute - Black Truffle, Frisée, Pickled Rhubarb

Wait, there was black truffle in this? @PorkyBelly did you get any of that?

Japanese Mackerel - Market Baby Vegetables Escabeche, Coriander

The vegetables were pretty good.

Steak au Poivre - Potato Millefeulle, Prime Shortrib, Peppercorn Jus

Dish of the night. The potato was fantastic and the short rib was one of the better cooked steaks I’ve had recently. Could have used some more sauce though.

Savory Vegetable Galette - Celery Root, Leeks, Madeira Sauce

I’m not usually the first to move on a dish clearly aimed at vegetarians, but I wanted Chef Carson’s pastry in an entree and this was the best I was going to get. It was actually pretty successful, but again, could have used more sauce.

Chocolate Soufflé

Piping hot. And a banger.

Mes Amis has the ground work laid to find its place in the LA dining scene, but it’s still getting there. We were challenged to name more than 5 great French restaurants in LA and could only come up with 4 (Republique, Bicyclette, Petite Trois, Pas Joli). There is more than enough room for more than 4 great French spots in LA, so I’ll be rooting for it.

PorkyBelly · May 31, 2022, 1:32am

the best souffle in la or the greatest? loved the grains of sugar on the side for crunch. the rise on this souffle is higher than our current inflation.

J_L · May 31, 2022, 1:52am

I loved my first meal at Mes Amis. Loved it. Can’t wait to go back.

robert · May 31, 2022, 3:26am

Nice-looking levain. Menu says if they don’t comp you it’s $8.

PorkyBelly · May 31, 2022, 11:43am

bread service - house levain with bordier butter

channel island rock crab claws, sauce remoulade

perfectly cooked and shelled sweet crab

chicken liver mousse napoleon, puff pastry, cherry gastrique

the puff pastry tasted a little over done and was starting to taste bitter

prime creekstone steak tartare, egg yolk jam, crispy shallot, “everything” lavash

this was fine, could have used some acid. pro tip save some butter for the lavash.

japanese mackerel, market baby vegetables escabèche, coriander

kind of like a fresh version of conservas.

duck pâté en croûte, black truffle, frisée, pickled rhubarb

didn’t taste any truffle in this

little gem lettuce, buttermilk, radish, salted egg

couldn’t taste any salted egg

savory vegetable galette, celery root, leeks, madeira sauce

not sure why this is called a galette, this seemed more like a pithivier. pretty good for being vegetarian, more sauce would have been nice. if lincoln ever decides to do a duck pithivier I would be all over it.

steak au poivre, potato millefeuille, prime shortrib, peppercorn jus

highlight of the night. potatoes were great and the short ribs were extremely tender with just the right amount of fat. but this needed way more sauce, there was barely enough for one piece.

setting the table needs work

chocolate soufflé, valrhona chocolate, green chartreuse, génépy gelato

hungryhungryhippos · May 31, 2022, 7:44pm

@PorkyBelly how would you characterize your experience? There seemed to be a lot of 3 croissants which to me seems pretty middle of the road?

PorkyBelly · June 1, 2022, 2:21am

I think you nailed it. besides the 5 highlights everything else I thought was just fine. kind of how I felt after bon temps too.

attran99 · June 1, 2022, 2:39am

So maybe have dinner at Mother Wolf and stroll to Mes Amis for dessert?

PorkyBelly · June 1, 2022, 2:45am

a mother wolf mes amis bang bang would be perfect

js76wisco · June 1, 2022, 3:11am

You make it sound so easy.

attran99 · June 1, 2022, 3:20am

This sounds like a Resy dare.

js76wisco · June 1, 2022, 3:23am

Double dog dare ya.

moonboy403 · June 1, 2022, 3:33am

Anyone got a copy of their dessert menu?

PorkyBelly · June 1, 2022, 3:34am

NYCtoLA · June 4, 2022, 6:39pm

Ask and you shall receive. Thanks for organizing @PorkyBelly.

Some new desserts from Mes Amis that we thought were tasty.

Strawberry Pavlova - IMO, this is a must order, even more so than the souffle, which is fantastic. The meringue had this perfect chewy texture, and there was a nice savoriness to complement the sweetness. They use Harries strawberries - the server was adorably explaining to us the provenance of the strawberries

The aforementioned Chocolate Souffle did not disappoint - really liked the chartreuse ice cream, which added an herbal component. The crunchy sugary edges didn’t hurt either.

Never had the St Honore at Bon Temps so this was my first time. Really great as well - nice texture on the crust and all the different profiteroles as additional treats.

Lastly the Baba Au Rhum

For good measure, my favorite bites from the first part of the bang bang.

hungryhungryhippos · June 4, 2022, 7:05pm

Wow mvp bang bang!