One Space, Two Incredible Restaurants
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I've had some mind-blowing meals as of late. It's always so great to find hidden gems right in your own backyard. Let me start by giving you the latest 411 food news. Mignon Wine Bar, which is a tiny 26-seat restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles just got a brand new executive chef! Johnny Palomino (previously the sous chef at Papilles, cook at Republique, and smoke.oil.salt.) is now offering a $30 prix fixe menu every night. The prix fixe menu includes 3 unique French dishes with a Californian twist. Here's what I ate:
Let me preface this by saying all 3 dishes were exquisite, but the appetizer blew me away. I could eat this tongue salad with tarragon scented pee-wee potatoes everyday. Chef Palomino loves to incorporate his Mexican heritage into cooking and this dish was such a meld of the French, Mexican, and California touches he was going for! 
The second course of the night at was the red wine braised beef with creamy polenta and roasted carrots. The polenta was out of this world! 
The last course of the night was the Banana Bread Pudding topped off with cinnamon. The pudding tasted like a thin whipped cream. I annihilated it within a few bites. But here's the thing... there's even more! Mignon Wine Bar gets a thumbs up from me, but did you know that during the day it mirrors as Cento Pasta Bar?
I swear this restaurant is like Superman. Cento Pasta Bar, an indefinite lunchtime pop-up residency at Mignon. Cento is a partnership between Santos Uy (Papilles, RiceBar, and Mignon) and Avner Lavi, former pasta cook at Bestia and Sotto, aims to make handcrafted pasta more accessible by offering it at an affordable price. Cento serves homemade fresh pastas as well as a number of artisanal dried noodles direct from Italy. The small menu, which frequently changes, features 2 antipastos, 3-4 pastas and a homemade dessert. Currently, pastas are $9 except for the one with uni. There's also red and white wine by the glass for $6. The food and prices are absolutely amazing. Here's what I ate:
Crostino $6, Chicken liver pate, Bacon, Aged Balsamic.
Ricotta and Egg Yolk Raviolo with Brown Buttered Sage.
Butternut squash agnolotti.
Spaghetti with uni, crab, basil.
Panna cotta with charred strawberries.
Every single dish from Cento Pasta Bar was amazing down to the panna cotta dessert. I was so full I almost didn't eat the dessert. The strawberries were so sweet and the panna cotta tasted like the softest flan I've ever had. Beautiful texture! I can't say enough good things about Cento. The only downside are operational hours, open for lunch service only Tuesdays through Friday from 11am to 3 pm. Cento also runs some amazing lunch specials. Run, don't walk to Cento and then stay at Mignon for dinner! You're welcome!
Mignon Wine 128 E 6th St Los Angeles, CA 90014
