Just a month ago, Andre Guerrero and Palate chef Gary Menes were just beginning to transform Max into market-driven Marche. In the interim, Menes and Guerrero changed the name to marché L.A., since Marche Moderne in Costa Mesa already owns the “Marche” trademark. On the night before the September 8 debut, the partners previewed Chef Menes’ food, drawing from the opening menu. The decor and staff are all that remain from Max. Almost everything else is fresh.

CLICK HERE TO SEE marché L.A.’s OPENING MENU

The menu will likely change on a weekly basis, but according to our waiter, Menes recently said, “The menu’s never set until 5:30 when we open the door, and even then it might change, but don’t worry, the food will always be better for it.” Guerrero said three dishes at marché L.A. are generally equivalent to two dishes at a standard restaurant.

Guerrero’s longtime girlfriend Jan Purdy was pastry chef at Max and remained with the restaurant through the transition to marché L.A. At the new restaurant, Purdy has some new kitchen toys, including a Pacojet. She also bakes marché L.A.’s bread, producing buttery brioche and using her grandmother’s recipe to create soft potato rolls studded with chunks of potato.

CLICK HERE TO SEE marché L.A.’s OPENING DESSERT MENU

Here are some dishes from Monday’s preview dinner:

chunky Castelvetrano olive tapeande ($4) with orange zest, pistou and accompanying crostini

pickled plums ($3) with peppercorns and rosemary

melon soup ($6) with smoked Belize shrimp, cucumbers and chilli oil

Chef Menes eventually hopes to make salumi in-house. Until then, he’s sourcing coppa, pepperoni and Toscano from a chef friend on the Monterey Peninsula. Our waiter wasn’t sure of the exact restaurant, but marché L.A. is the only other place to find the salumi. Menes served the salumi with a pat of house-made butter strengthened with buttermilk and sprinkled with sea salt.

Menes paired his meaty pork belly ($15) with wheat berries, peaches and dandelion greens, a variation on a popular dish he prepared at Palate.

Menes rolled his signature skirt steak “fillet mignon” ($16) with Activa (meat glue) to hold its cylindrical shape. He cooked the meat sous vide, seared it, then plated the beef with romaine, sugar peas, sauce Bearnaise and a generous scoop of bone marrow.

Marché L.A. is open for dinner Monday through Saturday. Guerrero said he and Menes plan to eventually open for Sunday brunch.

Related Posts

1. Max Becoming Marche with Chef Gary Menes
2. Dose of Vitamin P: marché L.A. Pork Belly
3. Andre Guerrero Transforms Butter Tart Bakery
4. Marché Moderne Debuts “Bouilla Thursdays”
5. Marche Moderne Goes to Spain – Costa Mesa, CA – April 22, 2010

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1 Comment

1. Ray, September 9, 2009:

   You can follow the restaurant on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MARCHEinLA

This entry is filed under LA Culinary Compass, Openings.