Dionicess VI Fundraiser: Do-Gooding with Beer, Sausages, and Fries

On June 27 Gev Kavanchyan works together with Firestone Walker Brewing Company for a fundraising to benefit Real Medicine Foundation which provides medical support to disaster, post-war, and poverty stricken areas.
They will pair five beers with artisanal sausages and fries at Tony's Darts Away in Burbank. Tickets are $35 (all inclusive) per person and all the proceeds will go to the charity. Since there'll be no ticket sale at the door, you must get it online here.

Feasting on California Avocado with the Too Hot Tamales

California Hass Avocados are now in season! Plus, it's almost Cinco de Mayo! Did you know that over 80 million pounds of avocados are consumed on Cinco de Mayo? That's a lot of guacamole!

The California Avocado Commission is working with the Too Hot Tamale chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger to create avocado-centric recipes and share them for Cinco de Mayo. They held a media lunch and cooking demo at Ciudad last week and I was lucky to be invited.

Many familiar faces were there, including Food Marathon, who convinced me it's never too early for a mojito ....
So in the email they had mentioned a cooking demo and a guacamole contest, i.e. a "guac-off".

Little did I know the "guac-off" mentioned was for us, not the chefs! They divided us into teams of two though we ended up in a team of three with Food Marathon and Active Foodie.
We were given a few minutes to look over the available ingredients and come up with a guacamole recipe.

Onions, corn, ... pomegranate, fish paste, banana, etc? OK ...

And of course, ripe California avocados!

Many of them made some pretty impressive guacamole. Ravenous Couple even decorated their "Saigon Samba" guac and tied it in nicely to their Vietnamese cooking blog. We didn't really have time to think about that :P
Well, ours ended up being halfway of what Active Foodie had envisioned. We weren't gung-ho enough to get some of the ingredients before the others used it all up. Oh well ...

We put bananas, oranges, tequila , and salt in ours.
Whatever, it tasted good ...

Lindsay from LAist and her team ended up winning the guacamole taste contest. Congratulations!

We did at least win the naming contest and won this Ciudad baseball cap! Mainly thanks for Food Marathon for his Ciudadocado Relish name idea.

Now that we got that out of the way, we let the experts, i.e. Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger do the job. Eating at Border Grill or Ciudad is really nothing like eating the food created personally by these great chefs!

I was excited about our first course, crispy avocado tacos. These quinoa and sesame seed-crusted and deep fried avocado tacos were all the rage at Border Grill Truck.

Crispy California Avocado Tacos (recipe)
Pretty spectacular. The crunchiness of the quinoa and sesame seeds gave way to a deliciously creamy avocado. Add to that all the flavors from the refreshing corn relish. This taco is actually available exclusively at the Border Grill truck, and I highly recommend you get it.

California Avocado, Bacon, and Tomato Salad (recipe)
This simple salad has the delicious avocados as the main attraction, but the finishing touch is from the capers fried in bacon fat.

For our main entree, chefs Milliken and Feniger prepared chilaquiles for us. I haven't had chilaquiles since I last went to Tijuana and had it for breakfast (it's apparently a typical breakfast item)!
They told us that chilaquiles are an easy dish and a good way to finish up leftover salsa (and leftover tortillas too). Basically you simmer down tortillas in salsa until they soften up.

Chicken and California Avocado Skillet Chilaquiles (recipe)

Our first dessert is a simple garnishing of sliced fresh and ripe fruits:
California Avocado and Mango with Yogurt, Honey, and Lime (recipe)
With mangoes and avocados as good as these, you really don't need to do much! The yogurt and honey are such a good accent for the two fruits. Interestingly enough, because of the sprinkled Cayenne pepper, this ended up being the spiciest dish of the day!

To really finish off we had an Avocado Orange Licuado
Since they made this just for the event, the recipe isn't available on the CAC website, but it is basically avocados, orange juice, lemon, agave syrup, and milk blended. Oh and with a little bit of salt. The chefs said that they found salt to bring out that "avocado" flavor, so even though it may sound weird for a sweet drink, they put a bit of salt in it.

The drink is heavy yet refreshing due to the orange zest. It's a great drink for a warm summer day and a great way to end our meal!

