Find gourmet French foods for your next picnic at The Little Next Door

July 7, 9:16 PMLA Cooking ExaminerErika Kerekes

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Summertime cooking is often less about actually cooking and more about skillful shopping. The weather's hot, the stove is unappealing, and who can eat salad every night?

That's where The Little Next Door comes in. Walk into this elegant French cafe-deli (next door, obviously, to The Little Door restaurant near the Beverly Center) and you'll really feel as though you've skipped right over the Atlantic and landed in Paris. The walls are lined with jams, jellies, pickles, poached seasonal fruits, and meats, all put up in those adorable clamp-top jars, all made right in the restaurant's kitchen. The glass cases in the middle hold house-made desserts, cold salads, and a few excellent cheeses. From these majestic components, you can put an elegant dinner on your table without cooking at all.

A few of the most appealing items: poached cherries with star anise; apricot compote with lemon verbena; Moroccan preserved lemons; a traditional ratatouille; foie gras, goose rillette or duck confit; condiments like spicy Moroccan harissa, black olive tapenade, and onion confit; and delicate French macarons (almond cookies) in Easter-egg colors (see the photo below).

Frederic Meschin, who owns both The Little Door and The Little Next Door with his brother Nicolas (and gave me a few of the above items to sample - oh, those cherries!), says that retailers like Williams-Sonoma have expressed interest in selling his preserved foods and pastries - but, as of now, there's not enough room in the kitchen to expand their operations. They're actively looking for a large commercial kitchen and hope to have these products in catalogues by the December holidays. Until then, be glad you're just a short drive away - and start planning that gourmet picnic.

The Little Next Door, 8142 W. 3rd St., LA CA 90048, 323-951-1010