The Provender » Ginger

Ludo Bites “pop-ups” michelin style french cuisine without the stuffyness

Chad G — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:00:08 +0000

Where’s a respectable foodie to take his newly ‘ringed’ fiance? A fine, romantic, french restaurant you say? Well this is Los Angeles, where The Rainbow still rocks and the Hollywood Hills roll all the way down to the Malibu surf. Why get dressed up when you can have the same meal dressed down?

Ludo Lefebvre is the Axl Rose of traditional French cuisine. His resume is a who’s who of chefs and restaurants: Marc Meneau, Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Passard, Guy Martin, L’Orangerie, and Bastide.

With Ludo Bites, Ludo reinvents himself and the fine dining experience. A ‘pop-up’ restaurant, currently located in the BreadBar location on Third Street (here) and open only for dinner (when BreadBar is closed), Ludo Bites is affordable Michelin style french cuisine, with a hip, casual attitude.

If you don’t make it over to Ludo Bites before its current incarnation closes on August 22, 2009, be sure to look out for whenever it ‘pops-up’ in a new location sometime soon.

With the best corkage fee in town ($5), we BYO'd a french style Pinot Noir, the 2003 Domaine Alfred Califa from the Chamisal Vineyard, Edna Valley, Central Coast California

The Fois Gras Black Croque-Monsieur with Ham, Cherry and Amaretto is creamy, rich and delicious. The perfectly grilled bread gets its color from squid ink.

A new style greek salad comes together with Marinated Heirloom Tomato, Feta Mousse, Red Onion and Olives. The creamy, sorbet-like feta mousse balances the sharpness of the olives.

The baked escargot with herb butter, spinach and curry-yogurt is one of the more interesting versions of the classic french dish. Don't forget the garlicky crouton at the bottom of the dish; it balances the spinach beautifully.

Grilled Duck Breast with Leeks Salad, Ginger, Capers and Black Truffle is a contrast in extremes. The perfectly cooked duck shines in black truffle, but can get easily overpowered by the one-two acidic punch of the leeks and ginger.

Beef Tenderloin and Smoked Eggplant with Goat Cheese, Shallots, Chive Flower and Radish is Chef Ludo at his finest. The beef, a perfect medium rare, explodes with char-grilled flavors, only enhanced by the smokeyness of the eggplant. The goat cheese and carmelized shallots combine to taste like a fully loaded backed potato without the potato. This is definately one of LA's best beef dishes.

Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta with Caramel and Caviar is perfectly executed contrast in flavors; the soft, creamy panna cotta is enveloped by the sweet, smooth caramel and then taken to an entirely new level by the salty, burst in your mouth caviar.

The Chocolate Cup Cake with Fois Gras Chantilly, Candied Bacon-Almonds and Maple Syrup is a meal unto itself. Rich, savory, smokey and sweet all at once, this dessert is not for beginners.

Posted in Restaurants Tagged: Almond, Amaretto, Beef Tenderloin, Black Truffle, Candied Bacon, Capers, Caramel, Caviar, Cherry, Chive Flower, Chocolate Cup Cake, Creme Fraiche, Croque-Monsieur, Curry-Yogurt, Domaine Alfred, Duck Breast, Edna valley, Escargot, Feta Mousse, Fois Gras, Fois Gras Chantilly, Food, Ginger, Goat Cheese, Greek Salad, Ham, Heirloom Tomato, Herb Butter, Leeks, Los Angeles, Ludo Lefebvre, Maple Syrup, Olives, Panna Cotta, Pinot Noir, Radish, Red Onion, Shallots, Smoked Eggplant, Spinach, Squid Ink

Hirozen Gourmet – a local sushi joint that is anything but ordinary

Chad G — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:11:56 +0000

Hirozen Gourmet is a perfect example of why you can only find the best sushi in the U.S. in Los Angeles. Located in a mini-mall on an average corner of Beverly Blvd. (here, actually), Hiroji Obayashi’s 20 year old restaurant puts out consistently excellent food with a creative and colorful flair. I have enjoyed the delights of Hirozen many times and have never had anything but a great meal.

Obayashisan’s philosophy is “food is for the human relation,” meaning that a meal is the connective tissue of society around which one creates a gathering of people to share their lives with one another. His food expresses his philosophy in the way it surprises without demanding center stage, delights without showing off and sublimely satiates without overpowering. In a city of many options for outstanding sushi, Hirozen Gourmet enters its third decade still standing out from the crowd.

