Church & State: Delightful Ode to Fat

I've been lax. The good news is, I have so many places to review and rave about. Of course, also some to rag on but let's focus on the positive. I'd been reading good things about Church & State and it is located in the hip artists' district near Little Tokyo so it showed a lot of promise. And it was one of those meals that are so bad for you it's good. The chef seems to worship anything lard and meaty, which I totally approve of.

A group of us started with the charcuterie sampler that had all sorts of delicious and delightfully salty (and fatty) cured meats and as if that weren't enough, we also got pate with port jelly that came with a perfectly toasted brioche.




We didn't even bother balancing these out with anything remotely resembling greens. The other items weren't as successful as these first two. Not sure if it was the fat overdose, but the short rib sandwich (that actually did come with greens), the mushroom and cheese tart and the roasted bone marrow weren't nearly as melt-in-your-mouth as the pate.

The short rib sandwich, in particular, should have been like buttah. But alas, while not terrible, it disappointed.

The mushroom and cheese tart was too cheesy for me but that may have something to do with the fat overload. I should probably mix things up a little more next time.




The bone marrow roasted in an oven was the grand finale but I, for some reason, was expecting the marrow cut across like tree trunks. It came cut lengthwise and while good, also didn't meet my expectations entirely. I still finished it because bone marrow is one of favorite things in the world, but left some to be desired.

Happy to report that like any self-respecting bistro, the fries were delicious. They came with an aioli-like dip that was nice and garlicky.

The ambiance and service were both good and I would definitely return. The only thing is all the wonderful fat needs to be tempered by some serious greens or straight up wine. Otherwise, it'll be too heavy. I know I paid for it.

I'm looking forward to trying other standard bistro fare, including French onion soup and steak frites.

It would be great if it offered happy hour but not sure why it doesn't, especially given its location right across Royal Clayton's, that good ol' pub serving all sorts of tempting drinking fare like Shepherd's pie and fish and chips.

Church & State
1850 Industrial Street
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Tel. (213) 405-1434