Even though I bear the all-too-common, 21st century branding of “food blogger”, I wouldn’t call myself one who’s fully immersed in the Los Angeles dining circuit, and this is simply just because I moved. Out of LA. To the greener, less frenetic, suburban pastures of Orange County. However, a mere shift in geography doesn’t mean that I don’t “pretend” to be fully immersed sometimes, and for that, I have Eater, Tasting Table, Twitter, Chowhound, and countless other foodie review sites to thank. But call it luck of the draw, being in the right place at the right time, but most importantly, the good graces of a very well-known superstar couple, that a peon food blogger cum amateur cook has had the privilege of being present, IN THE ACTUAL BUILDING in some way, shape or form, at one of the most popular “restaurants” that Los Angeles has ever lauded.
LudoBites. A name that journalists, foodies and you and me have begun adding to our electronic dictionaries. A name that’s becoming exponentially more popular by the week. A name that really is the best thing since sliced bread. A name that for me, started during the closing weeks at 2.0, caused me to go balls-to-the-walls crazy at the opening and closing nights of 3.0, right before it completely hooked me. Line and sinker were soon to follow, and then all of a sudden, I found myself at the opening and closing nights of LudoBites 4.0 (plus all the nights in-between), but this time not as a diner, but cooking with Chef Ludo himself. So when Chef Ludo and his wife and business partner Krissy announced that a “summer encore event” was to take place — aptly titled LudoBites 5.0 — I not only knew I *had* to eat there, but eating there again meant that the experience would’ve come full circle, but this time, I’d be experiencing a meal through different eyes.
MY 5.0 VIEW. MUCH DIFFERENT THAN MY 4.0 ONE.
Many call Chef Ludo Lefebvre somewhat of a culinary anomaly, a creative genius of a guy who creates flavorful masterpieces on the plate that are so unique, you have no choice but to sit back, eat, enjoy, and conclude they must be works of art. And he is just that — a culinary anomaly — which is partially the reason why I got sucked in. From just two meals at 2.0, I marveled at the level of brainless contentment I was able to achieve with a heaping spoonful of the famed “chorizo soup”, a swift downward plunge of the fork into the “oxtail polenta” and no one can forget that lacquered pork belly, right? If someone would’ve asked me to describe the flavor profiles of these delectable dishes, I wouldn’t have been able. My most profound memory is still being left to drive home in the most satisfying of all food stupors, wondering where all those flavors came from.
And 5.o would be no different. Even though we were only a party of 2, I insisted to myself that ordering the whole menu was a must, and if you were to ask me — it’s the only way to go at LudoBites. Because why the hell not, right?
LudoBites 5.0, or the 5th installment of this wildly popular, even more unattainable ticket in town, is the encore that we’ve all been waiting for. It’s the encore that you stand up for, clap and whistle your brains out for when you’re seeing your favorite band play in concert. It’s the summer encore event that gives new meaning to the term “Endless Summer”.
It’s also the one that began with two girls thinking (but not really so) how the heck they were going to finish a menu that consisted of 14 dishes: effectively, 7 starters, 4 entrees, a cheese plate and two desserts. Add to the bunch one conservatively chosen bottle of effervescent Stella Rosa (too much drinking downtown can be hazardous!), and we were ready for a full blown experience. Well, we were unintentionally deprived of the foie gras, then 86′d, and we didn’t technically order our own “cheese plate”, but you get what I mean ;)
CHEESE CUPCAKE…chicken liver & ham mousse, kumquats, cornichon
We started our evening with snacks. The best kind, really. Cheesy, creamy, tangy, savory and oh-so-fun to look at. Quartering the cheese cupcake was just as fun as biting into it, making sure to scrape up every last bite of the bright orange kumquat sauce and chicken liver mousse left on the plate. The warm vadouvan naan bread, a soft and pillowy concoction, was made for slathering coconut butter all over it — a pleasantly salty, slightly sweet, buttery bite. We were off to an excellent start.
VADOUVAN NAAN BREAD…salted coconut butter
GOAT CHEESE SOUP…bacon, lardo, tofu, green apple, frisee salad
Always creating an exceptional soup for every LudoBites iteration, Chef Ludo really won me over 10-fold with the tangy, rich, multi-textural goat cheese soup, which came resplendent with all kinds of great things — like bacon and lardo. The actual soup was deftly added tableside by Mike Ilic, owner of Gram & Papa’s — a man who once pulled me one of the best espresso shots ever during a lack-of-caffeine meltdown I had during staging at 4.0.
We took turns eating spoonfuls of the stuff, eventually trading plates for one of the most refreshing courses ever — a raw wagyu beef noodle dish that was cool, slightly sweet, herbaceous, peanutty, and just all around perfect. Absolutely beautiful to look at, even better to eat. Diced watermelon was my favorite component.
