He’s baaaack! And dare I say, even better than before. After a three-month hiatus, Chef Ludo Lefebvre has returned with the third installment of Ludo Bites, his highly-anticipated guerrilla-style pop-up restaurant. [Read about the second installment here.] This time around, Chef Ludo has teamed up with Culver City’s Royal/T—the city’s first Japanese-style cosplay café.
The thirteen-day engagement officially begins tonight, but the cool cats at Fooddigger managed to arrange an exclusive pre-grand opening tasting. I was fortunate enough to snag a seat, granting me the opportunity to sample Ludo’s bites 24-hours before the general public. It’s no secret that being first feels good. Real good.
Whereas Ludo’s former haunt was a casual neighborhood eatery, Royal/T is a multifaceted space with a café, shop, and art gallery. The art-covered walls and funky maid get-ups give Ludo Bites 3.0 a deliciously different vibe.
Currently on display at Royal/T is “In Bed Together,” an exhibition curated by Jane Glassman. The collection features 50 works by 50 different artists that have been selected by 50 art professionals. “In Bed Together” showcases an array of different art forms including paintings, drawings, mixed media, sculptures, videos, photography, and performance art.
After sipping some bubbly and chatting with my blogging brethren, we were seated in a glass-walled room toward the back of the gallery. In addition to the usual tables, chairs, and place settings, the room contained a curious-looking white tent. Understanding the heartache that food bloggers experience in dimly lit dining settings, Ludo’s wife and right arm (wo)man Krissy invested in a photography light box! Amazing times a zillion.
Due to the diminutive size of the kitchen, Chef Ludo and his sous chefs plated each course within the gallery.
The first of nine courses was a pretty little dish of barely cooked scallops, brown butter, pineapple, and a mysterious “black powder.” Now, this is the kind of food I love to eat—light, refreshing, and complexly flavored. Props to “The Glutster” for figuring out that squid ink made the “black powder” possible.
Next, we moved on to a bowl of warm bread soup accented with a Gruyère marshmallow and a beauteously poached egg. Made from Bread Bar’s rustic loaf, the soup tasted toasty and familiar. The egg and “cheese” jazzed up the bowl from top to bottom.
The third course, a foie gras beignet, nearly did me in with its unparalleled richness. Fried dough is naturally quite decadent—add to it two full ounces of Hudson Valley foie gras and you’ve got a downright lethal combination. The celery root remoulade tried its darndest to reel in the dish’s intensity but couldn’t quite manage to strike a balance.
The foie gras beignet was appropriately followed by a simple squid preparation featuring chorizo oil, kimchi puree, eggplant “paper,” and pickled red onions. I ate this one with my fingers, swiping the squid in each of the sauces and biting off a piece of “paper” to finish. The kimchi’s kick and the squid’s supple texture were my favorite components.
Drawing inspiration from his new space at Royal/T, Chef Ludo created a Japanese udon dish with veal, kombu dashi (kelp stock), enoki mushrooms, and a sesame seed miso paste. The deeply savory broth enveloped the entire dish, creating an outstanding noodle soup experience. Chef Ludo’s talents aren’t limited solely to French and modern American cuisines; this man can do Asian cooking too!
For the fish portion of our meal, we were served a delicate fillet of wild striped bass with garden vegetables and aioli. Whereas Chef Ludo’s creations are usually quite bold in the flavor department, this one was subdued. The only item that really popped on the plate were the florets of purple cauliflower.
The final savory course of the evening was a superbly tender hunk of hangar steak coupled with crunchy escargots, baby corn, bok choy, and a black olive mole. Everything on the plate tasted fantastic, but it was the parsley-crusted escargots that I was particularly fond of.
Instead of a traditional cheese course, Chef Ludo prepared a tart using Fourme d’Ambert, one of France’s oldest cheeses with pungent notes similar to blue. The flaky tart was paired with pears bathed in beet juice and a swathe of honey balsamic.
The final course of the evening was a chocolate cake floating in an ocean of frothy coconut sorbet. While I’m usually not a chocolate dessert lover, this one managed to woo me in with its refreshingly light flavors and textures. Pink peppercorns and a coffee caramel provided the finishing touches.
Thank you to FoodDigger (Brian, Marshal, and Will), Ludo, and Krissy for an amazing feast! And thank you to my fellow gastronomers for providing great company: Caroline of Caroline on Crack, Kevin of Kevin Eats, Danny of Kung Food Panda, Elina Shatkin from the LA Times, Fiona of Gourmet Pigs, H.C. of LA and OC Foodventures, Javier of Teenage Glutster, Josh of Food GPS, Lindsay William-Ross from LAist, Liz of Food She Thought, Sonja of The Active Foodie, and Rachel Hirschfeld, of Les Dames d’Escoffier and Petriarch.com.
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Ludo Bites at Royal/T
8910 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
Phone: 310-559-6300
so how much did the dinner cost?
Krystle – Fooddigger covered the cost of the entire dinner. If you haven’t done so already, sign up for Fooddigger 😉
@Krystle: To us, just four hours of our time. 😉
Wow, so so cool!! A light box in the restaurant, what a great idea. Fantastic write-up Cathy!
Catherine, I don’t know what you changed, but lately your photographs have just been fantastic. Seriously. Not that they looked bad before (because they didn’t), but your photos not only have incredible saturation, but they seem to tell the story every time. They’re a perfect compliment to your posts.
