We've been meaning to try Ludobites basically forever. I've never been able to try any of Chef Ludovic Lefebvre's cooking before, and I have to admit I've also had an unshakable albeit tiny crush on him, ever since I laid eyes on this picture:
Normally, this is not my type of thing at all - the sort of Fabio-romance-cover-cheesecake genre of handsome, but apparently the idea of a man bringing a fish to me straight out of the ocean that he caught with his bare hands is appealing on some sort of primal level I didn't even know I had. (It helps if you know said man would also be able to prepare it brilliantly after wrestling it from the sea just for you.) Hopefully J is paying attention and perfecting his fish-wrestling skills even as we speak.
I had a lot of fun at the restaurant. I like the size of the dishes, which is small so that you may order several things and share, but big enough that you don't have to spend a fortune just to fill yourself up. The dishes were also a lot more fun than I was expecting. There were a lot of playful elements and unique concepts, and I didn't know to expect that.
The first thing I ordered was listed as "Chorizo, Cantaloupe, Cornichon." It sounded like a kind of light starter of little things on a plate, but turned out to be a cold soup! What it was: liquified chorizo with cubes of cantaloupe and a cornichon slush (really - it was pickle in a frozen slushy texture). Oddly enough, it worked. The soup had a nice flavor that I think would have been a tad too much without the melon for contrast and the pickle slush was odd but it actually blended in nicely and enhanced the overall flavor. And it was so pretty!
The above was my finisher: lobster medallions with honey-sherry vinaigrette and rosemary. It was a chilled lobster piece with a gelled dollop of vinaigrette on top and herbs sprinkled over. Really nice and refreshing, although I probably could have done with a tad less of the dressing, but the herbs were great.
I also had scallops with red port creme fraiche, bacon and potatoes. The bacon mashed potatoes were probably my favorite thing I had during the night. The potatoes were really smooth with little chunks of thick bacon. The scallops were good, but mine was a bit gritty even though it was a diver scallop. Still, that's a possibility with any scallop and it was cooked well.
Other items we had included: Poached Egg 65 degrees, Morels, Smoked Mornay Sauce, and Toast (I didn't have any of this dish, but it looked ridiculously good); and Fried Chicken in Duck fat, and saffron cornbread). The chicken was very good, juicy and flavorful and J claims it is the best fried chicken he has ever had. I personally loved the cornbread. Saffron is one of my favorite flavors and it went well with the cornbread, which was really moist, more like a soft corn cake than a piece of cornbread.
It's BYOB so make sure to bring a bottle of wine you like. Dishes range between $11-$24 (with the exception of the giant cheese plate, which is $35) with our dishes ranging from $11-$19 apiece. So it's not a cheap or casual meal, but it's a great place for a date night where you still want it to be a bit relaxed and fun.
Ludobites is going on through August 22 at Breadbar on 3rd street. See Ludo's website for details and reservations.
Normally, this is not my type of thing at all - the sort of Fabio-romance-cover-cheesecake genre of handsome, but apparently the idea of a man bringing a fish to me straight out of the ocean that he caught with his bare hands is appealing on some sort of primal level I didn't even know I had. (It helps if you know said man would also be able to prepare it brilliantly after wrestling it from the sea just for you.) Hopefully J is paying attention and perfecting his fish-wrestling skills even as we speak.I had a lot of fun at the restaurant. I like the size of the dishes, which is small so that you may order several things and share, but big enough that you don't have to spend a fortune just to fill yourself up. The dishes were also a lot more fun than I was expecting. There were a lot of playful elements and unique concepts, and I didn't know to expect that.
The first thing I ordered was listed as "Chorizo, Cantaloupe, Cornichon." It sounded like a kind of light starter of little things on a plate, but turned out to be a cold soup! What it was: liquified chorizo with cubes of cantaloupe and a cornichon slush (really - it was pickle in a frozen slushy texture). Oddly enough, it worked. The soup had a nice flavor that I think would have been a tad too much without the melon for contrast and the pickle slush was odd but it actually blended in nicely and enhanced the overall flavor. And it was so pretty!
The above was my finisher: lobster medallions with honey-sherry vinaigrette and rosemary. It was a chilled lobster piece with a gelled dollop of vinaigrette on top and herbs sprinkled over. Really nice and refreshing, although I probably could have done with a tad less of the dressing, but the herbs were great.
I also had scallops with red port creme fraiche, bacon and potatoes. The bacon mashed potatoes were probably my favorite thing I had during the night. The potatoes were really smooth with little chunks of thick bacon. The scallops were good, but mine was a bit gritty even though it was a diver scallop. Still, that's a possibility with any scallop and it was cooked well.
Other items we had included: Poached Egg 65 degrees, Morels, Smoked Mornay Sauce, and Toast (I didn't have any of this dish, but it looked ridiculously good); and Fried Chicken in Duck fat, and saffron cornbread). The chicken was very good, juicy and flavorful and J claims it is the best fried chicken he has ever had. I personally loved the cornbread. Saffron is one of my favorite flavors and it went well with the cornbread, which was really moist, more like a soft corn cake than a piece of cornbread.
It's BYOB so make sure to bring a bottle of wine you like. Dishes range between $11-$24 (with the exception of the giant cheese plate, which is $35) with our dishes ranging from $11-$19 apiece. So it's not a cheap or casual meal, but it's a great place for a date night where you still want it to be a bit relaxed and fun.
Ludobites is going on through August 22 at Breadbar on 3rd street. See Ludo's website for details and reservations.
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