Ludobites - Ludo Is Back 4.0! (Los Angeles)

Ludobites @ Gram & Papa's

Welcome back Chef Ludo! After writing my recent recap of Ludobites 2.0 & 3.0, I was ready to chow down at Ludobites 4.0 at Gram and Papa's (Which will run until the end of May). I was joined by my usual Panda Crew at the cozy location in Downtown Los Angeles. Since Umma Choisauce and J were at the recent FoodDigger dinner, I let the experts take over, though we ended up doing the "gamut" a la kevinEats style, but ordered extra of the good stuff!

Wine for the Night Minus a Bottle

One more thing I love about Ludobites, BYOB! Don't forget to bring a bottle or two of your favorite wine to accompany the meal.

Raw Scallop - Almond Puree, Pickled Grapes, Cauliflower Ice Cream

Refreshing, light, accentuated by the tartness of the grapes. Very nice starting dish!

Carrot Salad - Saffron Anglaise Cream, Pearl Onions, Citrus Confit, Mustard Powder

Superficially, it's quite a simple dish, but the carrot salad had a nice blend of flavors. The tartness of the citrus, with the zing from the pearl onions, and finished off with wasabi. The finished product was quite enjoyable.

Burgundy Escargots - Garlic Flan, Green Jus, Yellow Flowers

I'll first to admit I'm not the biggest escargot fan in the world. The flavors is something I'll have to get used to. With that said, I enjoyed the escargot mixed with a flan mixed with garlic. In a way, to help tone down the flavors of the snail, also, to add a nice silky texture to the dish. I enjoyed this quite a bit as Wesley of Twohungrypandas allowed me to finish the dish clean!

Tartine Plate "Warm Baguette"

Here we have a warm baguette with 2 types of butter. One was a whipped brown butter, and the other was a crack-infused (joking) lavender butter. The lavender butter was something I loved from Ludobites 2.0 and I was glad to see it return to the menu! We must have went through 4-5 orders of the baguette and butter. Simply fantastic!!

Brie Chantilly Napoleon - Honey Comb, Frisee Salad, Balsamic

The rumor was, the brie was churned for over two hours by hand, and that was just it, a rumor. However, the brie itself was damn good! DAMN good! A little honey, a bit of that warm baguette, that's all I really need along with that churned brie. Ya, any cheese lover, or even a non cheese lover like myself could dig this!

Parmesan Sable - Sweet & Sour Cherry Tomato, Zucchini Ravioli

Honestly, I'm not sure what think of this dish. It didn't really stand out for me, but I didn't dislike it. Taste wise it was fine, but sadly, it wasn't too memorable.

Egg, Potato Mousseline - Lobster, Borage Flower

This dish is probably my favorite dish I've had a Ludobites. It's so good, I wish I had a dish to myself that night, errr which I actually did since we went through 6 orders. Ya, it's so good I wish I could eat it right NOW! Soft poached egg, potato puree and lobster, what can go wrong with that combination?? The softness of the potatoes, the creamy egg yolks, and the sweetness of the lobster, it's simply divine! I hope to see this dish return when I go back next month!

Foie Gras Croque-Monsieur - Lemon Turnip Chutney

Ludo's Foie Gras Croque-Monsieur really needs no introduction. Foie Gras, Ham, Cheese all meshed together on a squid ink bread. Is it rich? Yup! Will your doctor care if you eat it? Probably. Do I care? Nope! Even though I normally don't like sandwiches unless I have no other choice, the foie gras croque monsieur is fantastic. This is another one of my Ludobite favorites.

Poached Jidori Chicken - Crispy Skin & Hazelnuts, Leek Salad, Black Truffle Bacon Royale

Do I normally like chicken? The answer would be a big fat NO! However, when I heard from Choisauce this was, quote: "...this was EASILY the moistest chicken I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. like WOAH, LIKE WOW." I knew I'll like this dish, simply because I trust her palate. The chicken, as promised was simply delicious! The accompanied black truffle bacon royale was fantastic as well. Ya, I dig this chicken. Simply put, bar none, one of the best chicken dishes I've had to date!

Steak "Au Poivre" - Shallots, Polenta Bone Marrow, White Asparagus

I'll say this, as I mentioned above, that Jidori chicken dish was probably one of the best chicken dishes I've ever had, but I think Steak "Au Poivre" was even better. Let me just say: Steak (I think flank) cooked rare to medium rare, add in some polenta with a bone marrow sauce, finished off with a nice crisp white asparagus, does that sound good or what?? So yes, this dish was fantastic, and I'd order this again, and again!

Merlan "Colbere" - Lime-Lemon, Celery Root, Fresh Herbs

Compared to the first two dishes, the Merlan "Colbere" (Deep Fried Whiting) was very simple, but did not stand out. The fish was cooked to perfection and delicious. All in all, a very simple dish, perfect for those that doesn't care for the richness of the steak dish.

Holly of The Michelin Project

During dinner, Remil tweeted (I'm too lazy to look for it now) that "Holly was quite Hot working the blow torch" at the counter for Ludo. So here are some shots for the rest of the general public :)

And on that note, onto dessert!

Raspberry Religieuse - Pistachio Parfait

For this, think cream puff, just with a tart berry filling. I was surprised how quickly we attacked it as it was SO good. So good in fact, we had to get a 2nd order of it. I thought it would be a sweet dish, but it was quite the opposite. A very nice palate cleanser. In addition, as a pistachio fan, I enjoyed the accompanied pistachio parfait.

Dark Chocolate Souffle - Black Pepper Milk Chocolate Ice Cream, Hot Chocolate Cream

Finally, what's a better way finish off a meal than a chocolate souffle? Rich, but not too rich, and with the added ice cream and hot chocolate cream, it's quite the chocolate trifecta! Delicious and quite enjoyable, especially for those chocolate lovers out there.

Quite simply, Ludo Lefebvre did not disappoint. The menu was spot on, the dishes were spot on, and should I say I liked it A LOT more than Ludobites 3.0 at Royal T? I can't wait for my next dinner at Ludobites in May. I hope to see some new dishes and some of my favorites along the way. 2 thumbs up from this Panda!

Here are some other reviews of Ludobites 4.0:

Choisauce
djjewelz
food, je t'aime
Gastronomyblog
mattatouille written by FoodGPS
NomsNotBombs


Ludobites @ Gram & Papa's
227 East 9th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Official Website