DTLA: Return to Le Comptoir

March 20, 2012

Gary Menes

I recently took a friend to Le Comptoir for her birthday. When we eat together, we tend to be protein (land or sea) seekers. So when she heard I was taking to veggie loving Chef Gary Menes’ pop-up, she was a bit skeptical.

amuse bouche - grilled apple with borage flower, croutons

We got there a bit early so Chef Gary fed us a bit of the pizza he had made for the staff meal. A simple cheese and another slice of tomato and cheese were outstanding.

champigon de paris veloute

We decided to share most of our courses. Although I really also wanted the soup, I felt it was important my friend get first dibs so she too could worship the shrine of Gary’s soups. This mushroom veloute with cream cheese “dip” and farinette was of course a hit. But don’t feel bad for me. My consolation prize? Foie Gras.

foie gras terrine, cherry compote, saba

Oh, so luscious.

sunny side up duck egg

egg, now garnished by us

A near constant at Le Comptoir is the egg in the sizzling Staub pan. This time, the egg was a beautifully colored duck egg. I tried to use only half the butter but Gary admonished me that he knew how much was needed. All right, full pat it is!

veggie plate

With 14 different vegetables and fruit on the plate, this was a vegetarian delight. I was really into the root veggies but found the fruit to be a welcome change in flavor. The beets and fava beans were also great.

petit pois francaise

paquette de porc

For our next course, my friend opted for the veggies again while I had the pork rillettes. She was already full from the veggie platter and kept making “mmm, mmm!” noises. Aha, she’s digging the veggies!

As for me, I love ’em too but am glad for a little pork every now and then (okay, a lot now and then). The rillettes were perfect- great texture and I loved that it was paired with more vegetables. The nubby wheat berries were very toothsome and a hearty grain to go with the dish.