If you were primped and ready for this year’s golden globe awards, you most likely caught a glimpse of Oscar winners The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle. Both bearing similar plots, the films depicted the lives of money-hungry men and women desperate to earn a dollar at any, or rather anyone’s, cost. Their iconic selling technique was to offer an unforgettable deal at an unbeatable price- “Five thousand gets me fifty, right?” - with the ill intention of providing little to no money in return. As the lies grew more complex, the confidence and the suits of the wolves in expensive clothing escalated in style - and fate took no hesitation to provide them customers that were equally greedy to earn an easy buck.
The irony of both movies was that the more you tell people no, the more they want in on ludicrous deal. They know it sounds to good to be true, but if they place their trust in these seemingly trustworthy men, they can afford to buy their dream house next year, or pay off their spouse’s escalating hospital bills.
So what’s this narrative got to do with Bouchon? Bouchon is a wolf in expensive clothing. Slapping on a few words in French on the menu suddenly escalates the price for chilled soup or sauteed mussels and french fries to quite exorbitant prices. The more complex and costly a dish, the more likely one becomes to order duck terrine with house made pickles and violet mustard. Throw in the fact that the restaurant is located in the heart of Beverly Hills by renowned chef Thomas Keller, and you have people lining out the door for slightly above average food.
The kicker is where you are baited to come back for more - dessert. Although the rest of the food was relatively standard, the dessert was truly Oscar-worthy. Delicate peanut butter chocolate cakes melted next to scoops of vanilla bean ice cream and a salted caramel sauce. Pair that with a freshly brewed cup of coffee, and you've suddenly bought in to the dream that perhaps this restaurant is too good to be true.
Entrées
Soupe Froide du Jour
chilled soup of the day
Terrine de Canard
terrine of duck confit served with violet mustard
Plats Principaux
Moules Provençale
Maine bouchot mussels with nicoise olives, fennel and french fries
(supp. $5)
Desserts
Bouchons
Valrhona chocolate brownies with peanut butter ice cream and salted caramel
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