Le Petit Jardin Bistro

Would you like some flowers? No? Maybe some food? With a brunch and lunch menu that covers the basics, Le Petit Jardin Bistro, strays every so slightly from eatery expectations, being a flower shop and all. Service is sweet, but the pace is slow, and no, flowers aren't blooming as you wait. Sometimes food takes time, and here, more emphasis is placed on developing the product than alleviating the impatience hunger brings. There is ample seating inside and out, though for the garden tea party aesthetic, outside seating is preferred. Sure, surprise a date with a floral arrangement courtesy of their alternate business, but in my case, the Croque Madame makes for a more satisfying reason to visit.

I have had this sandwich across a number of eateries, but it often blends into the background. In some, the homemade bread, locally raised, and farm fresh particulars taste peculiar, distracting from the sandwich as a whole. In others, the sandwich is prepared in a variation, for fancy, but becomes so disconnected from its original, more simple concept. Here, the Croque Madame comes fairly correct: ham and cheese, layered with béchamel between slices of white, toasted to hot, under melted cheese and an over-easy egg to mark completion. Crispy fries are served on the side, eagerly eaten as the sandwich itself is devoured, each and every time. It is no street-facing Parisian cafe and I've driven by a number of times without notice, but now that I do know, nothing can change the fact that this sandwich...simply...works.

(310) 278-5294

www.lepetitjardinbistro.com