Pitchoun! French bakery now open, with kouign-amann and tarte tropézienne

Pitchoun! a new French bakery and cafe promising pan bagnat, kouign-amann and tarte tropézienne, is now open in downtown L.A.

French husband-and-wife team Frédéric Soulies, a graduate of the L’Ecole de Boulangerie Patisserie de Paris, and Fabienne Soulies are using family recipes and lots of butter to make homemade pastry shells, criossants and merveilles.

And because it’s a traditional French bakery, there will be plenty of fresh baguettes.

In addition to the pastries and breads, Pitchoun! is serving soups; salads, including the Monaco made with prosciutto, cantaloupe, peas, tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula and pistou vinaigrette; hot and cold sandwiches, including the croque-monsieur; and a French hot dog with dijon mustard and puff pastry.

For breakfast, there’s a Parisian omelet with French cooked ham, Swiss cheese, mushroom and spinach; a country tartine with ham, brie, cornichons, unsalted butter and country bread; and French toast with maple syrup or housemade jam and whipped cream.

To complete the French atmosphere, the chairs have been imported from France, wine barrels serve as tables, there’s a fireplace, more than 100 French books, and an 80-foot LiveWall (living garden along a wall) on the patio.

And if you’re wondering what Pitchoun! is, in the Provençal dialect, it means “kiddo.”

Pitchoun! is open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 am. to 4 p.m.

545 S. Olive St., Los Angeles, (213) 689-3240, www.PichounBakery.com.

I often dream of laminated dough. Follow me on Twitter @Jenn_Harris_