A Little Lull

It's been quiet here, so I wanted to pop in and say hello. I've been busy with eating not-really-meals at home and traveling (I've got more coming up, which is very good for my wanderlust). This little lull is only temporary and I should be back with posting shortly.

The above photo is from Julian's in Providence, RI, where I had brunch with my sister last weekend. I've developed a habit of ordering a Bloody Mary (sometimes, more than one) when I'm on vacation. As I love hearing about people's food and drink quirks, please indulge me and pipe up about your "travel drink" of choice!

LudoBites 4.0

I don't tend to flock to things that are hip and happening, mostly because of limited energy and funds. But, sometimes, it happens by accident. Other times, it's fate. One night, I thought about it was too bad that I never got my act together enough to go to LudoBites (getting reservations isn't for the faint of heart nor those who aren't on the web minute-by-minute). The next morning, I got an email from Rants and Craves seeing if I was free to go to LudoBites! And the rest is history.

My other two dining companions for my first taste of Ludo's food were The Truck Chaser and Weezermonkey. A lovely group of ladies to consume butter with, non?


Paris ham soup: unreal. Ludo's take on ham and cheese means utter decadence with Guiness foam and cornichons thrown in for balanced hot-damn-goodness. My (savory) personal favorite of the night. I'll get to dessert in a minute.


White asparagus veloute: We missed the part about this dish being cold. Still, a delicate yet sexy way to highlight white asparagus. And yes, that salmon roe is beckoning you right now.


Foie gras black croque monsieur: are you kidding? Wonderful.


Squid carbonara: who needs pasta when you've got tender squid? I really enjoyed this interpretation, especially with the poached egg.

So, my pictures stop here because of lighting issues. You can check out Weezermonkey's LudoBites post here, chock-full of gorgeous photos per usual.

Now, I must tell you about dessert: my very first chocolate souffle. Pertinent background information: my dessert experience is limited because I don't really care about ending meals on a sweet note. If it's there, I'll eat it, of course (I'm not monastic about sugar, trust me). Now, back to the souffle. I took one bite and everything fell away for a split second. That good. Only the French could have concocted a billowy puff of a dessert that holds a slightly gooey chocolate heart. Souffle, je t'aime.

I'm now going to be chasing the dragon on this front, but I will take on that challenge gladly. Thank you to Ludo for giving me such a special food memory.

And of course, thank you to Rants and Craves, my LudoBites fairy godmother! I had the best time and it's times like these that I thank my lucky stars that I live in LA. Magic can happen anywhere, but living in a city like ours serves up possibilities on a silver platter quite often.

LudoBites 4.0 (through May 28)
Gram and Papas
227 East 9th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Komasa

Sushi is a constant craving, but it is only an occasional indulgence for me because of the price point. Luckily, The Roaming Belly gave me the heads up on Komasa in Little Tokyo, a place where the quality is good, but the sticker shock is minimal. And she was also nice enough to join me for dinner! Here's what we ate:


Fried softshell crab: a lip-smackingly good way to start our meal.


Albacore salad: eat your veggies even when at sushi and I love salads at Japanese restaurants. I especially enjoyed the carrots, which were lightly pickled.


Tuna, uni and salmon roe: we had another round of sushi as well, but I failed to take a picture before we dug in (a common problem of mine). The spicy tuna roll here is good stuff and with big chunks of tuna; I can't imagine going to Komasa now without ordering one (or two, in our case). Everything I tried was fresh and so reasonably priced.

Our total bill (with tax and tip) came to $60! The only slight downside is that the restaurant is tiny, so you will most likely have to wait, but you are free to roam about because they take your cellphone number down and call when your table's ready. We went on a weeknight, so it only took about 15 minutes to get the call. Plan accordingly; if you're really hungry, going on a Saturday night is not a good idea.

I am Komasa's newest convert. A huge thank you to The Roaming Belly for showing me the light!

Komasa
351 East 2nd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 680-1792
*Parking validated at Japanese Village Plaza structure, entrance on Central Ave (you pay upfront and get your money back with 2 hr validation)