Bistro Bargains

Jean’s Blue Room was a Valley institution for more than 50 years. Le Petit Bistro took over the space two months ago, and the concept is already breathing new life into what was long a moribund locale.

Ventura Boulevard just east of Woodman is already home to three very busy restaurants: the Great Greek, Joe Joe’s and Maria’s Italian Kitchen. So it’s all the more impressive that this brash newcomer has been playing to a full house nearly every night.

Like Joe Joe’s and the nearby Cafe Bizou, Le Petit Bistro packs them in with dinner prices that barely buy appetizers in more expensive dining rooms. This is a spinoff of Le Petit Bistro on La Cienega Boulevard, a restaurant that built up a loyal following on working-class French fare like duck confit and steak frites. It belongs to Robert Lachkar, a French Moroccan who manages to weave a little north African magic into a few of the dishes he serves.

But one drawback is that the restaurant is fairly cavalier about reservations. Twice my party was kept standing outside the restaurant for more than 15 minutes, while the manager waited for our table to be cleared. Space is also at a premium.

One consolation is the best spread of complimentary appetizers in the Valley, which includes a creamy duck liver mousse, and a stand-out tapenade: the fiery Moroccan chili paste harissa and a smooth puree of eggplant, served with French baguette.

Other appetizers are not as consistent. The smoky, delicious eggplant tart is a large disk layered with spinach, onion and beautifully blackened eggplant. A bowlful of Mediterranean black mussels with a white wine, tomato and garlic nage is only $5.95, but when ours arrived, several mussels were closed and the whole thing was lukewarm. Blue crab cakes with a piquant pimento tartar sauce are leaden. Home-cured Norwegian salmon is nicely buttery, but you’re better off asking for the cloying mustard dill sauce to be served on the side.

Entrees are top-notch, though, all under $13 and well matched to the bistro decor. Two fat, flavorful grilled veal sausages come with creamy mashed potatoes and a pile of braised cabbage. Order duck legs confit, and you get two meaty, oversized whole legs, with a large helping of gently stewed coco beans and roasted apples.

Baked lamb shank is a meltingly tender piece of meat braised in red wine, served on a bed of fluffy couscous. Lachkar’s roots surface in the spicy, cumin-spiked Moroccan sausage merguez, which he proudly announces are made by his mother. I like the steak frites, a trim entreco^te in green peppercorn butter sauce with a mountain of crisp pommes frites.

Cold poached salmon is perfect for a warm summer evening--firm, sweet fish garnished with marinated cucumbers and tomatoes. The only entree I did not like was roasted Long Island duck, because of a bizarrely acidic ginger citrus sauce.

There are fine bistro desserts, too. Most regulars choose pot de chocolat, a tiny ceramic cup filled with a swooningly rich chocolate custard. Creme brulee is perfectly satisfying, as is the thin, buttery apple tart, served with a drizzle of caramel sauce. But I’m having poire belle Helene, a fin de siecle sundae composed of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and a poached pear. Order one in memory of Jean’s Blue Room, and in the spirit of the Boulevard St. Michel.

BE THERE

Le Petit Bistro, 13360 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 501-7999. Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 5:30-10 p.m. Beer and wine only. Valet parking. All major cards. Dinner for two, $26-$45. Suggested dishes: eggplant tart, $5.95; grilled veal sausage, $8.95; braised lamb shanks, $11.50; grilled entreco^te, $12.95.