Dinner at Church & State (Los Angeles)

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were going to be journeying to Downtown L.A. once again, so we took the opportunity to revisit a restaurant that we had enjoyed a couple years ago called Church & State.  Since we visited the south of France earlier this year, we have a new found love for French Provencal cuisine, and have been trying to find a great French restaurant in L.A. that is comparable to the amazing food we had while in France.  Church & State is a classic French bistro, in the old, industrial area of Downtown L.A.  In fact, it is located on the ground floor of the original National Biscuit Company (i.e. Nabisco) building, which was built back in 1925.

When it first opened back in 2008, Church & State was one of the first restaurants to open in the now bustling Arts District of Downtown L.A.   The cuisine is traditional French bistro fare, including such classics as steak frites, escargot, moules (mussels), roasted bone marrow, steak tartar, and duck confit, along with a selection on French cheeses, and an all-French wine list.  In addition, they have a full bar, and a great selection of unique, craft cocktails.

We each started with one of the craft cocktails, mine was called an "impromptu", and although I don't exactly recall the ingredients (it's been a few weeks), I do remember that it was quite good.  Our server also delivered some fresh, crusty bread for us to nibble on as we studied our menus.

Before we even ordered, our server also gave us an amuse, which was a gougeres (cheese puff).  This little one-bite wonder was warm, light, cheesy, and delectable.  I could have eaten several of these yummy morsels.

Our first mission was to each pick an hors d'oeuvres.  There were a lot of options on the menu which sounded great.  The hors d'oeuvres menu is pictured below.

Being a fan of charcuterie, I decided on the "small" version of the charcuterie board for my first course.  The various meats on the board were duck prosciutto, pork rillette, chicken liver mousse, and one other that I can't recall.  The server explained that all of the meats are made in-house.  The board also contained some lovely, brightly colored, pickled vegetables, along with some whole grain mustard.  We were also provided with even more fresh, crusty bread to eat the various meats with.  The meats were all delicious, and the vinegar in the pickled veggies provided just the right amount of acidity to balance out the fattiness of the meats. 

For his first course, my husband tried one of the house specialties, the moelle de boeuf, or roasted bone marrow.  Church & State is well known for their bone marrow offering, a staple on their menu since the beginning of the bone marrow trend in foodie-land. After having skipped it on our first visit, he decided go for it this time.  You can see in the picture that it arrives having been roasted in the split bone, and is served with some crostini and a marinated radish salad.  Our server explained that you are supposed to scoop the marrow out of the middle of the bone with a spoon, spread it on some bread, and then top it with a bit of the radish salad.  We had a similar experience at The French Laundry which served (back when it was legal in California) a foie gras pate to spread on toasted brioche, which was delicious.  However, my husband felt that the bone marrow at Church & State trumped the French Laundry foie gras.


The bone marrow was decadently rich, and basically tasted like the melted fat you would get on a really good ribeye steak.  The best description I’ve heard is that it tastes like “animal butter”.  Indeed it has a fatty, gelatinous texture which can be off-putting to some, but is cancelled out by some crunchy, toasty bread.  It is similar to foie gras, in that it absorbs flavor very well.  We both thought it was fantastic, and enjoyed every bite of its heart-clogging goodness. 

The next step was to each decide on an entree.  Again, the menu was loaded with French classics.

My husband went with the Scottish salmon, green lentils, red onion and crispy bacon.  The salmon was well cooked, and the mixture of the lentils, onion, and bacon, was an excellent accompaniment to the fish.

I chose the duck breast and leg confit.  The duck breast was tasty, however, it was a bit dry and needed a little more seasoning.  However, the leg confit was absolutely delicious!  To make duck confit, you basically poach the meat in the duck fat.  This method of cooking the duck allowed the leg meat to retain its moisture, and imparted tons of flavor.  The sauce was also tasty, but the leg confit did not even need any of the sauce.

Even though we were more than full at this point, we decided to split a dessert.  We decided on the pot de creme au chocolate et cafe, which was basically a chocolate coffee custard, topped with a chantilly creme.  It was a lovely end to our meal, but not particularly memorable.  It was a solid effort, but I do not feel it compared to the rest of our excellent meal.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Church & State to anyone who enjoys classic French bistro fare.  The first courses of charcuterie and roasted bone marrow were definitely our favorites, but the entrees were great as well.  It is a delicious French experience in the heart of Downtown LA.