Ludo Bites 6.0 @ Max.

Last night, my friends and I were able to partake in a rare culinary event called Ludo Bites.  Chef Ludo Lefebvre opens little “pop-up” restaurants once a year and only serves for a couple weeks.  My friend Alberto kept me notified when reservations would open online.  And we waited til the clock hit 5 pm, a refreshed for about 40 minutes until Alberto was victorious, and nabbed us a Friday night booking at 9:15.  We really didn’t care when we got in, as long as we could eat some of Chef Lefebvre’s food.

The restaurant was packed, and the energy was high and I, shockingly, was the last to arrive.  When I sat down, we collectively decided our best strategy was to order one of everything on the menu and share it around the table.  We doubled up on a few things that were soupy or just sounded delicious.  Most of us ordered the suggested “COQtails” which included a Yuzu tequila martini and Mexican mojito.

Yuzu tequila martini.

Warm baguette, with baratte smoked butter and sardine laughing cow cheese.

Hamachi, Vietnamese style.

Sea urchin roe, frozen milk, balsamic, orange broth.

Marinated mackerel, leche del tiger, baby leeks, verdolagas leaves.

Black trumpet mushroom cappuccino served under warm butternut squash soup.

Barely cooked squid noodle, pad thai, prawn, black radish.

Oriental mussels veloute, heirloom tomatoes, small fries. My favorite.

Poached-roasted foie gras, acacia honey, autumn fruits, dried rose flowers.

Scallop, celery root remoulade, red port, walnuts, passion fruit.

John Dory, potato, herbs, brocollini flowers, green jalapeno nage.

Half chicken, chorizo, poached egg, chanterelles, saffron onion soubise.

Marinated steak, Japanese whiskey, pickled vegetables, amaranth.

Warm carrot cake, coconut thai curry, mango sorbet, kaffir lime oil.

We had a great time.  Yes, I broke my vegetarian-ish-ism for a night.  But I can safely say, I will happily never eat foie gras again.  I had one bite of steak, and I personally thought they went overboard with the whiskey.  It just tasted like eating alcohol.  The rest fit in nicely with my pescatarian diet.  The Oriental mussels were my favorite.  The flavor was insane.  If you live in LA, and ever get a chance to check out Chef Lefevbvre’s food, I recommend it.

Me and Chef Lefebvre!

About these ads