6/17/2009

Woot! Ludo Is Back: Ludobites At Breadbar



9/1/09 Missing Ludobites and wondering when Ludo and his fab wife Krissy will have their own restaurant in Los Angeles.

Alli411 loves Ludobites, the scrumptious dishes prepared by Ludovic "Ludo" Lefrebve, now at Breadbar on 3rd St. through August 22. The menu is constantly changing, so there's always something new to try. I made resos the minute I heard about Ludobites debut at Breadbar over a month ago. I'd been there in 2007 and been wowed by the food and fun experience: delicious, innovative, exceptional food at reasonable prices in a casual environment.



You might remember Ludo Lefrebve from Bastide, years ago. He was wowing them back then with what everyone is oohing and aahing about these days - molecular gastronomy- now famous at The Bazaar by Jose Andres, for example.

Win and I sat outside on the patio. From 7:00 pm and throughout most of the meal it was still light outside, a major plus. (Bring a wrap or jacket if you are going to eat outdoors. Even though it's warm, there's still a breeze.)

We started with the White Asparagus Veloute with Parmesan Marshmallow, Shaved Fennel, and Lemon Zest. Yes, Parmesan Marshmallow: light and fluffy, quite heavenly. It's so pretty you could paint a picture of it. It tasted even better.




The King Red Salmon Cube, Watermelon, Mint, Oranges Confites and Sesame Oil was even better than the preceding dish. We were told to eat the salmon first then pop the watermelon in our mouth immediately after, before we swallowed the salmon. The salmon had little eggs on it which gave it a saltier taste, and the sweet watermelon gave a burst of sweetness. So many flavors and textures were going on, it was sophisticated yet playful and such fun going on inside my mouth.

Last night at the table Win and I were wondering why Ludo didn't just stack the watermelon and salmon together. Now that I see the photograph, I see that doing so would yield a messy watermelon salmon sandwich. This was something entirely different.



Win loved the Poached Egg 65 Degrees, Bread Toast, Sauce Mornay, and Bacon. Ludo poaches the egg at 65 degrees for 3 hours, very slowly so the inside gets cooked. Even though poached isn't my fave way to eat eggs, it was very good.



And there Ludo went again, creating a visual masterpiece. Sauteed Diver Scallops, Curry-Yogurt, and Spinach. The scallops were cooked to perfection. The yogurt was the foam. Simply divine.



And don't forget the Fried Chicken in Duck Fat, Herbes de Province, Chorizo Potato. All exceptionally rich and decadent.


We asked for the Coffee Sauce on the side of the Chocolate Mousse and Cherry Chantilly. The Mousse had a surprise spicy kick to it. And the Cherry Chantilly mellowed it out.

After experiencing such great food in Spain, it's nice to come back home to innovation and exceptional food. Sadly though, Ludobites is not a permanent fixture in the Los Angeles restaurant scene, yet. We so need this people.

Found this article useful? Mention Alli411 in your post, subscribe to our feed, link to us, or bookmark this site. Thanks for your support!

Ludobites @ Breadbar
8718 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 205-0124
www.ludolefebvre.com

Ludo Bites (@ Breadbar) on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

Ludo Lefebvre said...

Thanks for the nice review. It was great to have you back. Hope to see you soon.
Ludo

Alli & Win said...

See you tonight Chef.