Ludo Bites 5.0: Hottest Ticket in Town

Chef and provocateur Ludovic Lefebvre is back downtown for a soldout run at the Gram and Papa's Theater, where he is performing nightly as Ludo, the star of Ludo Bites 5.0. This is the fifth iteration of Ludo's pop-up restaurant concept, the first two having been at Bread Bar, the 3rd at Royal Tea Salon in Culver City and the 4th at Gram and Papa's, where he has returned for a repeat run but with new dishes.

I was fortunate to get through to Ticketmaster, as OpenTable was briefly known the day the demand for LudoBites tickets was so high it crashed the system, and procure two seats for the performance last Thursday evening. My dining partner brought two bottles of wine, which were enjoyed but I did not record them for posterity.



We began the meal with the Cheese Cupcake, Foie Gras-Chicken Liver & Chantilly, Tangerine, Cornichon. This dish, pictured above, has become one of the signature dishes of Ludo Bites 5.0 and was one of my favorites of the meal. The cheese cupcake had the foie gras and chicken liver mousse as the frosting, which made this a very savory cupcake. The cornichon were shredded and sprinkled on top and tangerine puree was on the side. The dish is very playful, offering a rich and savory bite in the form of a traditional sweet dessert. I was thrilled that this dish was offered with foie & chicken liver the night I was there as it was made with ham and chicken liver on the first night of 5.0, and I would have missed out on this treat as I don't eat pork.



Next Vadouvan Naan Bread with Salted Cocount Butter arrived. The naan (pictured above) was hot and we were starving and ate this dish quickly. The coconut butter melted quickly on the bread and so I had my second piece without the butter, and it was even better.



The third dish we were served was Raw Wagyu Beef, Dried Miso, Somen Noodle, Peanut Vinagrette, Watermelon. This take on beef tartare with the raw beef in strips instead of diced and the egg yolk on top as usual was a nod to the traditional dish, while the mint leaves, watermelon and bed of somen noodles brought it squarely into the realm of fusion cuisine. The nuts added some good texture and the egg when cracked and mixed in, bound it all together.



Poached egg, Potato Mousseline, Chorizo Condiment was the fourth dish we had. It was presented with edible flowers strewn across the field of white potatoes. The potato mousseline was as rich and creamy as those of Joel Robuchon's. I only had a tiny taste off of the top of this dish (pictured above) so as to not eat any of the chorizo sauce. The egg was cooked at a precise temperature so that the egg white and yolk would have the same consistency.



My dining companion's favorite dish, Goat Cheese Soup, Bacon, Lardo, Tofu, Green Apple, Frissee Salad, is pictured above. There was a double dose of pork in this scene, with the bacon and lardo providing a one-two punch.



Confit Pork Belly, Raw Choucroute Thai Style, Mustard Ice Cream was my dining companion's other favorite. The mustard ice cream was visually dramatic with its bright yellow hue, and the crunch provided by the pork confit was enthusiastically enjoyed.



The last savory course we had was the Steamed Duck Lemon Verbena, Crispy Skin Puree, White Peach, Radish & Balsamic. The grilled peach was sweet and had a good solidity to it, while the layer of crispy skin puree on top of the steamed duck made the dish for me. The radish salad was like a high class slaw and removing the skin from the duck and serving it as a separate element was a risky touch that worked for me.



Our first dessert was Campfire Smoked S'mores, Guacamole Sorbet. The S'mores had a nice smoky kick to them. The guacamole did not add much to the dish, so we chose to leave it and eat all of the s'mores.



We finished up with the Caramel Souffle, Blanco Grapefruit, Fleur de Sel Ice Cream. The caramel souffle had risen perfectly and was delicious. The unusual tweak to this dish was the fleur de sel ice cream. I have had salted caramel ice cream but never caramel dessert with salt flavored ice cream. I happen to love salt, so this really worked for me, both as two individual elements and together. The grapefruit was fine as a refreshing touch but wasn't necessary.

