FINALLY, SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars and six months past the scheduled date, Anisette Brasserie is open at 225 Santa Monica Blvd. Between April 15 and July 5 each year I’m in France and Italy sourcing wines for just this kind of restaurant. But I’ve got spies that are keeping me advised.
One of my friends, Harvey, lives not far from the Brasserie. We’ve traveled in France together on occasion, and he’s a great expert in food and wine. “It’s wonderful,” he e-mailed, “and it’s so much like being in Paris that we might not have to travel there any-time soon.”
Another friend wrote that he loved the wine list, the selection, the organization, and above all, the prices. That felt good, since I’m the one that did the list. Doing a wine list is not as easy as one might think.
First, of course,you must know what’s available in the marketplace. I’m familiar with the wines that I source for importers, wine clubs, and a few large Internet sales companies, but there are lots of wines in the marketplace that I’m not familiar with. So to start somewhere I asked my friend Jeff Morganthal, who did the opening wine list for Joel Rubichon’s restaurant in Las Vegas, to give me suggestions.
Using his list as a starting point, I contacted the distributors of the wines of interest. What an experience that was! Many wines were “allocated”-which means that they have better customers for whom they are saving those wines. Many were out of stock. Some had changed distributors. Some distributors didn’t return my telephone call. Many others had suggestions for later vintages or similar wines (usually of lesser quality).
But little by little I worked up an acceptable list, and confirmed by e-mail a reservation for the wines of interest. A lot of good that did me! When it came time to take delivery of the wines, many of the distributors said that because of the delay in opening they had (without notice to me) sold the wines to others, and they suggested later vintages (un-tasted by me) or other, similar wines. So much for integrity in the wine business.
The organizers of the Brasserie did a few things really right. The first thing was to take in Alain Giraud as a partner. Alain is the four star chef that became nationally famous when he was the chef at Bastide in Los Angeles.
Not only is he a great chef, but his organizational abilities were invaluable in setting up the kitchen, the menus, the staff schedules, he even micro managed such details as where the electrical outlets should be placed in the kitchen. If the contractors deviated from the plans,Alain was right there to point out the error.
Second good move: Never compromise on the restaurant’s décor and structure. As you’ll see if you go there, it’s one of the most beautiful restaurants in the United States.
Anisette’s motto could well be “five restaurants in one.” For those who like to start the day early, there’s an early morning breakfast menu and, for the more easy going, look for a brunch menu, followed by a standard lunch menu. After lunch when you need a break, come in for the afternoon “gouter.” A gouter refers to the snack a French kid is served by his mother when he comes home after school. But it is rarely this good in France.
Following the gouter is the dinner menu, and then a late night-after theater menu. At anytime the bar service offers contemporary drinks and special French imported liquors, including Anisette.
Some of the liquors, ciders, and dessert wines are not available anywhere else in the United States.
Sitting in this traditionally appointed brasserie, you’ll be transported to France as you read any one of the five menus. All the favorites are there: onion soup, fois gras, smoked salmon, salads, steak frites, duck confit, veal daube, fish soup, roasted sweetbreads-and a lot more.
To ensure authenticity, one French person was hired to supervise the baking, and another to supervise the “coquillage,” the oyster and shellfish counter. When I return from my trip abroad, I’ll be there from time to time to monitor the wine list. Ask for me, and say hello.
MERV HECHT, the food and wine critic for the Santa Monica Daily Press, is a wine buyer and consultant to a number of national and international food and wine companies. He
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 24, 2008. Read the original PDF.