As noted yesterday in our look back at L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade, former Misfit and Urbano Pizza Bar chef Bruce Kalman is tailoring completely new breakfast, lunch, and dinners menus at West Hollywood’s one-year-old restaurant The Churchill, the final leg of a recent upgrade that includes new cocktails designed by Mia Sarazen. The Third Street spot is also bringing in coffee and espresso drinks from LaMill and sweets from Cake Monkey.
Kalman is a farmers market-junkie, endowing The Churchill with appropriate layers of labeled product in European-inspired dishes like gnocchi with Okinawan sweet potato, bacon, butternut squash, and forest mushrooms, Morro Bay sablefish with heirloom eggplant and mostarda, duck confit casserole, and steamed mussels with Rancho Gordo frijoles.
He’s also looking out for the meat-free with plates like roasted Black Mission figs with ricotta from his home state of New Jersey and over lunch, duck sausage pizza and a quinoa burger with avocado and piquillo peppers.
While in the Southwest working at Il Piatto, Kalman was nominated for a James Beard Rising Star Chef nod, and was a critical part of making room for The Misfit take over Santa Monica’s beloved Anisette space with limited resentment from Alain Giraud fans. So far, The Churchill is viewed a little more like a hang-out hotspot than a dining and drinking destination. If that notion is ever to do an about-face, matching the wits of Sarazen and Kalman is a strong start.
Kalman’s new menus launch this Thursday at The Churchill, 8384 W. 3rd Street, West Hollywood.
