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Le Pain Quotidien in Downtown LA

Follow My Gut, FMG, Danielle Salmon, Danielle N. Salmon, LA, Los Angeles, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, So Cal, southern California, foodie, LA food blog, LA Foodie, food blog, restaurant blog, restaurant discovery, eateries, food porn, foodgasm, where to eat in LA, breakfast, brunch, lunch, Pac Mutual Building, Pac Mutual, Le Pain Quotidien, lemonade, mint lemonade, tartine, turkey, avocado, balsamic,

I have such a nice boss. I mean, the kind of boss that doesn’t yell, micromanage, or make you cut the crust off her kid’s sandwich. My favorite part about her is she gives us a nice amount of time off around the holidays. Take for instance 4th of July, today. Most of my old bosses let me have the holiday off. Not with this boss, it’s early dismissal two days before the holiday. That was the case this past Thursday. And what did I do with that extra time? I went to eat of course!

With a few extra hours at my disposal, I went to a spot I’ve never tried and can’t pronounce: Le Pain Quotidien. It was actually great timing since I won one of their gift cards and was ready to put it to good use. The restaurant is very welcoming and feels relaxing. Once you walk inside, you’re in a very well laid out and easy going restaurant. They hold fast to their Belgium culture and style without making it look and feel forced. They have a pastry display near the register, fresh baked bread behind the counter, and a gorgeous outdoor eating area that takes a new life when lit up at night.

 

On this first visit, I wanted to try a main dish that I’ve never had before. But to start off, I got a traditional favorite of mine: lemonade. But not just any regular lemonade it was a homemade Mint Lemonade ($4.50) sweetened with organic agave nectar. It wasn’t too tart nor was it extremely sweet. On top of that, the lemon flavor isn’t as prominent as you would expect. Instead, the focus of taste is the agave and fresh mint. If you think of the lemonade as the Oscars, the lemonade would be the supporting actress category. She’s plays a good role, but she’s not the stand out like the agave—Angelina Jolie. That would make the mint leaf Brad Pitt and the lemon flavor, Jennifer Anniston circa 2005.

At this point it was time to order. I decided to go with a tartine. Why? I’m not too sure, but it sounded interesting. It’s a Belgian-style open faced sandwich. I usually never see the face of my sandwich so this was going to be different. Out of all the choices, I went with the Roasted Turkey and Avocado Tartine ($11.70). It had diced tomatoes, cucumbers, a sliced set of radishes, arugula, tomato salsa and obviously roasted turkey and avocado all on an organic a lightly toasted wheat bread. Plus it came with a slice of cantaloupe. The tartine was full of so many healthy options it was probably the best choice I made all day. The garden-fresh tomato, cucumbers, and lettuce were most likely the only vegetables I had all week and I was thankful Le Pain Quotidien came in just in time. The roasted turkey was the perfect meat to go with the veggies since it was filling without being heavy. Then there was the avocado which was wasn’t too soft so it maintained its flavor and texture with the tartine. The only drawback was the bread was a bit on the dry side. My quick fix was adding a few drops of their own balsamic vinaigrette to and voila it was a great sandwich.

Follow My Gut, FMG, Danielle Salmon, Danielle N. Salmon, LA, Los Angeles, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, So Cal, southern California, foodie, LA food blog, LA Foodie, food blog, restaurant blog, restaurant discovery, eateries, food porn, foodgasm, where to eat in LA, breakfast, bruch, lunch, Pac Mutual Building, Pac Mutua, Le Pain Quotidien, lemonade, mint lemonade, tartine, turkey, avocado, Follow My Gut, FMG, Danielle Salmon, Danielle N. Salmon, LA, Los Angeles, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, So Cal, southern California, foodie, LA food blog, LA Foodie, food blog, restaurant blog, restaurant discovery, eateries, food porn, foodgasm, where to eat in LA, breakfast, bruch, lunch, Pac Mutual Building, Pac Mutua, Le Pain Quotidien, lemonade, mint lemonade, tartine, turkey, avocado, Follow My Gut, FMG, Danielle Salmon, Danielle N. Salmon, LA, Los Angeles, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, So Cal, southern California, foodie, LA food blog, LA Foodie, food blog, restaurant blog, restaurant discovery, eateries, food porn, foodgasm, where to eat in LA, breakfast, bruch, lunch, Pac Mutual Building, Pac Mutua, Le Pain Quotidien, lemonade, mint lemonade, tartine, turkey, avocado, Follow My Gut, FMG, Danielle Salmon, Danielle N. Salmon, LA, Los Angeles, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, So Cal, southern California, foodie, LA food blog, LA Foodie, food blog, restaurant blog, restaurant discovery, eateries, food porn, foodgasm, where to eat in LA, breakfast, bruch, lunch, Pac Mutual Building, Pac Mutua, Le Pain Quotidien, lemonade, mint lemonade, tartine, turkey, avocado, Follow My Gut, FMG, Danielle Salmon, Danielle N. Salmon, LA, Los Angeles, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, So Cal, southern California, foodie, LA food blog, LA Foodie, food blog, restaurant blog, restaurant discovery, eateries, food porn, foodgasm, where to eat in LA, breakfast, bruch, lunch, Pac Mutual Building, Pac Mutua, Le Pain Quotidien, lemonade, mint lemonade, tartine, turkey, avocado, Follow My Gut, FMG, Danielle Salmon, Danielle N. Salmon, LA, Los Angeles, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, So Cal, southern California, foodie, LA food blog, LA Foodie, food blog, restaurant blog, restaurant discovery, eateries, food porn, foodgasm, where to eat in LA, breakfast, bruch, lunch, Pac Mutual Building, Pac Mutua, Le Pain Quotidien, lemonade, mint lemonade, tartine, turkey, avocado, balsamic,It may have taken me a second to understand what a tartine really is, but I’m glad I tried the dish! Le Pain Quotidien is a beautiful eatery and a tartine is definitely a different take on a sandwich for me. Now if I could just figure out how to pronounce the name of the restaurant…

Follow Them.
Address: 509 W 6th St Los Angeles, CA
Phone: (213) 293-1546
Hours: Monday through Friday – 7:00am to 5:00pm and Saturday through Sunday – 8:00am to 4:00pm
Social: Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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July 4, 2015
Danielle N. Salmon
Follow My Gut

Follow My Gut is a restaurant discovery blog created to help people find restaurants and indulge in food. There's great food in restaurants and those finds should be shared! If you feel the same way and want to join in new and forgotten discoveries, all you have to do is Follow My Gut by subscribing. You can also stay up to date on all food finds on Facebook and Instagram at @FollowMyGut!