Los Angeles can now have a taste of French rotisserie chicken outside of Paris with the opening of Mon Petit Poulet in Venice.

One of my favorite stories from apartment hunting in Paris was when I was checking out a tiny place and I asked if there was an oven. The landlady replied with a quick, non and threw back, why do you need an oven? Um, maybe I'd like to bake some chicken. She looked at me in pity and replied, oh, you'll never make roast chicken better than the French. I did end up getting that oven-less apartment and learning that the landlady was so right about French rotisserie chicken.

The French know their chicken. They have small stands all over Paris selling this liquid gold. The chicken spins on a stacked rotisserie, one on top of another, with a trough of potatoes at the bottom, catching all of the pan juices. Mon Petit Poulet is one of the takeout chicken sellers in Paris, and now they've brought their simple, but tasty bird to Los Angeles.

There are currently 4 locations of Mon Petit Poulet in Paris, and they've just opened their first location outside of France, on Lincoln Boulevard in Venice. They are sourcing the chicken locally in CA from Mary's Farm. The chicken is all organic, bien sur.

You can choose from over a half dozen different herbs and spices to baste your chicken in from figs to fresh thyme, green olive, rosemary, tarragon and orange.

There are also sides like mashed potatoes, green beans, grandma's carrots, lentils and ratatouille. The lentils were way overcooked on my visit with no real discernable flavor, but the ratatouille was punchy and perfect. It's hard to turn down those roasted potatoes, cooked in chicken fat or a classic haricots verts, aka French green beans. Try those over the lentils.

You can buy a whole bird, or get a combo meal with a 1/4 chicken and 2 sides for $14.95.

If you're looking for a little slice of French life without a plane ticket, Mon Petit Poulet is good for a solid roast chicken with some vegetable sides.

Mon Petit Poulet
705 Lincoln Boulevard, Venice
310.314.2016