A Culinary Work of Art

Madame Matisse feels like exactly the kind of family-run cafe food lovers long to discover: obscure, modestly priced, with a personable owner who spent time in sophisticated kitchens before starting a place of his own.

Olivier Bouillot, the chef-owner here, used to be the chef at a posh film industry haven, Atlantic on Beverly Boulevard. Then about a year ago, he found a tiny pizza parlor on a non-gentrified stretch of Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake and--with the help of his wife, Anne, who’s also his partner--turned the quirky triangle-shaped brick building into a color-drenched fantasy reminiscent of Matisse’s Expressionist period. The floor is deep red, the woodwork antiqued teal; outside, a cheery gold-and-blue awning curves over a row of brightly clothed tables.

The rents here in lower Silver Lake allow Olivier Bouillot to charge Denny’s prices for Cal-Global dishes that rival what he cooked at Atlantic. You’ll usually find him working amid the homey clutter of the restaurant’s minuscule open kitchen. He takes time to chat with customers eating at the counter or even to answer questions posed by a curious 4-year-old dining with her dad.

At the moment, the restaurant’s strongest draw may be the eclectic breakfasts served until 3:30 in the afternoon, mostly to an artist and artisan clientele that drifts down from Silver Lake or the canyons to sit at the sun-dappled tables and eat Scottish eggs: smoked salmon piled high on an English muffin and topped with perfectly poached eggs under a thin veneer of a lemony hollandaise-like sauce. You can also get those poached eggs (or any style eggs) with grilled salmon with watercress cream or a grilled pork chop with apples.

Bouillot’s sophisticated Southwestern take on chicken and waffles involves roast chicken slices and a huge, miraculously light cornmeal waffle flanked by avocado slabs, salsa and sour cream. When bacon is served here, it’s the apple wood-smoked kind, and the coffee is ground daily.

Among the lunch entrees, served after 11 a.m., pastas, poultry and salads prevail. A grilled paillard of chicken about the size of Vogue magazine is served on a well-seasoned couscous liberally studded with artichoke hearts.

You get two sides with any sandwich. Naturally there are pommes frites , but you could also get a crisp green papaya slaw (distantly related to the popular Thai papaya salad) or crunchy, nutty southeast Asian black rice. A grilled minced salmon “burger” is spread with lemon-herb mayonnaise balanced by the slight bitterness of arugula, though the salmon could be fresher.

For the last three months, Madame Matisse has been trying its hand at dinner. The fairly short menu (five appetizers, nine entrees) includes a salad of Belgian endive, avocado and smoked salmon with enough fish for a bagel brunch. Equally ample is the $4 salad of roasted beets and apples, a flavor combination that plays beautifully against its Gorgonzola and candied walnut garnish.

The entrees are basically skillfully rendered comfort food, such as a clean-tasting slab of halibut (its crisp, brulee-thin crust producing an engaging play of textures) in lemony wine sauce. Rosy slices of broiled duck breast come on a sweet Port-blueberry reduction, accompanied by a creamy potato gratin in which every tender slice holds its shape. A tender calamari steak, rich with lemon-garlic butter, is served with sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes.

Desserts, though not fancy, are crowd-pleasers in generous servings. The warm, moist nearly flourless chocolate cake has a balance of subtly sweet and intense chocolate that stands up to the accompanying scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream flavored with orange flower water. The excellently caramelized tarte Tatin will bring a flood of memories to anyone who recalls those unprepossessing petits cafes of Paris, the ones that always thrive through word-of-mouth though they’re never found in the Guide Michelin.

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Madame Matisse, 3536 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 662-4862. Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursdays through Tuesdays; lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursdays through Tuesdays; dinner, 5 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. No alcohol. Street parking. Visa and MasterCard. Breakfast, $4.50 to $8.95; lunch, $6.95 to $8.95; dinner for two, $28 to $46. What to Get: Scottish eggs, cornmeal waffle, Moroccan-style chicken, beet salad, endive salad, halibut, duck breast, chocolate cake.