Monsieur Marcel

I have a fascination with France. The food, the culture, and the country itself. I had the opportunity to go to France in 2010. I flew in at night to Nice then drove down to Cannes. I was there for the film festival that year. It was an amazing experience that cemented my love for the country. The food was an intense and pleasurable adventure for my palette. I enjoyed a pizza with an egg in the center and some of the best chicken wings I've had in a long time. Both of those places were located right next to the hotel I stayed in. Waking up to fresh Brie and Croissants with a boiled egg is something people need to have in their lives. 

I get back to the states and move to Los Angeles. The food culture in Los Angeles is a varied mix. I found a couple of French food spots but none of those are really worth mentioning. I ended up talking to this French girl online. We became friends and when she was in LA we hung out. I took her to those French places I knew. They didn't wow her in the slightest. She looked up places online and found Monsieur Marcel. Monsieur Marcel is located at The Grove in Hollywood. We went to the Grove and found the cafe in the farmers market area. The place even has its own market where you can buy European imported groceries. We took our seats and looked the menu over. Right away she was impressed by the selection of food. 

She found a menu item that she enjoyed a lot back home called Merguez. It comes as a sandwich or entree consisting of Moroccan lamb sausage. I ended up getting a Poulet Pesto(chicken) sandwich. I know what you're thinking "a chicken sandwich, really". Let me tell you this was an amazing piece of food artistry. It tasted so good. The sandwich came with a side of thin french fries. Hanging out with her influenced my condiment selection to accompany my fries. They like mayonnaise with their fries in France. I tried Ratatouille for the first time. Ive had sautéed vegetables before but not like that. We went back there a few more times before she went back home. One of the last times we were there I got a sandwich called The Normandie. Its a tasty sandwich made with Bacon, Brie, Apricot Marmalade, and sliced Apple. This is one of those sandwiches that after the first bite you have to put it down to savor all the nuances contained within. I recommend this place to anyone looking to expand their taste of both food and culture from France. 

Normandie