24 April 2010 – Dinner with my wife, Stephanie, at Ludo Lefebvre’s – Ludo Bites 4.0 @ Gram & Pappa’s. Normally I write quite a bit in my blog posts, but here I will just let the pictures tell the story. Below are the dishes we ate, along with some great wine.
I do want to say that the night did live up to the hype, but for the effort and cost, you can have a similar experience at the Napa Rose at Disneyland’s Grand Californian. Request to sit at “chef’s counter” and let executive chef Andrew Sutton personally serve you his wonderful dishes – you will never be disappointed. Yes, I am making a comparison and I think it’s very close (quality, taste and execution of the dishes) – Chef’s table at Napa Rose and Ludo Bites. I do give Ludo an A+ for creativity, which would be hard to pull off at the MUCH larger and busier Napa Rose.
Me and Ludo Lefebvre - Ludo Bites 4.0 @ Gram & Pappa's
Brie chantilly napoleon with honeycomb, aged balsamic vinegar and frisee
Note: the story was that the brie was whipped 2 hours by hand. It was creamy.
White asparagus veloute, mozzarella mousse, fennel, candied olive, salmon roe
Seared foie gras pina colada
Note: this was the best prepared foie gras I have ever tasted. The bummer was that the rum jelly way over-powered the foie. I had to eat the pina colada separate. There is nothing in the food world like a slice of perfectly cooked foie gras a top a warm piece of warm baguette – yum!
Warm baguette with lavender honey butter and smoked lard
Rack of lamb, fresh goat cheese, smoked eel, artichokes, potato mousseline and mint
Note: only Ludo knows why he added the eel to this dish. It would have been perfect with just the lamb and his amazing mint sauce.
Monkfish, jardiniere de legumes, vadouvan
Dark chocolate souffle with black pepper milk chocolate ice cream and chocolate cream