Anne Fishbein

the absinthe wall at Church and State

Everybody knows Church and State. It's that loud bistro, decorated year-round with strings of Christmas lights. Walter Manzke used to cook there. The drinks used to be good, too. Is it still there? That part of downtown was pretty cool before the Old Bank district took over.

As it happens, Church and State is still there, on its street of luxury lofts, and it is nearly as hard as ever to get a table on a Friday night, even when the tables spill over onto the sidewalk. There's still a pretty serious cocktail menu, pre-Prohibition-influenced stuff with a modern twist, heavy on the absinthe; the wine list, although spendy for this part of town, is rich in the biodynamic, high-acid French wines that go so well with bistro food.

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Todd Higgins

Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie Beers

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As they approach their eight month anniversary, Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie in Agoura Hills is not only a success but has been since day one. "We tried to open quietly" says owner and manager Cyrena Nouzille, "but we pretty much got run over right away." A first-time restaurateur, Nouzille took over the space that used to house a Chuy's mesquite broiler. It took close to a year to transform the restaurant from a kitschy cantina to a brasserie that's filled with art inspired by Ladyface Mountain, a small peak that the restaurant sits next to.

A longtime home beer brewer, Nouzille's approach was to create a gastropub that would give the locals a relaxing place to gather and introduce them to some really good beer.
In that spirit, Ladyface serves up a selection of craft beers from all over California, but more importantly, they are also brewing their own. As the only microbrewery between Ventura and Hollywood, they have about six of their own ales on hand daily and another three or four available seasonally.

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Ben Calderwood

Color-mixing: Literati's Eggs Florentine

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You might not expect such an astutely poached egg atop your Benedict at a commonplace all-day café like Literati, but that's what you get. Tender, uniform capsules of golden yolk that flood your artisan roll the moment you prod the whites with your fork. The sweetness of the grilled veggies in your quesadilla special--something of an outlier on the California cuisine menu--is unanticipated, red peppers, summer squash and Texas onions whisked from the stove when they are just flecked with caramel char. There is something called the Turkey Asparagus Affair, an illicit commingling of turkey breast, crisp asparagus spears and Swiss tucked between thick slices of multi-grain bread. The sandwich is basted in dairy-free pesto, notoriously easy to over-garlic when you omit the cheese. Not here.

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Ben Calderwood

Pressed Heartichoke sandwich

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Earl's Gourmet Grub celebrated its matriculation from well-trafficked Farmers' Market sandwich stall to full-service retail with a very soft open last week, in a sunny, modern space adjoining Venice Grind coffeehouse. Earl's shares a rear patio, a landlord and clientele with the Mar Vista beanery--the path of travel is such that you can enter the shop and place your order, nosh under a sunbrella out back then exit via the Grind with an iced cappuccino for the trip home.

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Anne Fishbein

Chef Walter Manzke

​Walter Manzke is leaving Church & State, the downtown bistro that the talented chef has turned into a destination for fellow chefs and devotees of pigs ears. Manzke, who has been at Church & State for just over a year, is opening his own restaurant, details of which will come when they're finalized.

Church & State owner Yassmin Sarmadi has hired chef Joshua Smith to take over for Manzke. Smith ("I'm stepping into amazing shoes") was most recently at Anisette Brasserie, where he was Alain Giraud's chef de cusine until he quietly left in December. Both Sarmadi and Manzke say that the decision was an amicable one, and that Manzke has agreed to stay on and help with the transition. "The menu will stay the same. We're a bistro; we're going to stay a bistro," says Sarmadi.

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Sometimes working class food is a bag of Cheetos. Sometimes it's moules frites. I like the second one better--but then, barring an allergy to shellfish, a kosher existence or an unhealthy aversion to fried potatoes--so should you. There are of course many variations of steamed mussels, even before adding ingredients like curry. But generally, it will involve white wine, it will involve garlic, and the liquid mussel essence that leaks from the just-opened shells will combine at the bottom of the pot, creating a broth known to temporarily melt away even the most profound moments of personal despair.

N. Galuten

Moules frites at Fraiche in Culver City

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Good news for fans of brunch on one side of town, and Francophiles on the other, as two new restaurants opened this past week. Cafe in the Heights opened on January 9th. It's not often that Lincoln Heights attracts attention west of La Brea. Not that this coffee shop has especially gourmet aims, but it does have excellent coffee to go along with pastries, sandwiches (of the lunch and breakfast variety) and smoothies. 3510 N. Broadway 90031, 323-224-9964.

And on a much fancier note, Maison Maurice opened January 5th. It's true that this bistro opened for a couple days last month, but this time they really mean it. The vibe is classic Parisian meets Victorian decor explosion with some bohemian touches, but the food stays pretty straightforward with bistro classics. There are rumors of a bouncer employed to keep out...street urchins? Seems a bit much. 8620 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills 90211, 310-967-0021.

Maison Maurice

Tags:

Cafe in the Heights, Katherine Spiers, Maison Maurice