Ouisie’s Table

Who’s Ouisie and What’s Ouisie’s? First off let’s pronounce it correctly. Wee’ – zee. Oui (as in yes) – sie (zee as in ZZ top). Ouisie’s. Not “Oozy’s” or “owlsy’s” or “queezy’s” but Ouisie’s, a nickname derived from Elouise, after my aunt who insisted I have her name.

In 1973, I opened Ouisie’s Table & The Traveling Brown Bag Lunch Co. on Sunset Boulevard. Customers described it as their charming, eclectic and eccentric club where they were served their favorites like the pimento cheese sandwiches, the rough country pate, chicken fried steak with peppered gravy, black bean soup, the Ouisie’s Spud and the roasted Cornish hen stuffed with tamales. The menu, was and always will be, hand made without shortcuts. Wafi Dinari joined in 2003 and since, has been the driving force in all aspects of the establishment.