French-style cheese sandwiches at the new Crossroads Provisions

1/10

The “Big Tall Cheese” sandwich with vegan butter, Persian cucumber, flake sea salt and white alder cheese. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

2/10

The “Doc Brown” sandwich with sliced green olives, julienned pickled vegetables, basil aioli and cassucio. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

3/10

The “Doc Brown” sandwich with sliced green olives, julienned pickled vegetables, basil aioli and cassucio served with harissa potato chips and pickles. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

4/10

The “Le Prevot” sandwich with cucumber, tomato, vegenaise, olive oil pepper and truffle dill cheese. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

5/10

The “Full Monte” with tomato jam, fresh basil and cassucio. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

6/10

“The Caan” named after actor James Caan, with sundried tomato and chickpea salad, basil pesto and romaine. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

7/10

A tomato gazpacho with housemade vegan yogurt. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

8/10

The kale salad with pine nuts and currants. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

9/10

The seasonal sorbet made with fennel and candied kalamata olives. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

10/10

The sweet of the day, a fig trifle with blueberry and balsamic sauce, housemade mascarpone and lady fingers. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

By Jenn Harris

July 12, 2013 9:30 AM PT

An aged cheese sandwich may not be the first item that comes to mind when you think of a vegan restaurant, but at chef Tal Ronnen’s new Crossroads Provisions, it’s all about the cheese -- nut cheese of course. He’s slated to open Crossroads Provisions, his new lunch and cheese shop extension to the Crossroads restaurant, Monday.

“It’s a French sandwich shop and we’re not deviating from that,” said Ronnen. “You’re not going to get a vegan reuben here for lunch.”

The menu will focus on Ronnen’s signature vegan cheeses, including Kite Hill cheeses, a company Ronnen is personally involved in. Sandwiches, fresh pasta, soups, salads and sweets by pastry chef Serafina Magnussen, who just recently created a vegan croissant, are all on the menu.

The sandwiches are inspired by cheese sandwiches Ronnen ate in France and Spain before he became a vegan. One, named after Ronnen, is the “Big Tal Cheese,” made with a vegan butter, Persian cucumber, flake sea salt and the Kite Hill white alder cheese, similar in texture and taste to a Camembert.

Other sandwiches include Ronnen’s favorite “Doc Brown” made with thinly sliced green olives, julienned pickled vegetables, basil aioli and Kite Hill cassucio cheese, the “Full Monte” made with tomato jam, fresh basil and cassucio and a “Le Prevot” with cucumber, tomato, vegenaise, olive oil pepper and truffle dill cheese.

Sandwiches range in price from $8 to $12 and each comes on a regular or multigrain baguette. You can also add a side of house-made harissa potato chips or house-made pickles.

The Crossroads Provisions addition is located in the restaurant, as a separate room, just off to the right of the main entrance.The space is lit by a skylight that can be opened or closed. The tables are covered in crisp white linens and there is a counter at the back where customers can order lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

“We wanted to create a really different dining experience from our main dining room, so this was designed from the beginning to look like a European cheese shop with the white tiles,” said Ronnen. “We can open the roof when it’s a nice day.”

Customers can also purchase retail items at the counter including different sodas, pickles, jams, marinara, bolognese and Ronnen’s Kite Hill cheeses, which are only sold elsewhere at Whole Foods. Crossroads Provisions will also serve wines by the glass and beer.

8284 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (323) 782-9245, www.crossroadskitchen.com.

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