RAW WAGYU BEEF…dried miso, somen noodle, peanut vinaigrette, candied watermelon, mint
POACHED EGG…potato mousseline, Santa Barbara prawn, chorizo condiment
Having vivid memories of scarfing down leftover potato mousseline for staff meal during 4.0, I was pleased that I didn’t have to do that here. Dunking deep down into this bowl revealed a nice little treat — a Santa Barbara Prawn — once a behind-the-scenes 4.0 adventure of mine, and now satisfyingly paired with one of *those* eggs. The perfectly poached ones that yield the creamiest, most perfect of yolks. And the chorizo condiment? Smoky, kinda spicy, kinda nice.
But then presto. We traded again for the colorful, whimsical, and one of my favorite dishes of the evening — grilled squid. I sifted through this dish full of excitement, first taking a bite of the snappy textured squid and then discovering the tomato, and then the black rice underneath. But the combination of everything on the plate pretty much sold me.
GRILLED SQUID…heirloom tomato salad, black rice, yuzu red onions, unami broth, seaweed tartar
CONFIT PORK BELLY…raw choucroute Thai style, Guinness, Emulsion
But then the pork belly arrived, in all of its crunchy, falling-apart tender and rich tasting glory. Paired with crunchy “sauerkraut”, this dish took on a sleek kind of fattiness — the best kind. None of Chef Ludo’s heart-stopping pork belly creations have ever failed to please, and this one shot it right out of the park, leaving me wanting more. When we switched again, I was then met with steamed duck literally melting in my mouth, countered by the crunchy pieces of crispy skin puree, and the lemon verbena adding a whole ‘nother flavor dimension.
STEAMED DUCK…lemon verbena, crispy skin puree, white peach, radish, balsamic
When the octopus arrived, I nearly had a heartattack when I saw the seemingly massive, charred, briny purple tentacles thinking — how the heck will I finish this? But again, hazelnut polenta? How could I not. And then the cod. Oh, the cod! On their own, each plated component didn’t tell a story, but when eaten all together, I couldn’t do anything but just nod my head, again, in brainless contentment. Chef Ludo just did what he does best.
GRILLED OCTOPUS…oregano, grilled hazelnut polenta, pineapple aiolli, piment d’espellete gelee
DAY BOAT COD…torched uni, ratatouille, red bell pepper pickles, black curry
CARAMEL SOUFFLE…blanco grapefruit, fleur de sel ice cream
And of course, the compartmentalization of our appetites that night (and every night) always allows, without a shadow of a doubt, room for dessert. I didn’t mind thinking about “unloosening my fictitious belt buckle” for these either, being sure to plunge down deep into the hot, fluffy caramel souffle of goodness, just as quickly as I caught a decent picture of it on first try. As expected, the ice cream was a key component — fleur de sel flavored, in fact. People around town are enthusiastically comparing it to a salted caramel, but I think it’s more than that — to me, salted caramel is kinda boring — the caramel always dominates. Here, I loved the interplay of all the flavors, textures, temperatures. A hot souffle and cold ice cream. Creamy ice cream and an eggy, airy souffle. A wonderful addition of blanco grapefruit. Awesomeness at its best.
But my eyes grew even wider when the s’mores arrived. I mean, who knew? And these were like the s’mores of my childhood — visibly charred and gooey. Humongous. On a stick. But as expected, they were 10x better.
I tore into the s’more without a care in the world, noticing how much lighter and strangely spicy they were, thanks to a chipotle orange ganache pointed out to me by Chef Dan, who, since literally showing me the ropes at 4.0 is always teaching me things! And the avocado sorbet? Again, who knew? This grandiose meal couldn’t have ended any better.
CAMPFIRE SMOKED S’MORES...guacamole sorbet
In the aftermath, post-meal, inevitable reclining back, questions have arose. How did this iteration stack up with others? Was I able to piece apart the meal having worked back-of-house, and bearing first-hand witness to the Chef Ludo’s mastery that goes on behind the scenes? Was I be able to chew without hearing the ticket machine?
As a food blogger and former student of Chef Ludo, it’s reasonable to assume that in my growing years of trying to both cook and eat more lavishly, I might have developed a stronger sense of analytical presence during (and after the dinner). But it’s simply just not true. Nothing qualifies me to talk about food as one of the powers that be. The only thing I feel strongly capable of doing right now is reporting back to you that each LudoBites iteration is different, and I have loved each iteration for different reasons, and the reasons are the individual plates which are, as you know, all completely different. And LudoBites 5.0 carries on in the same manner, a wildly different, unique dining experience, and will, like all LudoBites meals, go down in the books as one of my favorite meals this year.
After leaving Gram & Papa’s that night, I couldn’t help but think that LudoBites 5.0 was indeed, my “last meal”, and strangely enough, the fact that “We are only as full as our last meal — eat and enjoy” is one of the taglines of LudoBites. Since that’s evidently true, my next meal will surely have hard shoes to fill.
But “eating and enjoying” knows no boundaries, LudoBites 5.0 the perfect meal to exemplify that. And the perfect setting to realize that food, while analytical, paparazzi worthy, and sometimes a rigorous, note taking experience doesn’t really have to be at the moment. Just eating and enjoying this creative monument of a meal is often times, what is best.
LUDOBITES 5.0 AT GRAM & PAPA’S
227 E 9th St
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213.624.7272
www.ludobites.com
[shared with kat]
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