La Vie En Rose Restaurant   

French songstress Edith Piaf sang the words, and Brea restaurateur Louis Laulhere lives by them. Experience his version of La Vie en Rose, the good life, at this award-winning restaurant fashioned after a French country farmhouse. Ensconced in comfortable private booths, warmed by a crackling fire and copious amounts of fine wine, guests can float away to a rose-tinted world where a meal can -- and should -- last a few leisurely hours. Most of the recipes come from the French countryside, specifically Provence and Laulhere's native Gascony. Pate or smoked salmon atop crusty, fresh-baked bread are classics on an appetizer menu that includes a signature lobster ravioli. The main courses are classics, as well: roast pork tenderloin, rack of lamb, filet mignon in Bearnaise sauce, and whatever fresh seafood catch or daily special is available. The dinners are prix fixe, so dessert is not a question of if, but what. Possibilities include Grand Marnier souffle, fresh-baked apple tart, house-made pastries and more. -- Lena Katz