I've heard Spring is the best season for avocados (though they're in season and available through Fall), and now that you have all these great avocado recipes on the CAC website, you can rush to get some ripe avocados and contribute to the 80 million pounds that will be eaten in 2 days.

Ludobites 4.0 Quickie

There probably isn't another restaurant that almost all of the LA bloggers repeated go back to other than Ludobites. Partly because of the temporariness of the pop-up, partly because of the constantly rotating menu, and partly just because we all love it.

Ludobites 4.0 is currently popping at Gram & Papa's in downtown LA (their venture "east" ... ish). While the space is small, which makes keeping afloat hard when 20 ppl who snagged multiple reservations decided on a no-show, the (although also small) open kitchen is nice. Now we can stare at Ludo and the sous chefs while they cook. And yes, Ludo can stare at you too when your courses come, so snap those photos fast.

With the blogger/twitterverse shooting praises for particular dishes, one visit is never enough, because you'd go online and say "I didn't get to try that one!"

What I did get to try:

Burgundy Escargots, Garlic Flan, Green Jus, Violet Flowers ($13)
Typically served with garlic and parsley butter, Ludo whips them up instead in garlic flan (which is still deliciously rich and butter). Crunchy chewy snails in creamy, garlicky goodness. My companion didn't really dig snails or garlic. All the better for me.

Scallop, Almond Puree, Pickled Grapes, Capers, Curry Oil & Cauliflower Ice Cream ($14)
Firm yet tender scallops, crisp cauliflowers and the juices of the pickled grapes bursting in your mouth.

Carrot Salad, Saffron Anglaise Cream, Pearl Onions, Blood Orange, Orange Powder ($10)
I was skeptical at first (because why would I order carrot salad?) but this was not only gorgeous looking but tasted really good. The thinly shaved carrots had so much flavor and a great texture. Combined with the citrus from the blood orange slices, this was one great salad.

Seared Foie Gras "Pina Colada" ($29)
There were a lot of great flavors going on here, but I did think the foie gras was seared too long. A good portion of the foie was seared to a crisp and while I usually enjoy that this was a little thick. I'd like to give this another try though.


Squid "Carbonara", Pancetta, Poached Egg (63'), Parmesan Snow, Chive Flowers ($18)
A unique and delicious take on the pasta carbonara, using slices of squid as the "pasta." This was one of the other bloggers' beloved dish and I can certainly see why. The creamy "pasta" dish is taken to a new level using the chewiness of the squid.

Ham Soup, Bread, Swiss Cheese, Radish, Cornichon, Guiness ($12)
This "Parisian Ham Sandwich in a Bowl" as Krissy introduced it, was another much-lauded dish amongst the bloggers. The ham soup with bits of bread and swiss cheese floating about is two great comfort foods conjoined.

The fact that the last 2 dishes are by and large the favorites of the popular votes to me said something about the taste preferences of the current audience, though. Same as the popularity of bacon. Something rich and heavy over a wonderfully executed Poached Monkfish, Jardiniere de Legumes, Vadouvan ($24)
The monkfish itself was firm yet moist and sweet. It was served with peas and carrots, the spring vegetables that probably classically define the term "jardiniere." Vadouvan, Ludo's favorite spice, brings together each ingredient in the dish in spice and cumin-laden bond.

Two desserts were offered, so naturally we got both.
Rose macarons, Organic Strawberry & Lychee ($12)
This dense and chewy macaron had a nicely sweet fragrance and was complemented well by the crisp fresh strawberries. The lychee essence was somewhat lost among the other flavors.

Dark chocolate soufflé, vanilla whisky ice cream, hot chocolate cream ($13)
I don't know why it's so hard to find a real soufflé in this city (stop serving me chocolate molten cake when your menu says soufflé!), but Ludo's is certainly a bonafide soufflé.
The soufflé: a gorgeous "rise", fluffy, soft and moist.
To top it all off: whisky in your ice cream for a kick.

If I wanted to be done with Ludobites I will have to quit reading blogs and twitter.
In the meantime, I still have a long list of dishes to try: poached jidori chicken, egg & potato mousseline w lobster, etc, etc ...

LudoBites @ Gram & Papa's
227 E 9th St
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 624-7272
www.ludolefebvre.com/ludo-bites