LudoBites 5.0 at Gram & Papa's - Los Angeles, California

Address: 227 E 9th St, Los Angeles, CA 90015 (variable)

Items Ordered:

• Vadouvan Naan Bread with Salted Coconut Butter
  
• Poached Egg, Potato Mousseline, Chorizo Condiment
  
• Confit Pork Belly, Raw Choucroute Thai Style, Mustard Ice Cream
  
• Steamed Duck Lemon Verbena, Crispy Skin Puree, White Peach, Radish & Balsamic
• Campfire Smoked S'mores, Guacamole Sorbet
• Caramel Souffle, Blanco Grapefruit, Fleur de Sel Ice Cream
  

Everything was delicious. Now you don't even have to continue reading except if you're interested in my descriptions.

The Naan Bread was even tastier than naan I've had at some of my favorite Indian restaurants, although the texture was more like pita bread than flaky naan. The salted coconut butter was delicious, and I wish I could buy a whole jar of that to keep at home. Our next dish was the poached egg, potato mousseline, which tasted like really creamy mashed potatoes with smoky chorizo flavor. 2 thumbs up! The confit pork belly was fatty and delicious, but I was not a huge fan of the raw vegetables or mustard ice cream. I can't eat ice cream that's not sweet--think garlic ice cream (bleh). My favorite dish of the night had to be the steamed duck. I can't even describe it, but the combination of balsamic, duck, and white peach really worked, and I think I ate more than my fair share of this dish.

I was super excited about the desserts, but the entrees edged out the desserts IMO. The s'mores were a cute concept, but difficult to eat, and again with the guacamole ice cream made this dessert my least favorite plate of the night (albeit still okay). The caramel souffle with Fleur de Sel ice cream was fantastic, but towards the end got a little too sweet.

Overall, Chef Ludo is an amazing chef and also quite nice as he took pictures with us (2 girls, 6 dishes?!) after the meal and didn't seem to mind too much that I kept taking pictures of him preparing dishes :D. The atmosphere was lively, all the servers were great at explaining the dishes and refilling glasses. I'm ready to make reservations for LudoBites 6.0 already!!!

--y