Los Angeles, USA
Church & State is a French bistro in the hip arts district of downtown Los Angeles. It is on the ground floor of the huge, converted National Biscuit Company building. I made reservations for two on the day, after a recommendation from a friend. I was a little sceptical towards eating French in the States, but I had over dosed on tacos and burgers for a few days and wanted a change. We entered the exposed brick and column restaurant and were immediately put off by the poor acoustics of the room. The crowd was a mixture of hipsters and business men with girls to impress. Luckily, they had tables outside, so we sat in a peaceful area with perfect temperature. As a starter, we shared the Roasted Bone Marrow, one of their specialties. It is served with bread and chimichurri, but I quickly realised that the sauce just hid all the flavour of the marrow, and that it is best enjoyed just with a spoon on its own. And it was really good! We scraped the bone clean and I wish we had ordered more. My next dish was also wonderful though. I had the Bouillabaisse, a fish stew with shellfish. The bread that came with it was smothered in bright yellow aioli, which was amazing. My friend had the Steak Frites, which he said was ok, but nothing special. There was no point ordering the Salade d’Endives we had on the side, as it was quite flavourless. As none of the dishes were bad, and some of them very good, I’d say Church & State was worth the trip, and if I lived in LA I would definitely go back for the Roasted Bone Marrow.
1850 Industrial Street, LA, 90021
