Cafe Focuses on Light French Fare

Florence Etrillard would like to dispel a myth.

“A lot of my clients think all French food is heavy food. Our food is not heavy,” said Etrillard, co-owner of Cafe Provencal in Thousand Oaks. “Everything is very healthy, cooked with olive oil, lots of herbs, not a lot of cream.”

If there have been any misconceptions, they apparently haven’t hurt business at the 3-week-old establishment. Located across from Civic Arts Plaza on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, at the former site of the New Jungleland Cafe, the restaurant was completely booked on its first Saturday night, Etrillard said.

“It was theater night,” she said. “We even had to refuse some people.”

Etrillard owns the restaurant with fiancee Serge Bonnet, both of whom are natives of Marseille, France. Rachko Djangazov and Sam Djangazov, owners of the Pacific Fresh Grill in Thousand Oaks, are partners in the establishment.

“We wanted to open a French restaurant because it is important to us to share some of our culture,” Etrillard said. “Clients have told me there is a need for a French restaurant here. They also wanted a place where people can gather and talk.”

With the tables at Cafe Provencal situated close to each other, customers, indeed, have the opportunity to mingle.

“The restaurant is not that big, so we had to put the tables close together, but that’s typical of a French cafe,” Etrillard said.

“If you go anywhere in France, this is what it would look like. And all the tablecloths and the decor are from Marseille.” As are the lunch and dinner menus, prepared by Swiss chef Philippe Renggli, formerly of Tuscany Il Ristorante in Westlake, and chef Michel Lerond, a native of Normandy, France.

The lunch menu at Cafe Provencal features a selection of crepes that includes spinach with cream sauce and Swiss cheese, and a ratatouille version.

Lunch entrees include flank steak charbroiled in garlic butter, chopped steak stuffed with goat cheese and topped with a bordelaise sauce, roasted chicken with fresh herbs, pork chops with mustard sauce and cornichons, and a fish of the day.

For dinner, the hors d’oeuvres list includes homemade pork and chicken pate; escargot sauteed with garlic, shallots, tomatoes and parsley; scallops on a bed of braised leeks and red bell pepper coulis; and eggplant caviar.

There is a selection of fish, beef and fowl entrees featuring grilled sea bass with fennel and pastis; poached salmon with mussels, clams and basil; braised lamb shanks served over shell beans with a red wine sauce; filet mignon with Roquefort sauce and fettuccine; and roasted duck with green and black olive sauce served with spinach.

Both the lunch and dinner menus offer a selection of pasta dishes, salads, soups and desserts. Cafe Provencal also has a selection of French and California wines.

The restaurant is at 2310 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Lunch is served 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dinner is 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

By the way, Etrillard and Bonnet are scheduled to be married April 14.

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Keeping with the French theme, chef Kathie Alex will lead a “Flavors of Provence” cooking class Wednesday at the Let’s Get Cookin’ school in Westlake.

Alex will prepare zucchini flower fritters, spring leek terrine, rolled souffle stuffed with spinach cream and smoked salmon, and fresh berry delice with lemon verbena ice cream.

Class time is 6:30 p.m. Cost: $45. Call (818) 991-3940. Let’s Get Cookin’ is at 4643 Lakeview Canyon Road.

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Some of Santa Barbara’s top chefs will share kitchen duties April 14 at a dinner and wine benefit for the Save Our Strength international anti-hunger campaign.

Gerard Thompson (Stonehouse Restaurant), Norbert Schultz (Brigitte’s), Felician Cueff (Citronelle), Eileen Randall and David Cecchini (Wine Cask), Camille Schwartz (Mimosa) and Vincent Vanhecke (El Encanto) are among nearly 20 chefs participating in this Taste of the Nation fund-raiser, at Santa Barbara City College’s Campus Center.

Participating wineries include The Brander Vineyard, Byron Vineyard, The Gainey Vineyard, Santa Barbara Winery and Wild Horse Winery.

The Santa Barbara festivities are part of a 9-year-old Taste of the Nation program that, this year, includes 113 fund-raisers in 100 cities throughout the United States and parts of Canada, predominantly during April. Last year, the events raised $4.2 million.

All ticket proceeds will go toward anti-hunger programs. Most of the funds raised locally will stay in Santa Barbara, and the rest will be used throughout California and internationally.

Hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served at 5:30 p.m., at which time guests may bid on silent auction items. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $65. Call (800) 955-8278 for credit-card orders, or 689-4602 for more information. Tickets may be purchased at the Foodbank, 4554 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara. City College is at 721 Cliff Drive.