Cucumber sunomono - sliced cucumbers, seaweed and shoots in rice vinegar with lemon; a light, refreshing start to any sushi meal

L-R: Tai - japanese snapper with sea salt and mint; Loup de Mer w/ yuzu-kosho and sea salt; Dorade - French Snapper w/ sea salt

L-R: Blue Fine Tuna with soy sauce and wasabi; Hirame with ponzu and green onion

L-R: Tasmanian Sea Trout with ponzu and scallion; Aji - spanish mackerel with fresh ginger and scallion; White Salmon with scallion; the best trio of the meal, 3 smokey, creamy delicious pieces of fish

Albacore Clear Roll - albacore, avocado, mango, cucumber in clear rice paper

Another highlight, the Wagyu - grilled sake-kasu japanese beef - was perfectly cooked tender, and delicately seasoned sweet and salty

L-R: Kampachi - amberjack (or baby yellowtail) with yuzu-kosho; Mirugai- jumbo clam with mint; Yari-Ika - fresh squid with ginger; a return to light and citrus flavours

L-R: Spicy grilled yellow tail with scallion; Uni - Santa Barbara Sea Urchin; Unagi - fresh water eel with eel sauce; finishing the meal with a tour of flavors, from rich to briney sea to a savory, sweet, grilled dessert

Posted in Restaurants Tagged: Aji, Albacore, Amerjack, Avocado, Baby Yellowtail, Blue Fin Tuna, Cucumber, Dorade, Eel Sauce, Food, Fresh Water Eel, Ginger, Hirame, Hirozen, Jumbo Clam, Kampachi, Lemon, Los Angeles, Loup de Mer, Mango, Mint, Mirugai, Obayashi, Ponzu, Rice Paper, Rice Vinegar, Sake-Kasu, Santa Barbara, Scallion, Sea Salt, Sea Urchin, Seaweed, Snapper, Soy Sauce, Spanish Mackerel, Squid, Sunomono, Sushi, Tai, Tazmanian Sea Trout, Unagi, Uni, Wagyu, Wasabi, White Salmon, Yari-Ika, Yellow, Yellowtail, Yuzu-Kosho

Leaning into the good stuff at The Slanted Door

Chad G — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:20:25 +0000

Destination weddings with a large group of close friends are always fun, especially when that destination is San Francisco. So, in honor of the nuptials of our dear, superfoodie friends Blair and Keith, we decamped to San Fran, unquestionably the foodie capital of the U.S. and a great place for a weekend trip with friends.

Sasha and I, along with our friends Adam and Marina (who took all the great photos you will see below) and Drew and Dana decided to chow down at one of San Fran’s best known and strikingly beautiful restaurants, The Slanted Door. Located at The Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, with one of the best views of San Francisco Bay, The Slanted Door is a modern Vietnamese restaurant that showcases the abundance of produce as well as ecologically farmed meat, game and poultry found at farms around the San Francisco Bay Area. For the menu, click here.

In addition to The Slanted Door, The Ferry Building also houses one of the great indoor food marketplaces in the U.S., and a great Farmer’s Market can be found outside on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Every meal should begin with a cocktail this perfect - Ginger Limeade with Hangar One Kaffir Lime vodka, ginger, and lime; served on the rocks (photo: Marina Cohn)

Spicy yellowfin tuna tartare with english cucumber, scallion and toasted sesame, served on a rice and seaweed crisp - crunchy, spicy bites of wonderful (photo: Marina Cohn)

Japanese yellowtail with crispy shallots and thai basil - a light, fresh way to both cleanse the palate and begin a meal (photo by Marina Cohn)

Slanted door spring rolls with shrimp, pork, mint and peanut sauce - so fresh and delicious, we forgot to take the picture until they were almost all gone (photo: Marina Cohn)

Crispy vegetarian imperial rolls with taro root, cabbage, glass noodles and peanuts - food with instructions...(1) put noodles, roll and mint in lettuce (2) dip in the sauce (3) put in mouth (photo: Marina Cohn)

Hue rice dumplings with mung bean, scallion oil and spicy soy sauce - a creamy, chewy texture with excellent, subtle flavor profile kicked up just so by the spicy soy sauce (photo: Marina Cohn)

Niman Ranch shaking beef cubed filet mignon, sausalito springs' watercress, red onions and lime dipping sauce - this signature does NOT disappoint; the tender, sweet beef and crisp red oinions flavor mixes perfectly with the lime dipping suace (photo: Marina Cohn)

Drool inducing sauteed pork and grapes with hoisin sauce; salty, savory sliced pork paired with bursting fruit is a winner every time (photo: Marina Cohn)

Dirty girl farm haricot verts with beech mushrooms and roasted chili - crisp, crunchy beans with meaty mushrooms and a nice kick (photo: Marina Cohn)

Happy, satisfied diners (photo: Marina Cohn)

Posted in Restaurants, Travel Tagged: Beech Mushrooms, Cabbage, Dirty Girl Farms, Dumplings, English Cucumber, Fliet Mignon, Food, Ginger, Glass Noodles, Grapes, Hanger One, Haricot Verts, Hoisin Sauce, Hue Rice Dumplings, Imperial Roll, Lime, Limeade, Mint, Mung Bean, Niman Ranch, Peanut Suace, Pork, Red O, Red Onion, Rice Crisp, Roasted Chili, San Francisco, Scallion, Scallion Oil, Seaweed, Shaking Beef, Shallots, Shrimp, Soy Sauce, Spicy Soy Sauce, Spring Roll, Taro Root, Thai Basil, The Slanted Door, Toasted Sesame, Tuna Tartare, Vodka, Watercress, Yellowfin Tuna, Yellowtail