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“Seems Like Old TimesLe Rendez-vosOne of the most rational axioms from The Graduate School of Hard Knocks is “ If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Le Rendez-vous in Newbury Park seem to have ridden that sage advice hard for almost 3 decades. The name continues to imply the naughtiness of scenes from nostalgic favorites Casablanca, From Here to Eternity and An Affair to Remember. In today’s world, however, those films no longer seem very naughty. |
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I did have a “rendezvous” there more than 20 years ago and for reasons that are may or may not be clear, I never returned until recently. Perhaps the plethora of hip and more adventuresome restaurants attracted my attention. At any rate, I decided it was about time to do a review. Thus, my wife and I did return to the Rendezvous for dinner recently. Pseudo nostalgia quickly kicked in as we were greeted at the door by Francois Zanni Jr, the obvious progeny of Francois Sr..Senior with his wife Victoria opened the restaurant a generation ago. They now live in the South of France after placing Rendez-vous in Junior’s hands. He has spent his life in the restaurant so one would have to conclude that he knows what he is doing. . Thus, apparently by intent, little has changed. The friendly and unique sunken bar to the left as you enter still beckons warmly. A warren of small rooms provide a feeling of quiet intimacy while the main dining room has the requisite booths of the ‘70s lining the left wall. Francois, graciously guided us to our table. Service was amiable and crisp. A feeling of suspended animation set in when we were immediately served a plate, compliments of the chef. It was a dish of ground steak with Ritz crackers… right out of the box. We remembered it from the last time. Soup or salad is included with the fairly priced dinners, which run from about $18 to $27 except for the now mandatory lower priced pastas. The house salad was bountiful. I ordered the French onion soup upgrade. It seemed to lack the classic flavor of onion and cheese one would hope for in a French style restaurant. A complimentary and delightful red frozen fruit palate clearer was then served between courses. |
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The main courses are heavy…. on an assortment of Filet Mignons and other steaks, (perhaps a token homage to the recent renaissance of red meat) plus days of yore classics as Duck a La’Orange, Frog’s Legs, Sand Dabs, Escargot etc. It certainly is not a menu that is visible in most of Southern California today. We ordered a double espresso to end the meal. If, in fact, the espresso was made in a commercial machine, the machine or the operator needs some serious attention. And perhaps the obvious unimportance of espresso is the continuous strategy. Le Rendezvous appears firmly committed to a very narrow niche of people who seem intent upon remembering ”The good old days”. At midweek the restaurant was medium busy with what appeared to be the same crowd I had seen there 25 years ago. Only those that are still left are now 25 years older. Their thoughts are on subjects much more pressing than naughty rendezvous’. Paradoxically, one can hardly argue with the Rendez-vous record of longevity. The recent sales of The Cherry Blossom in Camarillo, Bocaccio’s in Westlake and The Sportsmen in Ventura a few years back, may have made Le Rendez-vous the longest running restaurant in Ventura County. Francois has given a slight nod to the world of today with his “Wine Bar” featuring a wide choice of wines by the glass from the restaurant’s copious cellar and the corkage fee of $5 is very user friendly. However, in order to realistically apply the axiom of the GSHK (see above) management has to figure out whether or not the item in question is or ain’t broken. Le Rendez-vous1282 Newbury Park Road Newbury Park Most Credit
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