Matzo Ball Soup and Choucroute at New Broadway Deli

The just-opened Broadway Deli, 1457 Third Street Promenade, (213) 451-0616, is not so much a deli as it is a synthesis of several types of restaurants: bar and grill, French bistro, American coffee shop and . . . deli. The restaurant is the result of the long-awaited collaboration between Citrus’ Michel Richard and Bruce Marder of West Beach Cafe, Rebecca’s and DC 3.

The result: a real American bistro, of a type Los Angeles has not seen before. It shares space with a gourmet boutique, a wine shop and an upscale deli counter.

Here, it’s possible to have a completely authentic French bistro meal--perfect onion soup au gratin ; good, smoky choucroute ; a $12 bottle of Alsatian

Pinot Blanc; country-style French bread baked in a

wood-burning oven. (Order what’s listed on the menu as beef stew and the waiter will whisper, “It’s like beef bourguignonne. “)

There’s all the deli stuff you crave (matzo ball soup, chopped liver, pastrami, brisket) and classic American food too, a garlicky Caesar salad, charred skirt steak and creamed spinach.

The place opens at 6 a.m. for breakfast, which consists mostly of genteel versions of the stuff you might get at Ship’s, with a few French and Italian inflections.

And the owners plan to keep the deli open until 2 in the morning. There may be hope yet for a late scene in Santa Monica.