Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Zagat Presents: An Evening on the Seine at Comme Ca
There is a sense of gentility about Comme Cathat envelops you from the moment you walk in the heavy steel doors. Although it only opened its door in 2007, it has the feel of an old standard. The atmosphere encourages civility without discouraging a good time. Everyone from the general manager to servers are cheerful and friendly, and we even had a lovely conversation with the people at the next table.
We were dining at Comme Ca by invitation last week to enjoy Zagat Presents "An Evening on the Seine". It was one of the first special events at David Myers’ French Brasserie since Executive Chef Dong Choi came on board, but it will not be the last. The restaurant is planning on offering special prix fixe menus on a regular basis.
Although the menu items were not unheard of on a typical French menu, they were leaning towards the more adventurous palate. Skate, squab and foie gras are not for everybody, and they are not always for every cook. Luckily for us Comme Ca can execute this kind of menu with one hand tied behind its back.
We started with an all-organic salad salade de legume with charred eggplant vinaigrette and raw sheep's milk pecorino with heirloom tomatoes. There was a surprise tucked beneath the leaves that I was secretly hoping were heirloom beets. They turned out to be purple potatoes, a fun surprise. The tomatoes were bright and flavorful, exploding in our mouths and heralding an early Spring. One of the potatoes was slightly overcooked due to a size difference, but otherwise they were spot-on. The salad was paired with an organic Australian albarino with a greeness and higher acid content to pair with the lettuce.
Support for LAist comes from
The second course was Skate Grenobloise from the Atlantic with haricot verte and almonds, golden raisins and capers, paired with a Reisling out of Southeastern Australian. The wine's residual sugars appealed to the skate texturally and to the saltiness of the capers. The first time I tried skate was at Lupa in NYC. It shredded apart like boiled chicken and I decided I did not like skate. But I was in it all the way; never stop trying things. Once again I was proven wrong. Comme Ca made me love skate. The edges were crispy and the interior flaked apart, yielding easily to the fork. The lemon-caper sauce was a perfect match with just enough acidity and fat to make your mouth water. The skate is on the permanent menu. so we will be able to enjoy it again and again.
The third course was composed of a roasted squab breast with chestnut foie gras agnolotti, bing cherries and squab jus. Quail is a favorite, so I assumed the squab would be similar. The rare breast was not so much like squab, and not even like the dark meat of other game birds. It has the intense, sinister taste of variety meats like liver. The little drumstick of a wing was deeply laquered like Chinese duck and absolutely delectable. Cherries were a good choice, and I found myself on a treasure hunt for the anglotti. I could have eaten an entire dish of the tiny packets of chestnit and foie gras. Both the pasta and the filling melted in your mouth.
We finished with chocolate banana nut bread with caramelized banana milk and chicory ice cream for a little taste of French New Orleans We were having such a lovely time we ordered two more cocktails and watched them close up until there was nothing left to do but depart regretfully into the night.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist