Los Angeles Ratatouille Emergency

June 11, 2009 7:17 AM

Where is the best place in the Greater Metropolitan Los Angeles to order ratatouille?

My boy wants to be a chef. He adored Ratatouille the movie, but the other day, turned to me and said, "dad, wouldn't it be funny if ratatouille was a real food, and not just a movie food?"

So obviously there's a lot of chef schooling left. Well, he's just 7. Anyway, one thing I can do is teach by example -- so I'm interested in taking him to a restaurant and ordering him straight up, direct, non molecular gastronomic, unfoamified ratatouille the way french peasants used to make it.

For added difficulty: he and mom are strict vegetarian. Yes, I have considered trying to make it myself (and it looks pretty easy), but I tend to burn water when trying to boil it, don't know the difference between a skillet and a turkey baster, and so forth. That's in the plan eventually, but first I want him to see a very good, classic example.

posted by felix to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

I can't help you out on the restaurant, but if you do decide to make it, this recipe looks just like the movie version and is very easy. I am also a little bit worried that if you do find a restaurant that serves ratatouille, your son may be disappointed as it rarely looks like it did in the movie. Usually, it looks like a vegetable stew (check google images for pics.)
posted by picklebird at 7:33 AM on June 11, 2009

This is the Thomas Keller recipe copied by the animators for the ratatouille dish in the movie. I've seen other recipes that are a little simpler where everything is just kind of stewed together instead of all the precise slicing and layering.
posted by dnash at 8:45 AM on June 11, 2009

As for a restaurant version, have you posted a query on Chowhound? The folks on the Los Angeles board are well informed about just about everything edible in the city.

I've seen it in the prepared section at Whole Foods, but hopefully you can find a better alternative.
posted by chez shoes at 8:50 AM on June 11, 2009

This is the Thomas Keller recipe copied by the animators for the ratatouille dish in the movie. I've seen other recipes that are a little simpler where everything is just kind of stewed together instead of all the precise slicing and layering.

Thomas Keller invented this dish for movie, and the recipe is included on the DVD, and it's called a "confit byaldi." Traditional ratatouille is exactly everything just kind of stewed together.
posted by jabberjaw at 9:34 AM on June 11, 2009

At the "Cafe Orleans" restaurant inside Disneyland, they serve a vegetarian ratatouille that is very tasty. It's a table service restaurant, so it's better than their standard theme-park food. The restaurant tends to get busy, so priority seating (reservations) are recommended. Call 714-781-DINE
posted by mintymike at 12:03 PM on June 11, 2009

Here's a link to the Cafe Orleans menu.

Here's their ratatouille menu item:
Creole Ratatouille - A N'awlins twist on a French favorite! Savory vegetable ragout, with tomato, eggplant, red onion, bell pepper, squash, zucchini, and fresh garlic - seasoned to perfection and served with corn cakes topped with grana padano cheese. $13.99
posted by mintymike at 12:06 PM on June 11, 2009

I'm no cook, but ratatouille is just about one of the easiest dishes there could ever be. That's why it's peasant food-- it's nothing but stewed vegetables. Make it at home, on the stovetop. Let your son stand on a stepstool and watch how the heat affects the vegetables in the pan. It'll be fun and educational for both of you.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:25 PM on June 11, 2009

I haven't had ratatouille locally, but the Orleans Cafe option at Disneyland sounds like it would be extremely fun for a 7-year-old, for obvious reasons!

Making ratatouille is extremely easy. The main skills it requires (and I'm not being snarky -- just being explicit about what's required of you, and why even if you have problems boiling water, you probably shouldn't worry) are being able to: chop vegetables; heat some oil in a pan; stir. Here's how I make it, including a variation for "ratatouille pie" (which my own boy loves to the point of madness, though he's about 40 years older than your boy).

Feel free to drop me a line if my instructions there breeze over any steps you might have some questions about (e.g., sauteeing the garlic and onions, which takes a little extra care but isn't actually difficult as long as you're paying attention).
posted by scody at 12:26 PM on June 11, 2009