LudoBites: Take 5

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[youtube id=”GbVmWGlQzW0″]   by Sophie Gayot   It took me four days to get a reservation for LudoBites, which began its fifth incarnation last week, and even when I arrived last night I had to wait almost an hour to get seated—a party of two who had arrived at 6 p.m. (and finally left five hours later) was enjoying themselves so much that they would not free my table. But they weren’t the only ones there having a good time. Gram & Papas, the café Ludovic Lefebvre is renting for the second time, was completely packed with patrons on a Monday night. (And this in an area of downtown Los Angeles that’s desolate after dark.)   Don’t ever dream of going to LudoBites without reservations, which are only available on OpenTable.com, and good luck—people are even selling their reservations!   The ingenuity of chef Ludo is evident in every single dish that I got to taste last night—and I practically tried the entire menu. The winner, and I even got up to tell him so, was the mustard ice cream that came with the confit pork belly.   We must ask: Ludo, when will you open a full-time restaurant? But maybe you know that since you only show up from time to time it makes us appreciate your cuisine even more. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder.   You can click on each photo to enlarge. All photos by Sophie Gayot.
   
 LudoBites @ Gram & Papa's on Urbanspoon