Church & State - Simple and Solid

Color me silly but when I ordered "roasted marrow" at Church & State I wasn't expecting a giant whole piece of marrow cut in two, bone and all.
OK. Maybe I should've, it says 'roasted marrow' after all. But I was surprised. And yes, apparently one can have too much bone marrow. The marrow on toasted bread was quite satisfying at first, but after eating half of first section, I was already overwhelmed by fat ...
Do share this dish with more than one person!

The rest of the relatively short menu at this lively bistro newly manned by Walter Manzke offers other indulgence, like escargot and foie gras, but you can also go healthier and lighter with a salad mesclun.

I, however, not realizing how fat-stuffed I'd be after all those bone marrow, ordered the duck confit: Confit de Canard a la Montmorency (French lentils, pickled cherries) - $15
This seems to be one of the cheaper duck confits out there, and it's quite good. The skin is crispy and the meat is pretty tender. It's simple, yet satisfying. Nicely paired with the pickled cherries.

Loup de mer (seabass, ratatouille provencale) - $24
Flaky and moist fish - it was done pretty well, again with nicely crispy skin. As you can see from both entrees, there's nothing 'frou frou' here. Everything is simple, but solid.

During my meal I saw a waiter bring the dessert tray out to another table, and knelt down to show them the selection. Hot frenchie kneeling down in front of me with a tray of desserts .... Yum ....

Alas, my companion immediately ordered dessert, not giving the chance for the waiter to come by. Booo.

Anyway, we got a special dessert of the day, a strawberry apple tart.
Pretty good, not too sweet, nothing too special either.

The chocolate cake was a better match for me.
More like a chocolate mousse cake, it was dense and rich. Got my sweet tooth and chocolate craving fixed right here.

A hopping downtown bistro with simple and solid food and nice lively atmosphere for a night out on the town. There was nothing in particular (so far) that would make me crave it and go back, but I was happy and satisfied with everything and can definitely see picking this place to hit the town with some friends.

Plus, I need to try them escargots.

Church & State
1850 Industrial St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 405-1434
http://www.churchandstatebistro.com