Now Serving At The French Market - Lily's Menu Is Back!

There's going to be a Blogtown double feature today, because there were two distinct Very Venice Valentine events last night that each deserve their own little story. First up, the absolutely fantastic news that The French Market Café is now open for dinner each Thursday - Saturday - and they're serving up our old favorites from Lily's (the neighborhood favorite French restaurant on Abbot Kinney that is now Neighbor, for those of you who may be new to the area)!

Agnes Martinez (owner of the French) and Francis Bey (former co-owner of Lily's) have teamed up to bring back the cuisine that has been SO missed by Lily's regulars like me, and last night when I finally got to order the onglet a l'echalote dish that was one of my all-time favorites. After a glass of Valentine champagne with Agnes, I tucked into my dinner, and it literally brought a mist to my eyes. A welling up of remembrance, and for people and places that are no longer here. It was as delicious as I recalled, and now I'm going to be at the French even more than I already am (next up: the moules frites!).

I had to go backstage when I finished, to hug and thank Francis for making my old culinary dreams come true again. He told me he was going to put a burger on the menu instead, but I had begged for the onglet for so long that he put it on the menu for me! I'm so grateful, and telling everyone to go there so I get to order this more often is the very least I can do. Please GO!

There are several other classic Lily's dishes, and desserts (creme brulée, tarte tatin) to go along with them. A bonus to the French being open at night is that we can finally drink all of their wine from their cellar with dinner! These are exciting times. I couldn't stay and hang out as long as I would have liked, as I had to skedaddle over to Beyond Baroque to catch the album release show for my dear pals, Suzy Williams and Michael Jost (the next story in the queue), but I was so very pleased to be able to attend the opening night of dinner service at my beloved French Market!

So ... the next time you're talking about where to go for dinner (on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, for now), hit the French (free parking!), sit outside, sip some wine, eat some Lily's food, and tell them "Carole" sent you!

The French Market
2321 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice
Dinner 6-9 pm, Thursday - Saturday

Save The Date! Sip & Savor at Kustaa!

Oh, I love it when you meet people and hear about things and know the perfect person to introduce them to in order to create great connections, a smaller world, and more fun! That happened recently when my friend, Kimberly Stevens (remember Patio Culture on Abbot Kinney? That was Kimberly and her sister, Karla's store!), came out with her new cookbook, Savor. It is a GORGEOUS book, all about cheeseboards, charcuterie, and the things that go together to make the best savories for entertaining ever. Then I finally made it to Kustaa (the new venture by Yon from Lily's in Venice, and his lovely lady, Tina Bonfils) for their raclette night (molten cheese scraped over your cheeseboard things - Heaven!) and their wine and cheese night ($15 for a cheeseboard and three glasses of wine - a steal in this town!), and WHOA. I thought to myself that I had to have Kimberly meet them, and we HAD to have an event to introduce all my pals to both Kustaa and the wonderful Savor book. So it's on. Next Tuesday, February 12!

                                  

Please join us, won't you, for a lovely soirée to celebrate Savor, Kustaa, wine, cheese, and friends! It's going to be a blast, and you can get your copy of Savor signed by Kimberly, as well as great food and wine gifts for your Valentine, if you have one. If you don't, this is your party instead, a couple of days early, and you can get all the makings for an excellent spread to treat yourself. YUM.


I hope you can make it, and I know it's Los Angeles and people are the worst about the whole rsvp thing, but it really does help us to know how much food to have ready. Plus, the first 30 people to show up will get a Kustaa swag bag to take home! Good times! 

You may rsvp to Akoskas@mac.com. 

Thank you, and I can't wait for you all to know about both of these excellent women bosses!

See you next Tuesday! (ha) 

KUSTAA

12954 West Washington Boulevard

Culver City 

http://kustaa.la