Today's menu. Chef Ludo's wife, Krissy, pointed out to me that the menu's format was different from those of past LudoBites events in that there was a clear separation of appetizers, entrees, and desserts. With past events the menus contained dishes grouped simply into savory or sweet categories. I'm actually indifferent on this and I'd be happy either way.
Warm baguette with honey lavender butter and smoked lard. We started our meal with a few orders of crusty baguettes and we made quick work of them. The lavender butter was ultra creamy and slightly sweet with a discernible lavender scent. Liquid bacon is how I'd describe the smoked lard as there was a strong presence of bacon-like taste. Both spreads were delicious.
Brie chantilly with honeycomb, balsamic, frisee. Biting into the silky and soft brie with the underlying sliver of toasted bread made for a dreamy combination of flavor and texture. Pairing the cheese with the honeycomb and balsamic helped balance the richness of the brie, and the crisp frisee brought added texture.
Foie gras black croque monsieur, lemon turnip chutney. Who would have thought to put foie gras in a sandwich? Well chef Ludo no less! I overheard someone mention the bread is colored using squid ink, and it certainly exhibited a dark, nearly black hue. The foie gras was soft and rich as you'd expect, while the bread kept the overall taste in balance. To my surprise the sandwich held its shape nicely even after we split each piece. I wasn't sure what to do with the lemon chutney, but it brought very little taste to the other components and so I left most of it sitting on the plate.
Soft shell crab cornet, mango, red spicy mayo, Corona granite. Let's start with the oddest part of this plate--the Corona granite. Yes that's frozen Corona slush, and yes it's paired with soft shell crab. It's pairings like these that immerse you into an Iron Chef-like setting. As for the soft shell crab, it was very fresh in taste and expertly cooked and prepared. The mango was nice and almost dessert-like in sweetness, although the spicy mayo could have been much spicier.
Rack of lamb, goat cheese, bonita, artichokes, potato mousse, mint. Fatty, tender, and cooked to a nice medium-rare, this nicely-sized lamb chop was a hit with our dinner group. I used the mint puree to brighten the taste of alternating bites; one bite without the mint and one with the mint added some interest to the overall taste. Note the tube of goat cheese. And those artichoke pieces? Tender and delicious they were.
Above is the potato mousse that came with the lamb. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the potato mousse had a texture similar to that of marshmallow cream, thought the taste was brimming with starchy potato-ness. I can only imagine the amount of butter and cream sacrificed for these potatoes.
Bavette, escargo red butter, shallot jam, roasted eggplant, carrot slaw. The bavette steak aka flap meat was a little overcooked for my liking, though the intense shallot jam helped to cover some of the dryness. I would have preferred either thinner slices of beef or simply a larger single portion cooked to medium-rare. Nonetheless, I found the beef to be a little chewy and lacking in beefy flavor. My favorite part of this dish? The carrot slaw. It was crispy, tangy, fresh, and in short supply as I made quick work of it.
Dark chocolate souffle, vanilla whipped cream, hot chocolate ganache. There were only two desserts on the menu, and when dark chocolate souffle is one of them then it really doesn't matter what the other on is (oh come on, really?!). First take note of the size--it's HUGE! Here's a picture with my portion and a heaping spoonful of the cream and ganache:
WOW! This was easily the best restaurant souffle I've ever had. Warm and slightly crispy on the outside, and gushing with deep chocolate filling on the inside that emitted an intoxicating chocolate aroma upon spilling out of the center.That concluded our LudoBites dinner and we left very satisfied. The service was good and friendly, though some dishes came out a little slower than expected. As I've mentioned before with previous LudoBites events, the emphasis is squarely on the food and not so much Michelin-star service. Note: LudoBites ends on May 28 and you can still likely get a table with the wait list.
Afterward a few of us decided to hike up to 6th street to Cole's to try their famous French dip sandwich. Yes I realize we had just completed a full dinner and dessert outing, but with Cole's just around the corner, we couldn't resist. About a month ago I devoured a French dip at Phillipe's, and it was very good so I was curious to see how Cole's compares as I know people are adamant about which one reigns supreme.
Cole's French dip with au jus. We sat in the dimly lit Varnish Room which is an attached speak-easy bar behind the main restaurant. Rumor is that this place was in its former life a subway stop. Here's the dip up close and personal, or at least as personal as it gets with a mediocre iPhone capture:
The verdict: It's much better than Phillipe's, mainly because of the bread as it's softer and tasted fresher (even at 10pm at night). A generous serving of beef was both tender and full of beefy flavor, more so than Philippe's. Making this whole experience even better was the fact that we ordered this to go, then sat in the Varnish Room where we enjoyed a round of artisinal cocktails.Upon exiting Cole's, we passed by Babycakes and decided to snatch the last few cupcakes from the display case. Babycakes is a NY-based vegan bakery which recently opened a second shop in downtown LA adjacent to Cole's.
Vanilla cupcake with mocha frosting. Now before I comment on the taste, let me remind you that vegan means no eggs or dairy products are used, so just rely on your culinary imagination to guess what ingredients go into this. That said, it was no wonder this cupcake was completely underwhelming and almost unpleasant in taste. Making things worse was the texture: it was like cornbread, really course cornbread. In fact the cupcake tasted like dry cornbread with canned frosting. We gave the second cupcake to a homeless person on the way out; I hope she enjoyed it. Oh well, at least we tried.LudoBites at Gram and Papa's
227 E 9th St Los Angeles
CA 90015
Cole's (Varnish Room located in back)
118 E 6th St Los Angeles
CA 90014
Babycakes
130 E 6th St Los Angeles
CA 90014
haha can't believe you went to cole's afterwards. too bad about the overcooked meat but can't wait to try the foie croque though, heading there tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHave fun! Everyone raves about the ham soup, so give that a try if you can. Looking forward to your review.
ReplyDeleteoh man...i'm still craving those brie cheese. so incredibly light fluffy, yet rich!
ReplyDeleteand the lamb was one of the best i've had.