Both Big Spoon and Little Spoon are big fans of Canelé. It’s a hidden gem on Glendale Boulevard in Atwater Village. We fell in love with this place about a year ago after our stint in France came to an end. With its red walls, exposed brick and blackboard with the day’s offerings written, it brought back the ambience of France without the ten-hour flight. Canelé is cozy, unpretentious and delicious with an offering of Mediterranean and French food.
Canelé also hosts a variety of "Friends cook" evenings, when local chefs come to prepare a special meal for the evening. Truly, this place has a great community feel with an environmentally conscious attitude.
For a special treat sit at the counter where you have an excellent view into the kitchen. Hard-working, tattooed chefs prepare rustic food using rustic utensils and cookware. Watching them is always great fun – a whole branzino baked in a bed of salt, juicy pork chops, and bistro steaks being worked on at the meat station, a classic cheese plate put together on a wooden paddle. And chef/co-owner Corina Weibel often orchestrating it all: “I need three market specials and two steaks in seven minutes.”
Big Spoon favors the fat, juicy oven-roasted pork chop topped with a meyer lemon relish. Little Spoon's pick is the seasonal appetizer polenta with chanterelle mushrooms and egg. The duck confit is also a good choice and comes with roasted apples, sweet potato, arugula and almonds, or start with a pissaladiere, the onion tart with fresh herbs. As already mentioned, the menu changes with the season, but the essence of the place remains the same – casual atmosphere, sophisticated cooking. There’s always a warm greeting from the hostess, reliable service from the waitstaff and at the end of every meal, a small parting gift as you head out the door – a fresh baked canelé that deserves to have the restaurant named after it.
We bring friends here a lot and when we do, it is always a hit. Is Canelé the best restaurant in LA? Maybe. Maybe not. It is certainly our favorite.
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