Church and State

Last night I went downtown to the new French bistro, Church and State. I immediately loved the space with exposed brick floors and walls, and an unfinished ceiling. The resto is dimly lit with strings of lights hanging across the ceiling, and feels very Brooklyn...very industrial meets bistro...industrial bistro. Small tables with traditional bistro chairs litter the floor, and huge glass facade windows make the dining room feel bigger than it is.



I am not a fan of Steven Arroyo. I can't stand Cobras and Matadors and anyone that thinks his food is decent Spanish fare is clueless and mistaken. However, he has done something right at Church and State because the French bistro fare is exactly that- upscale French bistro. Not a mistaken attempt like Comme Ca.
It seems a bit like CaS is trying to pull a Varnish because they offer the "Dealer's Choice" cocktail and boast fresh fruit juice and top shelf liquor. I did not enjoy my cocktail (which was Dealer's Choice), but it was drinkable (I asked for gin, ginger, and sour).



Our meal kicked off with two gougeres (very light, buttery and cheesy, yummyyy), and some crusty baguette with butter. Our first dish-dish was my favorite of the night, the escargot. Snails were individually sealed with butter, garlic, and parsley in a ramekin and topped with puff pastry- making the little ramekins appear to be cute happy golden brown mushrooms. The trick here is to decapitate the puff pastry and dip it into the buttery-garlicky goodness once the snail has been consumed. It was absolutely simple but delicious. We also samples the moules et frites which was also very good but something I make at home. The fries were nicely crisp, but tasted like they were sitting around a few minutes before they were served.



We moved onto the beet salad with goat cheese, toasted hazelnuts and greens-solid, and the French onion soup that was a bit salty but otherwise very tasty. As an entree I opted for the duck confit with fingerling potatoes and cabbage slaw which was incredibly fall-off-the-bone soft and super crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I found the cabbage to be pretty, but unnecessary. At this point in the meal I was getting pretty full, but I made sure to try my boyfriend's steak frites- but because we already had tried the fries, we subbed the second serving of fries for veggies. His steak was just whatever- a bit overcooked for my taste.



He asked for it to be cooked medium-rare and it was more like medium. Anyway, the steak and veggies were fine but unremarkable.



For dessert I was presented with a tray of options, and went to for an apricot almond tart that was again fine but unremarkable. The food quality overall was very high and considering how good the food was, all dishes were very reasonably priced. Many entrees were under $20 and none were above $24. I would definitely go back to CaS a- because the food was very good, but also b- because I love love the vibe of the restaurant. Very understated cool in the same way Gjelina has a hip neighborhoody ambiance. We also had great service and loooved our waiter, Mel. If anything, go visit Mel.



Church and State
1850 Industrial Street
213-405-1434