Downtown Arts District for food lovers
Executive chef Tony Esnault of Church & State puts the finishing touches on his coq au vin - chicken, carrot, mushroom, pearl onion and sauce. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Chef Ori Menashe of Bestia with a roasted suckling pig. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Cassoulet featuring seven-hour lamb, pork garlic sausage, duck leg confit and white beans at Church & State bistro in the downtown Arts District. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
San Francisco’s Blue Bottle Coffee Co. has taken over the former Handsome Coffee in the Arts District. (S. Irene Virbila / Los Angeles Times)
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“On the Bird” sandwich served at Bread Lounge in downtown L.A. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Barista Frank Valerio gets a cup for a coffee drink he is preparing at Stumptown Coffee at 810 S. Santa Fe Avenue in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Mandilli di seta (handkerchief pasta, ligurian almond basil pesto, fiore sardo) served at Factory Kitchen (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The cacao pasta parcels with braised ox tail, burro fuso, grana padano, pine nuts and currants is one of the dishes offered at Bestia. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
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Spencer Moody works on the coffee roaster at Stumptown Coffee at 810 S. Santa Fe Avenue in the Arts District in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Church & State, a French Bistro in the Arts District is packed on a Saturday night in 2014. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Food is served on the outdoor patio at Bread Lounge in the Arts District. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Bags of single origin coffee beans line the counter at Blue Bottle Cafe Co. in the Arts District. (S. Irene Virbila / Los Angeles Times)
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A waiter at Bestia talks with a table at the Italian restaurant from restaurateur Bill Chait and husband-and-wife team Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis in 2013. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
Porchetta (rolled pork belly, red onion, carrots, fennel, celery) served at the Factory Kitchen (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Andrew Lambert checks on fruit and produce at the grocery store Urban Radish in the Arts District. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Urban Radish is an upscale grocery in the downtown Arts District. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Some of the bottles on offer in the wine section at Urban Radish. (S. Irene Virbila / Los Angeles Times)
Yoga instructor Gloria Baraquio and owner Kimberly Helms chat in the restaurant in 2014 at The Springs, a vegan business in the Arts District featuring yoga, juice, vegan food, wellness massage and more. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
The Springs, a vegan business in the Arts District has many healthful features in one place. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Wine is poured in the main dining room at Factory Kitchen, a minimally redecorated loft space in 2013. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
S. Irene Virbila is a former restaurant critic and wine columnist for the Los Angeles Times. She left in 2015.