What began in Yountville and blossomed in Las Vegas has now arrived in Beverly Hills. That’s right, 90210 just got their very own outpost of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon. The revered chef behind Napa’s famed French Laundry set out to create a slightly more casual dining experience. That is, if you call coughing up $110 for the “Grand Plateau,” a seafood cornucopia of one lobster, sixteen oysters, eight shrimp, eight clams, nine mussels, seasonal crab and a partridge in a pear tree “casual.”

Keller has long waxed about his love of traditional French bistro fare. You know the drill; steak frites, frisee au lardons, croque madame, and a chilled plate of oysters, all washed down with a crisp glass of champagne. He decided to bring to America the kind of bouchon you would find in France. Traditionally, a bouchon features the kind of dishes that can be passed around a table, enjoyed leisurely over several hours with a fine bottle of wine and a few Gauloises (smoked outside, of course) in an atmosphere that’s decidedly homey. It’s like Cheers, but with food far superior to a bowl of stale peanuts and atmosphere that recalls Josephine Baker’s Paris (pronounced “Pair-ee”).

Whether it’s the marinated beet and poached pear salad with toasted hazelnuts, garden mache and black truffle vinaigrette, Keller’s twist on Tuna Nicoise, a confit of big eye tuna mixed with pole beans, fingerling potatoes, arugula, hardboiled egg and radish, or the Poulet Roti Grand-Mere, a perfectly roasted chicken served with crisp potatoes, earthy button mushrooms, bites of bacon, pearl onions, and savory pan juices, each bite transports you to a land where people say “Oui, Oui” and hairy armpits are unisex.

GetWize: Annoyed because you’re waiting for your table? Don’t be. Pass the time but pulling up a plush chair in the Champagne Lounge and let a glass of bubbly tickle your cares away.

235 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 271-9910
www.bouchonbistro.com