I love what you wrote. Very descriptive, very succinct, spot on. As funny as it is that Krissy put a softbox in the dining area for you, I think it’s a brilliant marketing move.
Ludo has certainly stepped it up, it seems. I can’t wait to visit. We have to wait three weeks. God only knows what he’ll conjure up by then.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I saw Kevin’s post earlier this morning and I was able to pick you out right away. No way we can miss that smile of yours. 🙂
The clarity on your photos is just amazing. Good post, both photos and words.
Yeah, her photos are much better. I’m sure it’s simply her growing experience & expertise in photography. (Or, maybe the Astronomer is taking the pics now!)
cosplay and all that great food?? ugggh! so sad was in chicago this week to miss this!
ref: first picture.
the black t-shirt says ” yes that’s a coq in my back”
well by all mean, if that’s was my coq… I would love to have it …. lower side of her back, and I am pretty sure of it.
….hey wait… this is a food blog rite?
coq
Pronunciation: (kok), [key]
—n.
1. a male chicken; rooster.
2. the male of any bird, esp. of the gallinaceous kind.
3. Also called stopcock. a hand-operated valve or faucet, esp. one opened or closed by rotating a cylindrical or tapered plug having part of the passage pierced through it from side to side.
4. (in a firearm)
a. the part of the lock that, by its fall or action, causes the discharge; hammer. See diag. under flintlock.
b. the position into which the cock, or hammer, is brought by being drawn partly or completely back, preparatory to firing.
5. Slang (vulgar).
a. penis.
b. sexual relations with a man.
6. a weathercock.
7. aleader; chief person.
8. Chiefly Brit. Informal.pal; chum.
9. Brit. Slang.nonsense.
10. Horol.a bracketlike plate holding bearings, supported at one end only. Cf. bridge1 (def. 17).
11. Archaic.the time of the crowing of the cock; early in the morning; cockcrow.
—v.t.
1. to pull back and set the cock, or hammer, of (a firearm) preparatory to firing.
2. to draw back in preparation for throwing or hitting: He cocked his bat and waited for the pitch.
3. to set (a camera shutter or other mechanism) for tripping. Cf. trip1 (def. 29).
—v.i.
to cock the firing mechanism of a firearm.
cock
Pronunciation: (kok), [key]
—v.t.
to set or turn up or to one side, often in an assertive, jaunty, or significant manner: He cocked his eyebrow questioningly.
—v.i.
1. to stand or stick up conspicuously.
2. Scot. and New England.to strut; swagger; put on airs of importance.
3. cock a snook. See snook2 (def. 2).
—n.
1. the act of turning the head, a hat, etc., up or to one side in a jaunty or significant way.
2. the position of anything thus placed.
Bern – What in the world are you talking about?
Cathy, what beautiful pictures! Great post! However, I am not sure if we can be friends since you are not a chocolate dessert lover. 😉 Looking forward to Eat My Blog on Saturday (I’ll be bringing plenty of chocolate desserts!)
How freaking HILARIOUS, and awesome that Krissy set up a light box. That is amazing.
Soft box! Crrrrraaaaazy awesome.
Holy crap those photos are AMAZING!!!! I think every restaurant should get a light box. Why have we resisted for so long??
Thanks for the beautiful post. What is up with Bern?
Beautiful post, Cathy! I’m super excited for my turn. 🙂
Great review Cathy. I loved the lightbox Krissy provided for us. I think all restaurants should have those, especially for my trip to NYC! Oh, what’s up with not liking chocolates? Can we still be friends?? 😛
You are SUCH a good photographer. I really need to invest in a DSLR.
Cathy, first let me compliment your Paddington Bear jacket which I saw you sporting in Kevin Eats’ blog. And your argyle sweater.
And yes, the photos are great but I also feel informed by your posts as well. Wish you were coming with us to LudoBites tonight. Looking fwd to the udon and the steak and the donut. ; ) See you Saturday! I may bake a cake too. Maybe. I will try.
Love my work computer…your pictures aren’t coming up. I’m going to have to re-read this at home so I can get the full effect! As always, great post and even better sharing this meal with you. You always bring such a great energy to these meals. Looking forward to many more meals with you in 2010
Does the foie get all molten inside the beignet? Oh my! That’s the stuff of dreams.
Carolyn – It gets molten like a mother, if you know what I mean! And if you don’t — the foie gras maintains its integrity, but yields just the right amount 😉
Love your pictures! Great read as well!
I have a light box at home!! It honestly makes all the difference in the world. What a delightful post, your pictures are beautiful 🙂 The food looks INCREDIBLE, I may have licked my computer screen a little…
Cath,
Your pics are so beautiful I told readers of my blog to come here to look at great pics. What a fun fun fun night. And if you want to swoop on my desserts, next time you’ll have to sit closer!!!
Cathy,
Beautiful. I spent a lot of time on Ludos website, drooling 😉
Thanks for this post. Pretty much every time I visit your site, I feel inspired to travel the world and just eat. That would be my idea of heaven. Thanks for sharing all your thoughts and photos.
Hi Gastronomer,
Thanks for the post on Ludo Bites. Gorgeous photos and the food looks delicious. 🙂
OMG can we come hang out w/you when we come back to LA?
um…the fourth course looks very familiar, wonder where he gets his ideas…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq7o6AOIXaI&feature=related