A Breath of Fresh Air Blows Into L’Orangerie

The large, ribbon-tied menu arrived in the mail last week with a cover letter: “My name is Gilles Epie, I arrived two weeks ago from Paris to be the new chef de cuisine at L’Orangerie. Please find enclosed my new menu closely collaborated with Gerard and Virginie.”

What he doesn’t mention is that he was one of the City of Light’s fast-rising young stars with two Paris restaurants: the one-star Miravile and the more casual Campagne et Provence. It can only be our good luck that Epie has pulled up stakes and moved to Los Angeles and L’Orangerie’s kitchen.

With his first take on “the cuisine of the sun,” he’s already given the elegant French restaurant’s menu a breath of fresh air. What a pleasure to be confronted with half-a-dozen dishes you really long to order: thick filet of salmon in smoked oil (“like herring!”), langoustine tails cooked in coriander, Maine scallops with bone marrow and truffles, a marvelous moist saddle of rabbit with black olives in pesto.

Never fear. Epie didn’t sweep everything on L’Orangerie’s old menu out the door: You can still get the famous eggs in the shell with caviar spooned on top.

Given a free hand, this established and very capable young chef could conceivably revive fine dining in L.A. Epie just may be what the doctor ordered.

Note: Three-star chef Alain Ducasse of Restaurant Le Louis XV in Ho^tel de Paris, Monte Carlo will be guest chef for the Gastronomic Week at L’Orangerie June 6-11.

* L’Orangerie, 903 N. La Cienega Blvd., (310) 652-9770. Open for dinner only Tuesday through Saturday. All major credit cards. Valet parking. Appetizers $15-$80, entrees $27-$45.