Eat.Drink.Americano debuts downtown

The former Cafe Metropole on 3rd Street in downtown L.A.'s increasingly bustling Arts District has received a new lease on life in the form of a new gastropub named Eat.Drink.Americano. (The periods are theirs, not ours.)

The place is decked out downtown-industrial style with lots of exposed brick, rustic wooden chairs and tables, candles in Mason jars, a chandelier made of wine bottles, and a giant chalkboard wall with all kinds of tasty foodie things written on it including, "Duck & Pickles."

Speaking of duck and pickles, that savory duo is on the menu. Duck terrine comes in a jar, coated with a satisfying layer of fat and accompanied by chunks of housemade pickled cucumbers, carrots and onions alongside small rounds of toasted bread.

Other menu items include tomato and albacore tartare; black cod tempura and classic tomato sauce; king crab cannelloni and cauliflower foam; oxtail burgers; red Alaskan salmon cream cheese and poached egg flatbread; and steak tartare served with mustard ice cream.

Chef Juan Pablo Torre has also put together a nice list of charcuterie and cheese, and is devoted to locally sourcing everything that he can.

Booze is beer-and-wine only, with craft brews and small-batch reds and whites leading the list.

Next time you're in a forever line at the supernaturally busy Wurstkuche down the street, you now have a nice new option to retreat to for the holy duo of meat and beer.

Eat.Drink.Americano, 923 E. 3rd St., L.A.

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--Jessica Gelt

Photos: Bar area, top, duck and pickles, bottom. Credit: Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times