A great duck resturant

[iamhannah]

Hi, my dad's birthday is next month and he loves to eat duck. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for some nice restaurants that serve a good duck main dish. Thank you.

[mc michael]

Pretty good tea smoked duck at Fu-Shing in east Pasadena.

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Fu-Shing Chinese Restaurant
2960 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107

[OCEllen]

Any good ducks in Orange County?

[AMC1210]

Chinez-a Chinese Restaurant in the West Park shopping center in Irvine. My wife loves their crispy duck.
3965 Alton Parkway
Irvine, CA 92606-8276
[phone]

[bagdoodle]

Try the duck breast at La Vie on San Gabriel Blvd in Rosemead. It's a generous portion, not at all fatty, quite delicious, prepared in the French manner by a Vietnamese master chef, and comes as part of a complete prix fixe dinner at a very reasonable price. Also, if you're there, be sure to order and leave room for their truly delicious dessert souffle.

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La Vie
2547 San Gabriel Blvd, Rosemead, CA 91770

[Will Owen]

… and don't forget to order it at the BEGINNING of the meal, or you'll be waiting an awfully long time.

I like La Vie; our mostly-French family ate there frequently when Papa was still with us, and the food is classic French and very well prepared. There are paybacks for the gentle prices, though; that the side vegetables are identical, no matter what the entrée, is the one that annoys me a bit. Even Café Bizou doesn't do that. But those vegetables, if uninspired, are nicely prepared. Decent and well-priced wine list and friendly service, mostly young people (and, I suspect, a few family members).

I never had the soufflé just because to me the combination of sweetness and stiffly cooked eggs tastes like burnt hair, but the rest of the family said it was glorious, and always ordered it.

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La Vie
2547 San Gabriel Blvd, Rosemead, CA 91770

[Nicole]

The duck confit at RH at the Andaz was very good but not amazing. I feel like I've had better in L.A., but I can't seem to remember where. I'm also eager to see what others say.

[Will Owen]

Best I've ever had was at Le Saint-Amour in Culver City; the first I ever had was from the same guy about ten years earlier at Angelique, when he and his wife owned that. I loved it then, but he's learned a lot in the meantime. TWO big legs, crisp-skinned and ridiculously tender, on a big bed of very skinny crisp frites, a lot like those matchstick potatoes we used to get in bags only fresh and hot. And not particularly expensive, either.

[Jase]

Was just there last week. It's up to $23 now for the duck confit. But still a pretty good deal.

[Will Owen]

I'm thinking that's about a $5 leap. Ouch. Still, yes, for two full legs plus a pile of frites that remain delicious when cooled off, it's a GOOD kind of pain. I'm sure it was grossly underpriced at the beginning. Maybe it was like those old anti-drug movies, where the pusher hands out heroin for free or cheap until the kid is hooked, and then starts charging full rate. Ya think?

[Jase]

The fries warm up really well the next day in the toaster oven. Gravy poured over them and a sunny side up egg makes a great breakfast.

[debra]

Brandywine is a gem of a place, run by a husband and wife, he's in the front of the house, she's in the kitchen. They start you with an amuse bouche of house cured gravlox in their lovely little dining room, everything on the menu that we've tried is always spot on, but my favorite is the muscovy duck breast. Served medium, it eats like a great steak. You should probably call first to be sure it's on the menu (you can probably request it if not, their menu is a chalkboard, so things can change.) Also, they do tableside ceasar salads which is a treat.

Enjoy!

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Brandywine Restaurant
22757 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91364

[iamhannah]

I drive by that restaurant everyday and have never been there. That is going on the list of possibilities for the dinner thank you.

[Servorg]

I'll be reading these responses with real interest. Every time I order duck (outside of some Chinese places that specialize in it) I've been so disappointed (horrified in some cases) by the results as to have given up.

[iamhannah]

We usually go to Villa Piacere on Ventura Blvd in Woodland Hills but we've been there so much I'm looking for something different. My dad really enjoys the duck there.

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Villa Piacere
22160 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91364

[BSW6490]

Joss on Santa Monica just east of Century City has great peking duck.

[Hughlipton]

I think you have to be desparate to go to Joss. A major disappointment. You mioght as well go to the Formosa Cafe for average dull Chinese food. Any similarity between Peking Duck and what Joss serves is purely accidental but more occidental.

[LA Buckeye Fan]

I loved the duck at Warsawa in Santa Monica. Crispy skin and it came with spatzel. It was a few years ago, so you may want to check to make sure it's still on the menu. Wishing your dad a very happy birthday.