Café Bizou Has Zero Hype and My Undying Love
This is part of our series that celebrates America’s Favorite Neighborhood Restaurants. We asked 80 of the coolest people we know to reveal the local spots they love the most.
The typical restaurant conversation in L.A. typically goes like this:
“Have you been to that cute little—?” “Yes, last week. Loved it. Noodles were dope. Did you try the new—?” “Yep, was there two days ago. Totally worth the 14-hour wait in a dank alley.”
It may be a town of many secrets, but food is not one of them. When I want to eat something delicious, I usually go to one of four places:
Petit Trois for the buttery Boursin omelette.
Jon & Vinny’s for the spicy fusilli with vodka sauce (preferably prepared by badass chef Courtney Storer) paired with a wine described like a “straight up perfection Gam-eezy, make you feel so breezy” (wine director Helen Johannesen describes her wine like no other sommelier you’ve met).
If I’m feeling Eastside vibes, I’ll go for some spiced lamb kabobs at Botanica or maybe the crispy, lemony potatoes at Mh Zh. But these are rightly well known and well traveled.
Even the supposedly under-the-radar spots have been intensely researched and generously exposed by food critic Jonathan Gold. The man has left no dumpling unturned. The secret menus are no longer secret. “Animal Style” might as well be taught in preschools for the amount of people who know about it.
When you want to actually dine in secret, you have to give up one tiny thing. The food. Because does it always have to be about the food? Look, I’m a lover of good meals—I’ve traveled thousands of miles for a good piece of uni. But there are times when all I want is a mediocre filet (I know, I know rib eye, skirt, anything but filet...) and a baked potato.
And so I travel. I travel all the way to Sherman Oaks. I sit in a restaurant that feels very 1982 Upper West Side in both its design and its clientele. On those nights, Café Bizou suits my needs perfectly: the white tablecloths, the fact that I’m the youngest person in the room who isn’t a petulant grandchild dragged along for a birthday or christening, the always available reservation. All of these things make up what can sometimes be the perfect meal. Sometimes it isn’t about finding the unknown jewel—it’s about a great baked potato, which is harder to find in L.A. than you could ever imagine.
Jenni Konner was an executive producer of “Girls”, and is the co-creator of the upcoming show “Camping” on HBO.
