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Where’s the boeuf?

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French 75

Among the offerings at this

stylish brasserie in the Tustin Marketplace is a boeuf bourguignon crepe. Tender beef from braised short ribs is cooked with onions, bacon and button mushrooms, tucked into a delicate crepe and finished with a red wine sauce. You can also get a filet mignon topped with Roquefort butter or what the menu calls “le hamburger” on toasted brioche with pommes frites, natch.

* Crepe, $18; filet mignon, $34; hamburger, $12; 13290 Jamboree Road, Irvine; (714) 573-7600.

Mimosa

The perfect antidote to the fall chill is chef Jean-Pierre Bosc’s beef daube. Bosc braises beef short ribs for several hours in red wine, then adds tomatoes, pearl onions, button mushrooms and green olives. There’s also a flavorful hanger steak, served rare and topped with sauteed shallots.

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* Daube, $24; hanger steak, $22. 8009 Beverly Blvd., L.A.; (323) 655-8895.

Cezanne

On Thursday nights, a.k.a. Bistro Night at this attractive, beachside dining room in Le Merigot Hotel, chef Desi Szonntagh does a classic steak frites with perfectly crisp, impossible to resist, hand cut, skinny French fries. The regular menu features steak au poivre with peppercorn and brandy sauce.

* Steak frites, $25; steak au poivre, $29. 1740 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica; (310) 395-9700.

La Cachette

At this pretty dining room, where you can, amen, actually hear your dining companions, chef Jean-Francois Meteigner does what he calls a “Cadillac” version of steak frites. He grills a bone-in prime New York steak, tops it with three kinds of cheeses -- goat, gorgonzola and Roquefort -- a pepper sauce made with brandy, beef stock and cream, and he adds a side of fries finished with Provencal herbs and lavender.

* Steak, $35. 10506 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City; (310) 470-4992.

Kendall’s Brasserie

This handsome brasserie at the base of the Music Center is especially popular with the pre-theater/opera/concert crowd. What’s cooking? Beef eaters will enjoy the grilled “chateau steak” (part of the top sirloin) topped with a red wine sauce.

* Steak $26.95. 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. (213) 972-7322.

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-- Leslee Komaiko

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