L’Entrecote: The Real McCoy for French Steaks

If you’ve never had entrecote, the Frenchman’s idea of a great steak, you’ll find the real McCoy at L’Entrecote on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. And don’t worry. The price is right: $14.50 fixed, because, friends, steak is all there is to order (except for one or two seafood or poultry specials daily).

L’Entrecote is a one-dish specialty house that has chains in Geneva, London and Paris. Just look around and you’ll notice customers who look as if they’ve dined at all the L’Entrecote chains and can’t keep away.

Actually, L’Entrecote was a nice surprise. I had expected a hit-and-run operation. But no, the meal is true prefection, scientifically honed to a fine line. There simply is no better entrecote, I would think, even in Paris. The steak is succulent, though not the juicy, thick type Americans adore. It’s an eye of New York steak (long and about one-inch thick) that is served with a sauce, whose secret is locked in the family vault. There is a long-winded explanation of L’Entrecote’s “famous” sauce that out-balances the size of the menu.

Secret Sauce

“In 1941,” says the blurb, “the late Monsieur Freddy Dumont used a secret blend of 12 ingredients to create a savory sauce with a unique flavor. This sauce, which has gained world repute, is what graces our tables at L’Entrecote, Beverly Hills.”

Who is Dumont? We discover that Dumont had established the first Cafe de Paris in Geneva serving his special entrecote as the only item on the menu. That was 20 years ago. Dumont’s secret apparently was wrenched from him by offers he couldn’t refuse because L’Entrecote now has exclusive rights to the sauce in the United States.

There is no question that Dumont had something. The bearnaise-type sauce makes the steak. The pomme-frites, which come with the steak also are excellent, and you can get seconds if you want. You also get a salad with the meal and what a great salad it is. Simple and to the point. A beautiful plate of soft butter lettuce is arranged like a huge blossom on the plate, and it too has a sauce that will make you want to return for more. The lettuce leaves are chilled, crisp and fresh, the vinaigrette divine. The salad comes to the table before, not after the steak, as is the French custom.

But that’s not all. The simple, understated, one-dish menu has a back page covered with the most enticing desserts you’ll find anywhere.

They are typical bistro desserts you’d find in brasseries and places like Le Drug Store (a drug store/restaurant chain) in Paris. There are wonderful sundaes topped with chantilly (whipped cream), doused in liqueurs, garnished with exotic, perfumed preserves, berries, chocolate, preserved orange and chestnuts, or nuts. We went wild over several sundaes including les meringues glacees (meringue topped with ice cream, chantilly and warm chocolate sauce, and la coupe exotique, made with pineapple, kiwis, and sorbet , and the chocolate, vanilla and strawberry cream with strawberries, roasted almonds and whipped cream.

The other desserts are also great. Try la tarte tatin (apple upside down cake), la creme caramel, la poire belle Helene (pears with ice cream and chocolate sauce), la peche Melba (peaches Melba) among others. We also tried a wonderful raspberry Bavarian they served as a special one day that was one of the best, if not the very best, I’ve ever had. This Bavarian was creamy, not too airy and delicious.

If you go for lunch, you’ll have more of a selection. One day there was salad Nicoise, grilled breast of chicken, pasta of the day, a French burger that is an interpretation of an American burger, served with (you guessed it) a sauce. There also were game hen and tiger prawns that were outstanding and fresh.

Lunch prices are moderate ($7.50 for the salad, chicken and burger, and $14.50 for the fish and hen. The prawns go for $19.50, the highest price on the menu.

Frankly, I think the steak is the best buy, bar none. You get it all. The salad, the steak, the French fries. They’ll get you with the dessert at $4.50, but who can resist?

A word about ambience: pleasant. Even romantic, if that’s what you’re looking for. In one room banquets line one wall (a la Francais), facing groupings of tables fitted nicely with immaculate table service. Another room faces the bar, which is at the entry and extremely accessible if you want to stop by for a quick one before heading home to the Valley or wherever, and pretend you’re in Geneva, London or Paris. Same thing.

L’Entrecote, 9025 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; (213) 278-9998. Open Monday through Friday from noon to 11 p.m.; open Saturday and Sunday for dinner only from 6 p.m. to midnight. Major credit cards accepted. Valet parking available. Reservations suggested for dinner. Full bar.