Overall the service was helpful and enthusiastic and Ludo's wife Krissy brought several of our dishes to the table. Even Ludo broke the fourth wall and was able to speak to us, although in character, about the menu and his excitement about the recent rave LudoBites received in the New York Times.

I am hoping that this sold out run is extended and am glad not to have had to pay a scalper to get my front row seats. At this point your best bet may be to stand outside looking for a shady dude saying, "tickets, tickets, anyone selling tickets."

Ludo Bites 5.0 @ Gram & Papas. http://www.ludolefebvre.com/ludobites

Good Food Sunday @ Dwell on Design 2010

At this year's Dwell on Design, the design show at the LA Convention Center hosted by Dwell Magazine, Lesley Bargar Suter, the Dining Editor for Los Angeles Magazine, and Evan Kleiman, the host of Good Food on KCRW and the chef/owner of Angeli Caffe, curated a series of panels about food, under the rubric of Good Food Sunday.

Chris Nichols, an editor at Los Angeles magazine, moderated a panel on Mid Century Modern restaurant design, with a special focus on the California coffee shops with the Googie look. Designs for Panns, Denny's, Bob's Big Boy and Norm's among others were shown. The panelists included Victor Newlove, an architect who helped design many of the seminal buildings of the genre. Unfortunately most of the original buildings have been torn down. You can see my pictures and read about my dinner at Pann's here.

Lesley Bargar Suter moderated the next panel, "The Changing Shape of the Modern Restaurant." This panel focused on the rise of food trucks and pop-up restaurants in Los Angeles. Michele Grant and Dave Dahni from the Grilled Cheese Truck, Josh Hiller from RoadStoves, Nick Bognar from the Border Grill Truck, and Ludo Lefebvre from LudoBites and the soon to launch Ludo Fried Chicken Truck were the participants.


LeFebvre spoke about launching his first iteration of LudoBites, his pop-up restaurant, "It happened almost by accident. I was consulting with BreadBar and the restaurant was closed in the evenings. It was low cost. I didn’t need investors. It was an easy and quick way for me to open a restaurant, as I was looking to open a restaurant at that time.”
He enjoys being an entrepreneur and not having to run his business to meet investors’ expectations or to charge more in order to pay for an expensive restaurant buildout. “I am my own boss. Nobody can tell me what to do. With this concept [LudoBites] I am full every night. It is new all the time. The more money I spent to open a restaurant, the more I will have to charge my customers. A restaurant is about eating and not about chi chi. Maybe one day I’ll go back to that, but not now.”

One of LeFebvre’s signature items, fried chicken, has spawned its own food truck which will launch next month. LeFebvre said, “I really want to bring gastronomic food to the street, to everyone. When I created LudoBites it was accessible to everyone. Food is about how to meet people and to put people together. All my menu items on the truck are exactly the same food I am doing in a restaurant. Good food; fresh.”
The panel felt that food trucks are more than a fad; that they will continue to be a significant part of the food landscape. LeFebvre said, “Food trucks are here to stay. The good trucks are going to stay around, just like with restaurants. People don’t have the time [to eat leisurely] now. It is a great way to eat good food quickly.” Other panelists agreed, noting that the weeding out process of trucks without good food or good business plans has already begun, but that the most successful trucks have already expanded through additional vehicles.

Danhi and Grant from the Grilled Cheese Truck said that their idea to launch came from the Grilled Cheese Invitational and they love the flexibility of the truck. “It is liberating. You get to reach different demographics. We have way more direct contact with the people who love our food than we would in a restaurant. Social media is a huge component of our success. The interactive input from customers affects how and where we move our truck. The truck provides an interactive aspect to dining out. When you go to eat at a truck, you are not looking for the same experience as at a restaurant. Trucks are a little more social.”

The gourmet food truck concept is not as easy as it has appeared to some. As Hiller noted, ““You still have to be the chef and the cook and run your own business.” The Grilled Cheese Truck duo said, “You are dealing with a kitchen on wheels, with all of the issues of a kitchen and all of the issues of a vehicle. The limited space on a truck and the prepping are some of our key challenges.”

