Ludobites 4.0

TIME has hailed Ludo Lefebvre as the 'chef of the future', Jonathon Gold is a fan, and P. Diddy likes his fried chicken. The reservation was made somewhere in the 8th hour of it being announced, and I still had to wait 7 weeks to dine. I have never had to wait so long for a meal, and I have to say, as a Ludobites virgin, I worried about whether or not it was worth all the hoopla. The internet is a great place to discover new finds, be it food, wine or activities. The problem with this, is that it's all subjective. So while I poured over accounts of food bloggers waxing poetic about Chef Ludo's creations with puppy-like anticipation, I was also concerned that it could very well be much ado about nothing in terms of what pleases my own palate. I will never doubt Chef Ludo again.

Ludobites latest incarnation at Gram & Papas in downtown brings a new twist in dining in that we got to see the chef at work in aquarium like glory. I am used to the dining room and the kitchen being separate from each other, which serves to make one curious about the goings on behind the swinging door. Having Chef Ludo out in the open for everyone to gawk at was an interesting experience. For example, upon arriving for my Wednesday, 6:30pm reservation, there was a table of two women, both posed with their SLRs at the ready, telephoto lenses trained on Chef Ludo just waiting for him to...cook? Smile? Both? If anything, the poor guy looked a little uncomfortable. The price of being a rising star I suppose. Eventually, they put their cameras down to eat and I'm pretty sure I saw Ludo visibly relax.

Our server was most helpful in recommendations for a table full of newbies. I knew for sure that I wanted to try the Croque Monsieur, but beyond that I was still debating. The lucky thing was that with a table of 4, I got to try just a bit of everything.



We started with the tartine plate: warm baguette, honey lavendar butter and smoked lard. Amazing, there are no words, which is surprising for something so simple. And the best part? Free refills!


Soft Shell Crab Cornet: Mango, Spicy Red Mayo, Corona Granite.

Hands down my favorite. Our first cone went face down on the table as it was being served (tricky cones!), and so we had to wait a few more minutes before trying it. Actually, not true. My sisters boyfriend had some land on his plate, so he tried first. His eyes dilated. A very good sign. I wish we had ordered two. I wonder if Chef Ludo would give me his recipe?

(photo courtesy of @weezermonkey. I forgot to take a photo)

Foie Gras Black Croque Monsieur w/ Cherry Amaretto Chutney

Sad to say, that this was my first disappointment of the night. Not that it was bad. Far from it. I just don't see what all the fuss was about. I'm a huge (no, really, HUGE) fan of foie gras. And it tasted as though the foie gras was overpowered by everything else that was going on. But at the same time, the whole thing was a little underwhelming. Considering it was the most expensive dish we ordered, it was a bit of a let down.

Squid Carbonara, Pancetta, Poached Egg, Parmesan Snow, Chive Flowers

This was delightful. I think we let it cool too much before cracking the yolk, but the flavors were amazing regardless. It was not as heavy a dish as I thought it might be with the pancetta and egg yolk. But first rule of thumb with this one is to LOVE squid, not just like it.


Bevette, Escargots in Burgundy Butter, Baby Carrots, Roasted eggplant puree

Amazingly tender steak, and if you put a bit of everything on the fork, the flavors really come to life. My sister even had some which surprised me. I didn't think she'd be down with the snails.

Rack of Lamb, Fresh Goat Cheese, Dried Bonita, Artichokes, Potato Mousseline

My sister and her boyfriend both ordered this. I was a little bummed, I hoped they would mix it up so we could try more. However it was good as lamb goes, I'm not the biggest fan. But the potatoes. Oh my god, I would kill and die for those potatoes and welcome every inch it adds to my rear end. My sister must have liked them too. She killed both hers and her boyfriends.

We had both desserts; the dark chocolate souffle and the strawberry macarons. You can't be good at everything, and while they were good, we wished we had ordered two more appetizers instead.

When all is said and done, it was worth the wait, worth stalking and we paid the check. I honestly wished I could have gone one more time before the last day, but time didn't allow it. I have heard rumours that 5.0 will take place in Oxnard which lies some 50 miles to the north. I think that it would be worth the trip and I'm dying to see what Chef Ludo comes up with this time. There's also word that the Ludobites truck will be out and about in Los Angeles this summer, so I plan on getting my LFC on as well.

Ludobites 4.0

April 8 - May 28, 2010
227 East 9th Street, Los Angeles 90015