FoodDigger Dinner @ Ludobites (Los Angeles)

After experiencing the dinner at Church and State hosted by FoodDigger, I was definitely looking forward to what dinner at Ludobites has to bring, especially doing a tasting there the week prior.

Picture courtesy of kevinEats

Upon arrival, I saw some familiar faces, as well as a few bloggers I've yet to meet in person. As we chatted amongst ourselves, Marshal, Brian, and Will of FoodDigger discussed with us a few of the new ideas and projects FoodDigger was working on. One project was the FD icon that shows up at the bottom of my blog posts, and the other was a Flavor Match system that matches food compatibility with various bloggers/foodies on FoodDigger. One thing that I enjoyed about discussing with the FoodDigger crew was that they do listen to our ideas and do make the necessary changes if needed.

As the wine began to pour, we were welcomed by Ludo Lefebvre , who has previously worked with the famous French chef Pierre Gagnaire as well as leading the kitchens at Bastide, among others.



After speaking with Chef Ludo on the previous visit, I found him funny, enlightening, and definitely passionate about cooking and creating excitement with his dishes. Soon after, we were given our first course.

1. Deconstruction of Bloody Mary

The first course, deconstruction of Bloody Mary was bold, yet refreshing. A mix of vodka jelly, tomato puree and a celery ice cream recreated the taste and flavors of the famous cocktail served on a spoon. Simply delicious, I knew that night, I was in for a treat!

Honey Wheat Bread (from Breadbar) and Ludo's own Lavender Butter

The bread and the butter were both delicious, it's too bad I was saving my appetite for the dinner, thus I only had 2 slices of the bread.

2. Tuna Sashimi, Sushi Rice Ice Cream, Shichimi Togarashi

This course was one of my favorites of the night. A fresh cut of tuna covered with fried shallots, sushi rice ice cream, and shichimi togarashi, the Japanese 7 spice pepper. The sushi rice ice cream might sound unique, but eating it with the tuna matched perfectly. The shallots and the shichimi togarashi complemented the dish quite beautifully.

3. Chorizo, Onions, Cornichon

I'd have to say this was one memorable dish. I'd never imagine having chorizo in a soup form, topped with the aforementioned cornichon and onions. It's surprisingly refreshing, as the soup was served cold, and the cornichon added a nice contrast in flavor. At the end, it was quite addicting and I wish I used some of the bread to soak up the remaining soup.

4. King Red Salmon, Watermelon with mint and smoked vinegar

This was one dish I had the previous weak that I was on the fence about, but the 2nd time proved to be a charm. We were instructed to eat fresh salmon, salmon roe (ikura) first, then finish it off with the watermelon cube and mint. The saltiness from the roe and the salmon were immediately offset by the sweetness of the watermelon and the refreshness of the mint. Quite simply, a terrific combination. I was happy to try it again and come up with a different conclusion this time around.

5. Shrimp Sweet and Sour Emulsion Rosemary

Another item I had previously, but I liked even better this time around. The freshness of the shrimp was definitely telling, topped with the sweet and sour sauce, lemon zest and rosemary. It's definitely one of my favorite dishes of the night.

6. Foie Gras Tart

The foie gras tart served on a maple syrup crust topped with mushroom and truffle oil with a side of lemon paste. Going over the ingredients, there's almost no way this dish could be bad, and it wasn't, as it was probably my favorite dish of the evening. Even though I've been eating more foie gras than dim sum these days, I thoroughly enjoyed the dish and loved the flavor combination of the maple syrup, foie gras, and the mushroom. This dish is simply a must order item!

7. Diver Scallop

The scallop was served in a bed of sauce consisted of port, creme fraiche, and caramelized onions. The scallop itself was cooked to perfection and the sweetness of the scallop was noticeable. However, although the sauce wasn't bad, it did not help bring out the flavors of the scallop.

8. Halibut in spiced butter with porcini mushrooms

The halibut, cooked in Tonnato style was simply delicious. The fish itself was moist and the spiced butter and porcini mushrooms added a different dimension to the taste. While it wasn't my favorite dish of the night, it was definitely very solid.

9. Duck with almond

If there was a dish that I wasn't too keen on that night, this was probably it. It's probably a case of "It's not you, it's me," I'm not a fan of olives, and the tapenade didn't enhance the taste of the duck for me. The duck itself was cooked to perfection and quite good. I probably should have left the sides alone, but the almond and the crispy skin puree was quite lovely.

10. Cheese

I have to say usually the cheese course is rarely my favorite, with the exception of the dinner at Toque in Montreal for me a few months back. However, I was pleasantly surprised and excited about the cheese platter served at Ludobites. Thanks to gas.tron.o.my, here was a list of the cheese matching on the platter:

Brin D'Amour - Toasted Hazelnut with Licorice
Affinois - Honeycomb
Epoisse - Apricot Paste with Rosemary
Etorki - Date puree, butter, fleur de sel
Valdeon Blue Cheese - Pink grapefruit gelee

I personally really enjoyed the bleu cheese and the pink grapefruit gelee, as well as the epoisse and the honeycomb combo. I have to say it's one of the better cheese platter I've had to date.

11. Panna Cotta with Caviar

I have to say, I'm saving the best thing for last. It's not because I have a sweet tooth and love dessert of most kinds, but panna cotta with caviar? Really? The combination might sound a bit atrocious at first, but it does work, and boy, does it work well. The mix of sweet and salty was definitely the theme here and the saltiness of the caviar matches extremely well with the panna cotta and most importantly, the caramel sauce. If I was given 12 dishes of this particular dish, I'd leave a very happy Panda.

Like with all FoodDigger dinners, we were treated very well and had plenty of wine to drink, as shown above. The wine pairing were magnificent as Brian made some really nice choices in regards to the pairing.

After dinner, we were treated with a special viewing of Top Chef Masters with Chef Ludo, as he was competing that night on the television. Even though the dinner was enjoyable, being able to watch and see Chef Ludo react during the show was truly memorable.

Menu

Again, a special thanks to Chef Ludo, and Krissy for such a fun experience. I'm definitely coming back soon, especially the fact the menu do change (for the most part) every two week. Also, thank you to Marshal, Brian, and Will of FoodDigger for such a fun experience and the invitation. I thought Church and State was memorable, but I think you guys truly topped yourselves. I look forward to more improvements within the FoodDigger website and the tools for us bloggers to use. Merci!

Fellow bloggers in attendance:

Alli of http://alli411.blogspot.com/

Cathy of http://gastronomyblog.com

Diana of http://dianatakesabite.blogspot.com/

Fiona of http://gourmetpigs.blogspot.com/

Javier of http://teenageglutster.blogspot.com/

Kevin of www.kevineats.com

Pam of http://www.rantsandcraves.com/

Sook of http://yutjangsah.blogspot.com

Victor of www.grubtrotters.com

Wesley of www.twohungrypandas.com



Ludobites @ BreadBar
8718 W. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 205-0124
http://www.ludolefebvre.com/ludo-bites/