Mimosa

You can count on one hand the number of French chefs cooking French food in French restaurants here in the City of Angels — where once, in 1860, 600 of the 5,000 inhabitants were French. Jean Francois Meteigner comes to mind, bien sûr; he'll be celebrating the 12th anniversary of his well-loved Century City French haven La Cachette next month. And there's Christophe Emé, the former L'Orangerie chef who's made a splash at Ortolan. But these are, for those of us without expense accounts, special-occasion spots. Wouldn't it be swell if there were a French spot for the rest of us?