French Country Cafe Fits Into Small Town of Beverly Hills

Despite the glamorous image, Beverly Hills is really just a small town (albeit with some phenomenal shopping). And not all the places to eat are big-deal restaurants or elegant venues for the ladies who lunch. Tucked in among the world-famous boutiques and shops, you can find cozy little restaurants that cater to a strictly local crowd. There’s Nate n’ Al’s deli, for example, where power brokers get bossed around by the no-nonsense waitresses who have everyone’s usual order memorized.

There’s also the sweet little French Country Cafe on Beverly Drive (just north of Wilshire Boulevard), where you can get a fresh, appealing breakfast--omelets the way only the French know how to make them, “tartine”--toasted baguette spread with sweet butter and jam, and vienoiseries, i.e. house-baked croissants and . . . chocolate ones, too. The coffee, I have to say, is a long sight better than what you’d find in France.

Chef and owner Jose Noel, who is French, and his wife, Sherrie, turned a long, narrow storefront into a charming, welcoming cafe. Lunch is crowded with local business people and die-hard shoppers who wander in for a restorative bite. The menu includes light, fresh sandwiches on the cafe’s own petit country bread. Though jambon beurre--pink ham with butter--is not on the menu, I’m sure they’d make you one since they have the classic saucisson (French salami) on baguette.

Warm weather and the Provencal sandwich called pan bagnat, or “bathed bread,” are a perfect match. It’s filled with tuna, tomatoes, roasted peppers, hard-boiled egg and olives. And for cooler temperatures, the kitchen turns out a respectable croque monsieur--that’s French for toasted ham and cheese.

Of course, because it’s a French cafe, steak frites is obligatoire. Dubbed steak du boucher (butcher’s cut) on the menu, it’s a grilled rib eye with a pile of frites. Frites also come with the simple rotisserie chicken.

It’s a great addition to the small town that is Beverly Hills.

BE THERE

French Country Cafe, 231 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills; (310) 273-4332; fax (310) 273-4540. Open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday. Breakfast items $2 to $7.50; lunch items $5 to $14.