Practice Dinner: Papilles Bistro, Coming to Los Feliz

Over the course of our nine years blogging at Franklin Avenue, we've had the opportunity to visit many restaurants -- and of course, we've reviewed more than 250. But last week we received our first-ever invite to a private dinner in a downtown Los Angeles loft. I was intrigued.



Santos Uy, who owns downtown's Mignon wine and cheese bar (and before that, opened Bacaro LA), is about to open a brand-new French concept restaurant in Los Feliz (on Franklin Avenue, natch). To spread the word and test things out, he invited a handful of bloggers to his loft last Thursday.

Maria couldn't make it, but I brought along my pals Paul and Diane, who were equally intrigued. Santos gave us the rundown: Papilles (French for "taste buds") Bistro is inspired by a recent trip to Paris, where the “bistronomique” movement has taken off. "It's simple but well-executed French food," he says. More from his website: "We strive to serve the same quality food as one might have at a Michelin starred French restaurant, but in a casual, bistro setting. Our wines will be French heavy. I’m an admirer of Beaujolais. I also love esoteric Eastern European wines."

The plan for Papilles: Weekly three-course meals in a small space (currently occupied by a pizza joint, one block west of Gower) that will seat around 24. Uy plans to move fast, opening the restaurant within two months. (The chef is remaining anonymous for now, as this person first has to give notice to their current restaurant.)

Here's what we ate:



“Chilled almond soup with figs.” Also with almonds, almond oil, and a mahon tweel.



“Warmed nicoise salad nouveau.” A deconstructed nicoise salad with pan-seared tuna, boiled potato, haricot vert, olive; arugula, spinach and sherry vinaigrette “dots.” It was nice, and as a bonus, Diane says it was the first time she could appreciate rare-seared tuna.



“Braised veal cheeks, artichoke fava ragout, cooking jus.” This was the highlight. Diane didn't finish hers, so Paul and I happily split what was left.



The dinner was capped with cheese: cana di cabra with honey. It was quite a treat, and the dinner went off without a hitch. We're looking forward to checking Papilles out once it opens.

Ludo Bites America, and We Bite Ludo

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, as I immediately went from Comic-Con to the Television Critics Association Summer press tour, held for a little more than two weeks at the Beverly Hilton.

The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman calls it the "Death March with Cocktails." The press tour is a weird mix of back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back press conferences, held inside a dark, cavernous ballroom where the temperature ranges from 50 degrees to 90 degrees, depending on the moment. Then it's capped off by an evening event -- a chance to chat and interview executives and stars in a more casual environment.

The cable networks, in particular, like to make some noise by putting together unique events. In January, we took an L.A. noir bus tour with James Ellroy (read about that adventure here).

This time, the highlights included a special Ludo Bites dinner from Sundance Channel, which is the home of Chef Ludo Lefebvre's new TV show, "Ludo Bites America."

I'm sure you've heard of Chef Ludo, the king of the pop-up restaurant idea. "LudoBites is a restaurant by Chef Ludo Lefebvre that has no permanent address and no phone number. We like to say that the restaurant is limited only by Ludo’s imagination," says the restaurant's website. "Many, including ourselves, have called it a “pop-up” restaurant and that may have been true for a while, but to truly characterize our business model as it exists today, we are a “touring” restaurant."

For the "Ludo Bites America" dinner, Chef Ludo and Sundance took over the Mel's Drive-In location on Sunset for an evening. Here's what he cooked up:



AMUSE BOUCHE: Grilled Carpaccio of Lamb; Green Tomato Chutney, Feta and Socca Cake. (I was pleasantly surprised by the mellowness of the feta, a cheese I normally don't enjoy. The lamb was simple and nice.)

Honey Grilled Summer Fig; Blue Cheese Mousse and Hazelnut Croustade. (This was just a bit too sweet for me and the others at my table.)



FIRST COURSE: Ceviche, Cucumber Water & Purslane. (Not a lot of flavor here, may have needed salt or other seasoning.)



SECOND COURSE: Red Beet Gazpacho, Goat Cheese Sorbet. (This was good, but perhaps too rich. Others noted the vinegary, mustard-like flavor.)



ENTREE: Marinated Hanger Steak, Shallots, Kale, Red Chile Kimchi Butter. (Amazing. The dish of the night. Perfect crust on the outer core.)



DESSERT: Smoked Vanilla Bean Bacon Creme Brulee and Lavender Bloom. (Great flavor. But the strong lavender presence maybe too strong and covering up the bacon taste.)

In the end: The dinner started a little so-so, but ended with a bang with that entree and dessert. I've heard that Ludo Bites dishes can be hit or miss, and we got both. Still, a great meal, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to try.

"Ludo Bites America" airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Sundance Channel. Tomorrow night's episode features Ludo in Denver, "where he hunts and kills a buffalo. Out of respect for the animal, he eats the heart in the field, and uses every part of the animal in dishes for his Denver restaurant menu." The Aug. 16 episode takes place in Raleigh, N.C., while the season finale, on Aug. 23, returns to Southern California as Ludo puts his own spin on Tex Mex cuisine in Redondo Beach.