P
aris native and serial restaurateur Laurent Vrigand fashioned Bouillon after Paris’ Bouillon Chartier (est. 1896), where he often dined with his grandfather in the 1980s. Bouillon is his personal homage to that formula beloved by the generations of working class—one all-day menu of traditional fare at painless prices, no substitutions, no reservations, and snappy service in a bright space. Once home to Juliette and Pascal Olhats’ kitchen of legend, the 60-seat venue sports a new zinc bar and fetching accoutrements Vrigand imports from Paris. The menu is a nostalgic primer of those French dishes first introduced to us by Julia Child—oven-hot escargot fuming garlic, a mythic salade frisée aux lardons, ambrosial French onion soup, just for starters. Entrees exude extra-strength comfort: coq au vin, duck confit l’orange, and long-
simmered beef bourguignon ladled over al dente pappardelle. Tian Provençal—ratatouille gone fancy—is the year’s best side dish. Plus slices of fresh baguette from Moulin bakery next door. The canny list of French wines at beyond-fair prices is another sleeper find here. And those fabulous profiteroles are your meal’s sweet au revoir.
1000 Bristol St. N, Newport Beach 949-418-9545
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