LudoBites 5.0

To say we had a good time is an understatement.
Our party of 11...yes, that is correct...7 + 4 1/2, ordered collectively, almost every item on the menu. Our reservation ran a little late as it seems most parties were ordering everything on the menu.

Let's start with the wine shall we? First off, there was no longer any BYOB. : (
But, somehow we "found" a corkscrew and some un-wine glasses.
We started with a Freeman Winery Ryo-Fu Chardonnay. Nice and buttery and just plain beautiful. We were sharing all our dishes family style so we started with the bread.

Vadouvan naan bread w/Salted coconut butter...delicious! We liked it so much we had to order seconds. The bread was just so soft and warm and perfect to start our hungry bellies off in the right direction.

Second came the Lightly smoked grilled squid , Cold white bean cream, Candied olives, Meyer lemon. The squid was cooked perfectly. Very fresh and very refreshing especially when eaten with the meyer lemon. The candied olives gave it a hint of sweetness and the gritty texture juxtaposed the chewiness of the squid.

Next was a dish that none of us had really considered ordering but one of the patrons who sat at our table before leaving told one of our party that it is a must try so we ordered it. Heirloom tomato salad, Mozzarella ice cream, Basil crumble...talk about a great summer salad. A very mod take on your classic caprese. The tomatoes tasted like they had just been picked right off the vine, the mozzarella ice cream took the taste to a whole other level and the basil crumble was like a basil infused shortbread...nice and crunchy and creamy and sweet and tangy all in one mouthful! Very nice!

We then moved on to what was one of my faves of the night...I had read so many reviews of what other diners had tried and knew that this was one of the must haves for me. Poached egg, Potato mousseline, Chorizo condiment...my oh my oh my. This was awesome! Perfectly poached egg at the bottom, then a layer of not super greasy chorizo topped with potato mousseline and garnished with micro orchids. I love love loved this dish. The slight spice of the chorizo and the consistency of the poached egg and the creaminess of the potatoes took my senses into overdrive. I don't think it was the wine influencing my taste buds at this time but hard to say because the wine was a stand-out on its own.

Which leads me to the wine...Egly Ouriet Ambonnay Rouge 2007. I must digress to explain about this wine. The hubby and I had dined a few times at Dakota Restaurant in the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. Nice steakhouse and the chef does great things with lardon and short ribs (2 different dishes). We got to meet the sommelier who was also playing bartender and server one night. We finished off a bottle of Seghesio Zinfandel and were looking to order another bottle but they were out. He recommended the Turley instead, which we ordered, and proceeded to tell us about this Pinot Noir that he had tried and he described it as a "life-changing pinot noir." So of course that just piqued our interest even more and we set out to hunt for this bottle of wine. No one in the LA area carried it so we started branching out farther...Northern CA. One distributor in Berkeley carried it but listed no price and one had to call to check for availability. You know what this meant...beaucoup bucks! We made the call and sure enough...$120 was the price tag and it would need to be special ordered. With relatives about to visit from France, we asked our niece to help locate this elusive wine. She found it but she would not be able to order it in time for her departure...however, her fiancee would be joining her the week after and he could bring it. Magnifique...he ordered, flew and brought the precious cargo to LA! This night at LudoBites would be the night that we tried the "life-changing pinot noir." We had chilled the wine in the wine cooler and by the time it hit our glasses it was the perfect temperature.

Wine Notes on the Egly Ouriet...terroir terroir terroir. This was the smoothest pinot I had ever tasted. You could definitely taste that it was not made in CA. This was an old world wine full of character...not loud, sweet or jammy. Not in your face. It was smoky, earthy...you could taste clay, minerals...it was in one word...REFINED! It's one of those wines that you can just sit in front of a fire and sip...no food...just wine.

Next dish was the Hot foie gras dynamite, Raw tuna, Lychee, Crackers. Everyone kept looking for the crackers but it was not in the form of a cracker but more a mushed moist cracker paste. The foie and tuna and lychee were amazing. Perfect consistency on the foie...cooked but still nice and creamy in the center. The tuna was good quality fish and the lychee added just the right amount of sweetness. I regret to say I did not try the cracker.

Then we had Grilled octopus, Oregano, Grilled hazelnut polenta, Pineapple aoili, Piment d'espellette gelee. Definitely a surprise for us...this dish was really good! The octopus was tender. Chewy too but very tender and not fishy at all. Very good mouthfeel to the dish and the flavors played well together.

We then moved on to a fish course...Wild striped bass, Grilled yellow corn Mexican style, Salted butter powder, Fresh wasabi salsa. This dish was another amazing creation. The bass was perfectly cooked with a crispy skin on top. My dining companions couldn't stop raving about the corn with the salted butter powder. The corn was very fresh and sweet. The salted butter powder gave it just the right hint of saltiness and the fresh wasabi salsa was very refreshing. I believe it was tomatillo in the salsa. Another highlight of the evening.

Next was a dish that had just appeared on the menu that day...Slow roasted veal, Morels, Green asparagus, Yellow wine, Oysters, Garlic cheese bubbles, Chinese BBQ sauce. My hubby liked this dish best. The veal was very fresh and the Chinese BBQ sauce had a hint of star anise in it. Although foam was so 5 years ago...Chef Ludo did a great job with the garlic cheese bubbles. The morels were a great accompaniment to the veal. By this time we had moved on to our 3rd bottle of wine for the night. A zinfandel from the Russian River Valley. This went nicely with the veal.

Our last savory dish was the Confit pork belly, Raw choucroute Thai style, Mustard ice cream. Usually, pork belly is one of my favorite dishes; however, this one was too lean for my taste. The belly hardly had any fat...it was almost as if the pig had done sit ups...it was so lean. The choucroute was very refreshing and the mustard ice cream rounded out the taste nicely by enhancing the acidity of the choucroute. Our last bottle for the night was a nice Alexander Valley Cab Sauv from Lake Sonoma Winery. A nice bold Cab before hitting dessert.

Our first dessert that everyone had been drooling for at the beginning of dinner was the Caramel souffle, Blanco grapefruit, Fleur de sel ice cream. This dessert was outstanding! The sweet, the salty, then the slight bitter and citrus tang of the grapefruit just tied it all together. It was one of those desserts that you would not share if you didn't have to or if you weren't so full! Beautifully executed!

And last but not least was the Matcha green tea almond cake, Red berries, Mascarpone mousse. The matcha was very strong and made the cake a little too bitter for my taste. The red berries with the mascarpone mousse was good but nothing spectacular.

All in all a stellar night of food and wine and good company! Chef Ludo made an appearance and took the obligatory photos and signed our menus; however, you could tell the poor guy was tired and just wanted to get home. It was definitely a memorable meal. I was asked how this compared to our French Laundry experience. Both were stellar in their own ways. Both very different in style and taste and textures. It would not do one justice to compare it to the other as they were both fantastic experiences. I can only hope I should be so lucky to be able to score another reservation at LudoBites or French Laundry!