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We're all seeking comfort food right now and chicken à la Bourgeoise is just what's required, moist tender chicken roasted with carrots, pearl onions and bacon and served with a splash of the pan drippings. Manzke does a fine duck confit too, served with luscious braised red cabbage.
There's a different cassoulet almost every night, sometimes with pork sausage and duck, other times with roasted winter vegetables. But whichever version is available, the beans are cooked through, not always a given in this town.
The same stripped-down aesthetic also serves the cheese selection well -- not too many, but just enough. The half-dozen or so selections mean the restaurant isn't left trying to sell off old cheeses.
Late-night diners
It's a late-night crowd downtown, with more and more people filtering in as the night wears on. Some come for a glass of wine and a steak tartare or some frites at the bar. Others come to try the absinthe setup or wait for a table.
I can imagine people slipping in for a dessert too, maybe a slice of that brown butter tart dotted with dried sour cherries and served with a billowy kirsch sabayon. Or maybe the tangerine pot de crème with the lilt of citrus to lift the sweetness.
Let's hope Manzke stays, because with Arroyo's sense of fun and Manzke's deft French cooking, Church & State has the heart and soul of a true French bistro married to an authentic sense of place: Los Angeles.
rene.virbila@latimes.com
There's a different cassoulet almost every night, sometimes with pork sausage and duck, other times with roasted winter vegetables. But whichever version is available, the beans are cooked through, not always a given in this town.
Late-night diners
It's a late-night crowd downtown, with more and more people filtering in as the night wears on. Some come for a glass of wine and a steak tartare or some frites at the bar. Others come to try the absinthe setup or wait for a table.
I can imagine people slipping in for a dessert too, maybe a slice of that brown butter tart dotted with dried sour cherries and served with a billowy kirsch sabayon. Or maybe the tangerine pot de crème with the lilt of citrus to lift the sweetness.
Let's hope Manzke stays, because with Arroyo's sense of fun and Manzke's deft French cooking, Church & State has the heart and soul of a true French bistro married to an authentic sense of place: Los Angeles.
Church & State
RATING: ***
LOCATION
1850 Industrial St., Los Angeles; (213) 405-1434; www.churchandstatebistro.com.
AMBIENCE
Lively bistro in what was once the loading dock of the 1925 National Biscuit Co. building. Church & State rocks for the ambience and the food.
SERVICE
Friendly and persuasive.
PRICE
Oysters, $26 a dozen; charcuterie plate $14; hors d'oeuvres, $3 to $19; salads, $9 to $12; main courses, $11 to $26; sides, $6; cheese selection, $12 to $18; desserts, $7 to $8.
BEST DISHES
Flammenküche, smoked salmon tart, escargots, roasted marrow bone, herring salad, charcuterie plate, endive salad, roast chicken, steak frites, cassoulet, pommes frites au lard, tangerine pot de crème, cherry tart.
WINE LIST
Could have more interesting choices. Corkage fee, $15.
BEST TABLE
One in the front window.
DETAILS
Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and for dinner 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 6 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Full bar. Guarded lot parking, $4.
Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.
rene.virbila@latimes.com