LeFebvre has found working on a gourmet food truck to be difficult, “To work on the truck is not easy, it is a nightmare” he said. The Grilled Cheese Truck team responded, “It may not be a nightmare but more of an adventure.” LeFebvre replied, “Maybe for you.”

The next panel was a demonstration of Molecular Gastronomy with Evan Kleiman and Fany Setiyo of Le Sanctuaire. Le Sanctuaire is based in San Francisco and is the premiere source for the ingredients required for molecular gastronomy cooking techniques. Setiyo’s demonstration used both peanut butter powder and nutella sand. At the conclusion the attendees were able to sample the two products. I felt the nutella sand tasted much more strongly of its product than the peanut butter powder did.

The final panel of the day was a discussion about “What’s New in Cheese” between Bargar Suter and Alex Brown, the General Manager of Gourmet Imports.

LudoBites @ Gram & Papa's

The LudoBites popup @ Gram & Papa's is more than halfway over and last week Whining 'N Dining, her husband and I had a great dinner trying about half of the menu. We ran into MidtownLunchLA and spotted KevinEats in the room. Wouldn't be LudoBites without the blogging community out in full force.

My camera was not able to capture all of the dishes we had as some pics came out too dark and others too bright but:


Marinated King Salmon, German ButterBall Potato, Red Wine Vinaigrette, Creme Fraiche. ($15) This was my favorite dish of the evening. The flavor of the salmon was so clean and the combination worked.


Snapper Ceviche, Heirlooom Tomato, Jalapenos, Red Onions, Meyer Lemon Paste, Olive Oil. ($14) This dish was also successful but less spicy than I thought it might be. I hadn't had ceviche with tomato before or at least so much tomato it was also a tomato salad. Heirloom tomatoes may have even been better than the fish.


Rack of Lamb, Fresh Goat Cheese, Smoked Eel, Artichokes, Potato Mousseline, Mint. I did not sample the smoked eel component of this dish but my dining companions enjoyed it. The lamb was delicious, this was my 2nd fave after the salmon. The consensus at the table was that this was a very good dish but was not good value for the price ($26). - better to get two appetizers than get the lamb entree.



Macarons, Organic Strawberry & Chantilly. ($12) What is not to like?

We also had:

Brie Chantilly Napoleon, Honey Comb, Frisee Salad, Balsamic ($7)
Scallop, Almond Puree, Pickled Grapes, Capers, Curry oil & Cauliflower Ice Cream ($14)
Seared Foie Gras "Pina Colada" ($29)
Squid "Carbonara", Pancetta, Poached Egg (63 degrees), Parmesan Snow, Chive Flowers ($18)
Dark Chocolate Souffle, Vanilla-Whisky Ice Cream, Hot Chocolate Cream ($13)

The brie was a nice start but not as special as the other dishes. The scallop was tied for best dish by my two dining companions. It was plated beautifully with the pickled grapes in a row and then a parallel line of the scallops, then a streak of green and finally the ice cream.

For the foie which included a small lobe, my dining companions brought along a bottle of Sauternes, the dessert wine which is the traditional pairing with foie gras. It was a treat and we continued to drink it with dessert.

The squid was another well presented dish. It was playful in that squid stood in for the noodles usually used in spaghetti carbonara. The parmesan had been played with to have the consistency of snowfall and the plate was strewn with purple flowers.


The Brie Chantilly


The Scallop


The Squid "Carbonara"

This pop-up of LudoBites is priced like a real restaurant and has an actual a la carte menu for you to order from. My last non-LFC ludobites was the infamous night at Royal-T Salon in which the sous-chef walked out partway through service and the menu abruptly switched to a prix fixe. Fortunately for us, everything went much smoother and there were no hiccups in our dinner. LudoBites @ Gram & Papa's is BYO although there is a small corkage fee.

Gram & Papa's: 227 East 9th Street between Los Angeles & Santee Streets. Phone: (213) 624-7272. Do NOT phone for reservations as all reservations are handled through LudoBites. Website: ludobites.com