French food in Laguna? It’s not in-Seine

Dreaming of a romantic stroll along the banks of the Seine with the Eiffel tower in the distance, followed by a glass of champagne in a candlelit bistro?

“Then perhaps would like zee escargots or zee foie gras?”

However, perhaps the prospect of a 12-hour plane ride to Paris takes the edge off your appetite or the closer but kitschy doppelganger in Las Vegas stifles your fantasy? Let us offer a solution that’s cheaper and closer, yet still pretty romantic.

Would you settle for walking hand in hand on Main Beach with the lifeguard tower on the horizon, followed by sipping a “French 75” (champagne, cognac and lemon juice) in a bistro a la Americaine. Mais bien sûr, by now you have guessed that we are talking about David Wilhelm’s French 75, a sliver of Paris in Laguna Beach.

According to their website, the most popular legend about the French 75 cocktail is that World War I soldiers in France would carry cognac in their canteens to get through the cold nights in the trenches. Taking advantage of the abundant and accessible champagne, they would use the spent shell casings of the 75 mm French field gun (called the French 75) in which they would mix a potent cognac and champagne cocktail with as much kick as its namesake cannon.

On approaching the restaurant, you will first see the romantic outdoor patio with its cozy fireplace and dramatic chandeliers. The tables are dressed in crisp white linens and adorned with single red roses in slim silver vases.

Upon entering the restaurant, the dim lighting, dark wood, red leather booths, curved ironwork and mural of cherubs on the ceiling over the bar are vaguely reminiscent of a fin de siècle brasserie. The lively bar area is also a casual place to dine, with a special menu of small plates as well as the regular menu.

Being led to our table, we could have used miner’s helmets to find our way through the darkened rooms. Fortunately, the hostess knew the way by heart and seated us at a quiet corner table. As our eyes adjusted, we realized that the low light, atypical of most California restaurants, could definitely be considered romantic. This atmosphere is enhanced by the tasty background music of the live jazz piano. Parisians also love jazz but never with their dinner.

You can begin your evening with the signature drink or choose from a menu of champagne drinks or another of so-called martinis. We demurred, needing to keep a cool head. Our skilled and attentive waiter appeared immediately with a basket of excellent crusty sourdough bread and an exceptionally good olivada for dipping.

The menu here is mostly French with a little California thrown in. We decided to stick with the French classics. For hors d’oeuvres, typical French choices are onion soup gratinée, escargots, foie gras, shrimp in cassolette and oysters. On the California side, there is the ever-present tuna tartar, spinach salad and baked Portabella mushrooms, to name a few.

These days we are ordering foie gras whenever it is offered, as it soon may be disappearing from menus (because of the brouhaha about cruelty to our feathered friends). The presentation of the day was to serve it on brioche toasts with blackberry gastrique. The idea was particularly appealing since blackberries are in season.

A gastrique is a reduction of flavors (fruit, sweet and acid) so intense that you only need a little bit. It usually decorates the plate. In this case it was just sweet without blackberry essence or acid, basically bland.

The duck foie gras itself, topped with fleur de sel, was delicious; buttery, salty and creamy textured, though nothing like the exquisitely delicate, custardy smooth goose liver that you can get in France. We used the crusty bread to sop up every last drop of the buttery drippings on the bottom of the plate.

Next we indulged in the shrimp en cassolette. The French never shy away from butter and cream. (Yet miraculously, the women remain thin, damn ‘em!) The shrimp were delicately textured, lightly sautéed in butter and served swimming in a cognac, Dijon mustard cream sauce. They were topped with tomato “fondue” which turned out to be chopped tomatoes rather than the slow cooked tomato garnish that we expected. The pretentious title “fondue” notwithstanding, the dish was rich and flavorful and once again, out came the bread.

Continuing our pursuit of all things Gallic, we selected the moules frites ? mussels steamed in white wine, garlic and, you guessed it, cream, topped with a mound of thin crispy French fries. The mussels were sweet and delicate and this time we dipped the French fries in the cream sauce. (This dinner must translate into heaven only knows how many hours in the gym).

Other tempting French entrées were the coq au vin, the three way duck (confit, breast and foie gras), halibut picholine with spinach capers and picholine olive sauce and steak frites.

If you were truly French, you would order the cheese course before dessert, which here includes five artisanal cheeses, fruit, nuts and breads. Clearly, we are not. We skipped right over to the warm rustic apple tart with cinnamon ice cream and caramel sauce, although the hot chocolate soufflé for two ? their most popular dessert ? beckoned seductively, as did the espresso-chocolate profiteroles with chocolate sauce.

In this case, “rustic” tart meant a puff pastry package of sliced apples. The pastry was crisp as were the tasty apples. The accompanying ice cream had an intense cinnamon flavor and the caramel sauce added the final fillip.

He has chosen an American’s fantasy of France as his theme for a growing number of new restaurants in Southern California including the French 75 Brasserie in Irvine, French 75 in Burbank and Rouge and Chat Noir in Newport Beach. cpt.12-gourmet-1-BPhotoInfo161QR6D820060512iz2tlzncDON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Ahi tar-tar from the French 75 restaurant in Laguna Beach.