In the past couple of months, the husband and I have experienced two very tasty meals worth mentioning.
The first, we had just about 2 months ago at eat.drink.americano. eat.drink.americano is the new Cafe Metropole reinvigorated, which is located in the Artists District downtown at 923 E 3rd St, with a fresh menu of food, ales & wine offerings. We started with the Chop Board that consists of your choice of a combination of Italian meats & cheeses served with house marinated olives & artisan bread. Totally satisfying with a great glass of wine. For dinner, I went with the Niman Pork Cheeks. Like OMG!!! (sorry, got to keep it contemporary), so tender and delicious. My husband had the steak tartare that came with mustard ice cream. WOW is all I have to say on that dish, was that good! The evening ended with the 'pull me Up' dessert. A trifle of coffee & amaretto soaked lady fingers, fresh pannacotta & chocolate ganache. This was a pleasurable night and the owners are always delightful to visit with.
For more info, eatdrinkamericano.com.
The other meal was a couple of weeks ago and a most romantic dinner out. Our lovely Joanna has been telling me about Church & State for some time now. I see why! French menu, beautifully executed with a lively atmosphere in a beautiful space. This is located a block away from the Greyhound bus station downtown and not far from skid row. (HUH!?!) Located on the street level of the National Biscuit Company lofts building. This is one of those charming 2-3 block pocket neighborhoods that you run across in LA and ask yourself, is it reality or a movie set. We started with the mushroom tarte served on a wood plank. The combination of sweet with the mushroom and light flaky crust was amazing. Again, I went with pork, the pork belly this time with fingerling potatoes and fresh figs. I think I went to heaven on this meal. And the mister had the roasted half organic chicken that was seasoned to perfection. There is always dessert for me and I went with the chocolate and salted caramel tarte... yummmmmmmmmmmm. He had the creme brulee. We ate outside and took in the delightful neighborhood with the residents out walking their dogs. The dining room inside seems it may be loud, but still very charming and you can watch all the action going on inside from your outside table (like a zoo!). If you want a special meal, you must go here. 1850 Industrial St.
For more info, churchandstatebistro.com.
