Juliette Deutsch and Braden Bochner, staff writers
Bouchon Bistro
235 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 271-9910
World renowned chef Thomas Keller is known for his work in the California food scene. Keller is famous for infusing his love for French cuisine with a contemporary California influence. His first and most well known restaurant, The French Laundry, is notorious for its hard to get table reservations as well as its pre-fix price of $270 per guest. Keller now has 10 restaurants in Napa Valley, New York City, Las Vegas, and Beverly Hills.
Bouchon Bistro in Beverly Hills is the perfect reflection of Keller’s classic cuisine: modern French bistro crafted with seasonal ingredients. Dishes include Steak Frites and Poulet Roti (roasted chicken), as well as the Croque Madame served on a homemade brioche bun with a side of truffle French fries.
In 2011, Bouchon first introduced its one-time-only Fried Chicken Night. Due to popular demand, the unique tradition is now held on the first and third Monday of every month priced at 38.00$ a person. After reading about how popular the Fried Chicken was, we quickly called Bouchon and made a reservation.
As we sat down in the busy dining room, our waiter informed us that Bouchon would be serving 400 orders of fried chicken that night. The family style meal is prepared in a cast iron skillet and is accompanied by seasonal sides. That evening, our chicken was served with braised kale and roasted potatoes, as well as pumpkin brioches. Each piece was crunchy, yet perfectly tender. Our waiter revealed that the secret to Keller’s famous recipe, which is available in his Ad Hoc At Home Cookbook, is that the whole chicken is soaked in a brine of garlic, rosemary, pepper, thyme, bay leaves and honey, before being coated in buttermilk and fried to perfection.
We finished our meal with Bouchon’s signature Pecan Pie. A perfect balance of sweet and salty, with a buttery, rich crust. The dessert was served with homemade vanilla ice cream and seasonal berries.
Bouchon’s Fried Chicken Night is not one to be missed. The gourmet French spin on an American classic is a match made in heaven for any foodie.
