A. came in town from NYC yesterday and we scored a last minute reservation to Ludobites 8.0 at Lemon Moon last night. I had submitted to the Urbanspoon lottery (along with K. and 2 other friends) and none of us were able to score a reservation, so we got lucky. I had been to Ludobites twice at Breadbar on 3rd Ave (back in the day when it was easy to get reservations) and Royal T in Culver City, but have missed the last few as they've all been either Downtown or in the Valley and reservations have been increasingly difficult to obtain. We had a really nice meal; I thought the menu / food was typically Ludo: rich decadent ingredients (like foie gras, butter, chicken liver, etc) but composed with a light and well-balanced touch, and some modern techniques to keep it fresh, fun and interesting. Favorites were the foie gras and the duck. The menu:
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| Brioche, Seaweed Yuzu butter. I always like Ludo's bread and butter, just a great way to start the meal. This was no exception, the buttery yet airy brioche with the soft butter with just the right bit of tang from yuzu |
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| Chicken Tandoori Crackling. Rich little bite; I always love chicken liver mousse, so I liked this a lot. Not sure the crackling adds a whole lot since chicken liver mousse is so rich anyway, but I enjoyed it |
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| Foie Gras, Tamarin, Turnips, Daikon. I really enjoyed this dish; the foie gras was so silky and light, and I liked the balance with the tangy / sour tamarind broth, fresh thai mint / basil, and crunch from the daikon |
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| Duck, Orange, Olives, Carrots. Another perfectly balanced dish between the fresh and caramelized citrus, salty olive, glazed carrots and perfectly cooked, tender duck, with just the right amount of fat. There was a bit of a sesame crust on the skin of the duck which was nice; reminded me of a fusion Chinese / French dish |
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| Steamed John Dory, Squash Spelt Risotto, Fennel, Lemon. I liked the combinations in this dish, with the sweet squash puree, chewy spelt and freshness from the fennel and lemon cream. The fish was just a little overcooked and dry to me. |
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| Apples, Caramel, Orange Creamsicle. A simple but good dessert with big chunks of apple. Can't really go wrong with apple, caramel and orange |
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