Sandwich Of The Week: Pitchoun's Pan Bagnat

Husband-and-wife duo Frédéric and Fabienne Souliès were both born in France — Frédéric in the Southwest and Fabienne in Monaco. When they moved to Los Angeles, they decided to bring an authentic taste of France to Downtown and open Pitchoun; the name being an affection term, like "kiddo," in the old French dialect rooted in Provence and in the Southwest of France.

The bakery serves classic Gallic favorites like baguettes, brioche with chocolate chips, cannalé, éclairs, macarons, and Madeleines. They have a petit déjeuner menu of egg dishes like an omelette and Benedict, a parfait, some tartines, and French toast. The café menu comprises more tartines, salads, hot sandwiches, and cold sandwiches — including a specialty from Nice, France: the pan bagnat.

Anchovies, bell peppers, celery, green onions, olives nicoises, sliced hard-boiled egg, sliced radishes, sliced tomato, and tuna are all layered inside a beautiful, house-made roll.

Fabienne explained to us why the decided to include this sandwich on the menu, and she explained that "the pan bagnat is a traditional sandwich among my family. We eat it often on week-ends in the summertime — I've had it all my life. My mum makes the pan bagnat at home! At Pitchoun, our menu reflects regional specialties and Mediterranean dishes, recipes from our both families." Often the very best recipes are those that have been passed down, and that's why the family-favorite pan bagnat is this week's Sandwich of the Week.