Trois Familia - Silver Lake

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
#1

Popped my head in today to check it out and chatted with the the guys inside for a few seconds. Place is VERY simple, with white communal picnic tables and not much else. Staff was super friendly to the random dude (me) who walked in with his dog and started asking questions. I was told that they hope to open by this weekend.

For those that don’t know, this is the latest venture from Ludo and his partners. Low priced French/Mex hybrid with items between $5 and $15.

Looking forward to having it in the neighborhood.

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#2

Sounds dope. i read the times blurb and it fucking mentioned “potato pulp and caviar” eggs, not sure what that would fucking entail ??? but if it’s 15 bucks for that, then it ain’t half bad.

and that’s no fucking joke.

also, sadly, it’s in the old alegria space which i have a soft spot for even if i haven’t been in years.

any word on whether alegria on sunset has relocated anywhere else ???

#3

I’m pretty sure Alegria is done. Had a love/hate relationship with that place over the years. Liked the food but the service used to drive me batshit. Plus, they always closed too early - I tend to eat dinner at 9ish.

#4

they did close early.

and their food for Mexican food was uncategorizable to me. which is a very good thing. think mexican crab cakes and tampiquena plates (sp???).

shit, i fucking miss that joint. though their prices were quite high too over the years.

madam matisse ??? closed for good too ???

#5

I believe I read (either in eater or LA Weekly) that the owner of Alegria retired and the space became available. I think they’re keeping the place simple to avoid all of the permits needed to turn the space around quickly.

#6

Madam Matisse is gone as far as I know. The pizza joint that’s there now is subpar.

#7

that pizza place is on deathwatch. Along with Wood Fire Pizza down the street. I drive by it every night and it’s always empty.

#8

I’ve tried both.

Purgatory is classic “gut bomb” pizza. Over-cheesed, over-sauced, really greasy. The kind of 'za that would be a hit on a college campus but not so much in the current Silver Lake dining scene, where everyone is a bit to “aware” of what’s either good or trendy at this point.

Wood is okay but the area’s reached a saturation point of the whole “classic Neapolitan style, we import our San Marzanos and flour” thing. They’re competing against Mother Dough, DeSano and who knows how many others. Plus, I found it to be overpriced for what I got.

#9

In desperate need of a good meal, I went to lunch at Trois Familia. The food is damn near perfect. There tends to be 2-3 flavors per dish, but the flavors are very clear, and utterly delicious. Every dish “pops” so to speak.

Chicken Milanese is very addictive. The balance of creamy sauce, cucumbers, and pickles against the entirely non-greasy fried chicken, and just a hint of spice, is near miraculous in that it seems like it should be rather boring, but ends up being revelatory.

Grits are perfectly creamy, and the mole butter has a legitimate kick to it. With a perfect egg and plenty of roasted pumpkin seeds, this dish is one of the more unique things I’ve encountered in a while. It’s got some sweetness, bitterness, spiciness, nuttiness, crunch, and creaminess all running through it. Very unorthodox, perhaps too strange for some people.

Hashbrown Chilaquiles are pretty much just the best block of hashbrowns in a tart, spicy salsa with ample egg and avocado. Straight forward, but delicious in a very simple way.

Their double decker potato tacos are very fun to eat. A great mismash of fluffy flour tortillas, crunchy corn, soft, savory potato, and crunchy vinegary carrots. Simple, yet lovely.

Their latest burrito pretty much puts a Ludo omelette inside of a burrito with griddled Parisian ham, truffle salt, and some gooey cheese. Personally, I find their burritos completely worth the obscene prices. They perfectly toast every inch of their tortillas, and the ingredients inside are simple, but packed with flavors. The omelette is super luscious, as anyone who has eaten the omelette at Petit Trois can imagine, and with the other components kind of tastes like the best imaginable version of a gringo breakfast burrito ever.

They’re also doing simple maple bacon now, which reaches near sublime heights in terms of its “just right” balance between soft, and firm. I’m not sure I’ve ever had bacon done quite so delicately, or so well. Maybe not the best bacon I’ve ever had, but just wonderful. We dove into it rather quickly, barely managed to snap a photo.

With a cup of superb Heart coffee the bill was $105 for two people, but we over ate, and took some food home. The temptation to over order here is immense though since everything is so intriguing, and well crafted. We waited about 15-20 minutes for a table for 2 at 1 PM for reference on wait times.

I suppose everything that can be said about the place has already been said. I had a bean and cheese burrito that was incredible a while back, but this was my first time back to sample the rest of the menu. To me, everything here is playful, inventive, and almost sublime in the refined simplicity that every dish achieves. It’s obviously pretty expensive because it’s made by LA culinary royalty, but these guys have their position for a reason: they know how to coax flavors from food better than nearly anyone else.

Easily worth every penny, and washed away the awful memories of mediocrity from my recent meals.

Spent the rest of the day sampling cheese, baguettes, bagels, cookies, and sticky rice at GCM, and picked up some pies from Jongewaard’s later.

A superb day indeed.

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#10

Looks leagues better than your meal at Playground. Double decker taco, I love it.

#11

It practically feels like eating food on a different planet in comparison to the Playground.

Eating food like that (at Trois Familia) makes you happy to be alive.

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#12

The amusing thing is the food at Trois Familia looks even more “home-cooked,” but looks way better.

#13

I would say it looks more like “hole-in-the-wall” fare than home-cooked. Which fits, since it pretty much is a hole-in-the-wall. However, the flavors have the perspicacity and sharpness of fine dining restaurants. I guess at their price point it would have to be that way to justify it, but then again, I am pretty sure I did over order. I don’t know if the average customer is spending $50/person here. Personally, it was the kind of food that tastes so good that the cost is inconsequential. I know there’s an automatic 18% service charge, but at least there is no additional tip line. I’m pretty ok with that at this point. It’s for sure expensive though. I am sure selling burritos that cost $18.42 will piss many, many people off haha

#14

Looks like Purgatory Pizza has been moved to ICU. I just walked by and the lights are on inside but the security gates are down.

EDIT: drove by and the place is dark. Looks like it’s curtains for them.

#15

Yeah, Purgatory is officially closed. (So is Mother Dough but I think everyone knows that.)

Honestly, Millie’s could take over that whole stretch and still have lines for brunch.
I found this article about Millie’s from 1993 – I didn’t realize the restaurant had really been there since the '20s. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-03-30/local/me-16857_1_silver-lake-cafe

#16

They also just opened a pizza concept on Fairfax (Jon & Vinny’s). Also looks very simple. Right across from Canters.

#17

Anyone been to the pop-up by Dano Heinze? Interested in trying, but would love to hear some feedback if anyone has already been.

#18

I didn’t post about it for some reason (maybe I should retroactively?), but I hit his pop-up dinner at Animal that presaged this. The food was pretty good. It felt like an even more modern take on Southern food than what is served up at Hatchet Hall, probably hewing closer to the cooking at Husk. The new dinners are fairly low priced, and probably worth the money, and it’s only the ticketing requirement that has kept me from attending.

#19

Wanted to try his dinner at Animal but was back in the Bay Area that night. Interesting to hear that the food at that dinner was more Southern in style. The menus at Trois Familia seem to be less so. I recall a instagram post or something saying walk ins also welcome at the pop-up. Might swing by some time and see if it’s true.

#20

Oh, interesting, when can you walk in, at any time? Or just approximately at the beginning of each seating time?

When I say Southern it’s a bit tough to quantify. It leaned probably more modern American than strictly Southern, but the sort of comforting nature of the dishes made me think of Southern cooking. He comes directly out of Husk’s kitchen after all.