To watch an omelette being made at Ludo Lefebvre’s Petit Trois is a thing of beauty.
First there is the butter, a massive pad that swirls around the pan before being flooded with whipped eggs over low heat. The mixture sits, briefly, then is taken off the stove and gently poked and prodded for minutes until it is finally folded into one uniform, buttercup-hued omelette. Oh, and did I mention that Boursin cheese is piped through the middle?
Perceived simplicity is what Chef Lefebvre aims to perfect at Petit Trois. The menu is a well-tested list of classic French favorites—steak frites, mussels marinières, chicken leg—and the playlist is '90s hip hop and classic rock, an unusual mix but one that furthers Lefebvre’s ethos of this being a casual French spot, a place to indulge in simple, good food without pretense. If the Hollywood strip mall exterior doesn’t sell you on this idea, the food certainly will.
I was not asked how I would like my steak when I ordered the steak frites, but if I had been, I would have asked for exactly what came out. Cooked medium rare, the juicy slab arrives au poivre, slathered in the traditional sauce with green peppercorns for a hit of spice and a squeeze of lemon for acidity. The accompanying fries are fantastic. It’s a dish that, as an end product, seems so basic, so why were we astounded (as with the omelette) that it tasted that good? This was a theme that continued throughout our meal, making us question if we had just been settling all along when it came to steak and eggs.
Still, whether it is a forkful of the chocolate souffle, or that last bit of omelette with its garlicy, peppery Boursin, there is no denying that Lefebvre has done his work here. Petit Trois is casual. It is French. And it is very, very good.