Restaurant Review: La Vie
Senior Editor Jason Wu gets a taste of French cuisine from the restaurant, La Vie.
Written by JASON WU / Published June 4, 2010
Recently, I had the pleasure to stumble into a very nice French restaurant called “La Vie” down in Rosemead.
The restaurant, which means “Life” in French, is located in the nook of a tiny plaza, but from the outside, you would never be able to tell that it is a very popular place for fine dining, even with all the restaurant reviews taped to their window.
The place, which is usually open during dinner hours, is relatively small, but has a big enough capacity to fit as many people as a large restaurant would. The menu is relatively simple, with a few choice appetizers, entrees, desserts, and beverages.
The meals themselves are priced at roughly $20 per dish, which, for the type and style of the food, is actually quite a steal.
Besides a choice of entrée, ranging from filet mignon to lobster tail and from veal to roast rabbit, it includes soup, salad and coffee, not to mention an endless supply of freshly-baked bread (it’s like Olive Garden, only better!)
As per the way of the culture, the dishes take an hour or more to get to your table from start to finish (however, I wandered in with a party of about thirty people so it may actually be a lot shorter if you were to come with a small group).
However, the wait is worth it. Each item is cooked perfectly, without being too raw or overcooked, and no matter what you get, it would all taste absolutely wonderful.
The waitresses are also quite warm and friendly. As you wait for your food, they always come and offer you more bread and drinks and with their sincere attitudes, there is no way you can ever be irritated at them.
Their escargot is actually quite delicious. Many places have sandy, gritty escargot that is either too mushy or too chewy, but La Vie cooks theirs just right, in a light garlic sauce.
My filet mignon was more tender and juicy than those tried at other restaurants and the endless bread was just too good to resist (note: any and every sauce you find in the restaurant can double as a delicious dip).
Overall, I had an incredible dining experience and I highly recommend anyone of any taste and preference to try this restaurant. It is located on 2547 San Gabriel Blvd #A Rosemead, CA 91770.
