Before a book called A Year In Provence came out in 1989, most Americans had never heard of this sun-drenched region of Southern France. That book launched a thousand vacations among people who had never thought about visiting the French Mediterranean, but suddenly had to go there. It also started a craze for Provençal food in America, including bouillabaisse, tapenade, and ratatouille.
None of those dishes is on the regular menu at Provence Boulengerie, the tiny storefront on Highland Avenue that shares a building with the El Porto market and deli, but they do offer specials so hope is not lost. The menu at this modest café is very French but not very regional – popular sandwiches like the croque monsieur and sausage with cornichon pickles are served along with an array of salads, daily soups, and a few Vietnamese dishes. Unlike the previous businesses here this is not exclusively a take-out place – there’s room for a few people inside, plus a pair of outdoor café tables.
The name boulangerie means bakery, which is a bit inaccurate – no bread is baked on-site, though the baguettes here come fresh from a bakery in Long Beach that is under the same ownership. That bread is used to make sandwiches that are very good and very French – not the piled-high tower of food that your local deli serves, but a more modest mix of meats, cheeses, and vegetables that is quite satisfying and probably better for you. The sandwich made with prosciutto, tomato, and a blend of goat cheese with garlic, herbs de Provence, and olive oil is a good example – there’s just enough meat to give smoky richness but not to overwhelm everything else. The croque monsieur – just a ham and toasted cheese sandwich whose name means “eat, sir” – is much simpler but very tasty. Simple preparations spotlight the quality of the ingredients, and that fresh bread makes a big difference. All sandwiches are served with a green salad with a mustard vinaigrette, and the portion is substantial.
One of the dishes most closely identified with Provence is chicken tarragon, and that item appears on sandwiches and salads here. Tarragon is an underappreciated herb, but the minty flavor with hints of anise goes wonderfully with garlic and balsamic vinegar on roasted chicken. This is one of the best items here, and highly recommended.
Though the sandwiches here have been uniformly excellent, the soups have been variable. Tomato basil was excellent, while a thick potato-leek soup was slightly oversalted. On one visit I also tried clam chowder, which was the only complete failure in several visits. It had a burnt flavor that probably meant that some of it stuck to the pot when cooking, which is common when chowder is heated too quickly.
The beef pho was served with the proper condiments of bean sprouts, Thai basil, chillies, cilantro, and other herbs. It contained plenty of good very rare beef, but the broth was thin and underseasoned by Vietnamese standards. I tasted some of the star anise and fish sauce that are always in this stock, but there was barely a whisper of ginger, which is usually a major flavor. Some people find traditional Vietnamese pho to be too intense and will prefer this delicate version, but I like the more robust original.
I was happier with the combination banh mi sandwich, which paired pate and deli meats with cilantro, cucumber, pickled daikon, jalapeno, and spiced mayo. This was surprisingly authentic and very good, though if you don’t enjoy chillies you should ask them to hold back on the jalapeno.
The salad that is the most unusual is their “chevere chaud” – the mixture of goat cheese, garlic, and oil toasted onto bruschetta and put atop a green salad. That cheese mix is very good but on my most recent visit the bruschetta was very thick – I think it would have been better on thin slices so that they could be broken up for cheese croutons to spread the flavor through the salad.
I haven’t visited for breakfast yet, but they offer croissant sandwiches, cereal, a breakfast burrito, and breakfast bruschetta – toast topped with mascarpone cheese, fresh berries, and honey. No alcohol is served, but they have an espresso machine, soda fountain, and some European soft drinks.
Service at Provence Boulangerie is generally fast, but keep in mind that there is usually only one person doing everything, and if several take-out orders are in you could end up waiting a few minutes. Put your order in and go outside to watch the surf and relax, the better to put yourself in a Mediterranean frame of mind. If you’re looking for a French café experience at a moderate price – nothing on the menu tops ten bucks – you will find it worth the wait.
Provence Boulangerie is at 4101 Highland Avenue in Manhattan Beach. Open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, street parking only, no alcohol. Some vegetarian items, no alcohol. No website, phone 310-
