Plenty of surfers, of course, hold down regular jobs. So do plenty of chefs. But then there are chefs who seem to be rebels too, because what they're trying to do is break down the normal way of doing things, shatter the status quo, and instigate change. I've posted about Roy Choi, and he definitely falls into the rebel category, but another chef who seems like a rebel is Ludo Lefebvre, who to my knowledge was the first to popularize the idea of a pop-up, a restaurant within a restaurant, where food you would find in a fine dining establishment was available in a far more casual and more accessible setting. Although we tried, we never made it to a Ludobites, which the Chef had started after heading kitchens at super-high-end, fancier places like L'Orangerie and Bastide. Ludo also started a truck, which sold Fried Chicken in various forms. I loved this truck. Sadly, the truck is no more, but the chicken can still be found downtown, LudoBird at Staples Center, so that's a good thing if you're going to a Kings game.
Then came the best news: Lefebvre was teaming up with Animal Dudes, Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook (no slouches in the rebel department themselves) to open first Trois Mec, and then more recently Petit Trois next door, which is where I had the lunch you see here:
More on this amazingly delicious lunch later. But first let's talk Trois Mec, where Sam and I had an anniversary dinner. We have eaten at Dotolo and Shook's other most excellent restaurants, Animal and Sun of a Gun, so the idea that they were teaming up with Ludo could only be considered a very good thing. Trois Mec promised to be something different and, in some ways, radical for the restaurant business. The biggest difference, of course, was you'd make a reservation -- online, no phones -- and pay for your meal before you ate it! This was, I think, largely a way for the restaurateurs to avoid the dreaded no-shows, and it's fair as far as I'm concerned. Dining out has become something like theater, and you pay for theater tickets beforehand, right? Because we wanted reservations on a certain date, I was sure to try and be the first to put in a request online the second the seats became available,about three or four weeks in advance. We got our spots and on the appointed night headed over. Now here's another thing about both Trois Mec and Petit Trois -- if you're looking for them, look for the signs for the pizza place and the donut shop that used to be where they are because that's what you will see!
I love that they've kept up the old signs. It's cheeky, and it shows they don't take themselves too seriously and have a sense of humor. Dinner at Trois Mec is a set menu, you have to be prepared to eat what they put in front of you, so be adventurous! (I think they do make accommodations for vegetarians, but otherwise I think substitutions and special requests are frowned upon). I eat pretty much everything, but Sam is not a huge fan of duck or raw things, but he ate it all too and loved the raw beef and duck courses. Here's a look at the menu from that night. By the way, everything you may have heard about the Potato Pulp is true. It's amazing.
If you like to watch cooks in action like I do, make sure to sit at the counter. Here's a short video of the kitchen crew in action:
So cool. Like a ballet, no? So that was dinner at Trois Mec. I wanted to eat at Petit Trois from the moment I heard about it, and I wanted to even more after I heard Escargots was on the menu. I love Escargots. I read somewhere that some folks didn't know what to do with the funny little device you eat them with, and I thought, 'how can that be? They have never had Escargots in the shell?' This dish is again one of those sort of Proustian things -- it brings me back to when I was a kid, and our parents took us out to French restaurants in the New York suburbs back in the day. Those places always had Escargots on the menu, and I always ordered it. So one day last week I showed up at Petit Trois for lunch, getting in line shortly before the noon opening. Chef Ludo happened to be walking in too (not my first sighting -- he once took my order when he had the truck, he was there the night we were at Trois Mec and here he was again). In fact I tried holding the door open for him as a gesture of respect, but he politely insisted I head inside first. Unfortunately the people in front of me in line got the prime counter seats, but I took one of the ones opposite the small open kitchen. I knew what I was having, but here's the menu:
I ordered the Escargots and, because I was feeling somewhat decadent, Frites! First came a basket with a small perfect baguette and the most excellent French butter you will ever eat. Look:
I would have devoured it all almost instantly, but if you like Escargots, you also love all the garlicky melted butter that comes with it, and you need bread to sop up all those juices (although Frites were good for that too. Just saying!). Here's the Escargots before I started in:
I know some people are squeamish about snails, but come on…this is so good.
The small space filled up fast. Everybody on the crew was super-friendly. And if all the conversation was in French you might have been in a little bistro in Paris. What a fantastic, truly stellar lunch, and I can't wait to get back because I pretty much want to eat just about everything on the menu. Sort of like the couple perched on stools next to me -- they ordered the Steak Frites, the Omelet, and the Croque Monsieur, and were happily sharing, digging into all of it. One final cool quirk about Petit Trois -- don't bring cash because they don't take it! Credit cards only.
So if you're in the mood to be transported from LA to another place for lunch, hit up Petit Trois. You might even feel a little rebellious!
Here's some important info:
Trois Mec: www.troismec.com
Petit Trois: www.petittrois.com
Ludobird and all things Ludo: www.ludolefebvre.com
Don't forget the cookbooks: Crave and Ludobites
Then came the best news: Lefebvre was teaming up with Animal Dudes, Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook (no slouches in the rebel department themselves) to open first Trois Mec, and then more recently Petit Trois next door, which is where I had the lunch you see here:
More on this amazingly delicious lunch later. But first let's talk Trois Mec, where Sam and I had an anniversary dinner. We have eaten at Dotolo and Shook's other most excellent restaurants, Animal and Sun of a Gun, so the idea that they were teaming up with Ludo could only be considered a very good thing. Trois Mec promised to be something different and, in some ways, radical for the restaurant business. The biggest difference, of course, was you'd make a reservation -- online, no phones -- and pay for your meal before you ate it! This was, I think, largely a way for the restaurateurs to avoid the dreaded no-shows, and it's fair as far as I'm concerned. Dining out has become something like theater, and you pay for theater tickets beforehand, right? Because we wanted reservations on a certain date, I was sure to try and be the first to put in a request online the second the seats became available,about three or four weeks in advance. We got our spots and on the appointed night headed over. Now here's another thing about both Trois Mec and Petit Trois -- if you're looking for them, look for the signs for the pizza place and the donut shop that used to be where they are because that's what you will see!
I love that they've kept up the old signs. It's cheeky, and it shows they don't take themselves too seriously and have a sense of humor. Dinner at Trois Mec is a set menu, you have to be prepared to eat what they put in front of you, so be adventurous! (I think they do make accommodations for vegetarians, but otherwise I think substitutions and special requests are frowned upon). I eat pretty much everything, but Sam is not a huge fan of duck or raw things, but he ate it all too and loved the raw beef and duck courses. Here's a look at the menu from that night. By the way, everything you may have heard about the Potato Pulp is true. It's amazing.
So cool. Like a ballet, no? So that was dinner at Trois Mec. I wanted to eat at Petit Trois from the moment I heard about it, and I wanted to even more after I heard Escargots was on the menu. I love Escargots. I read somewhere that some folks didn't know what to do with the funny little device you eat them with, and I thought, 'how can that be? They have never had Escargots in the shell?' This dish is again one of those sort of Proustian things -- it brings me back to when I was a kid, and our parents took us out to French restaurants in the New York suburbs back in the day. Those places always had Escargots on the menu, and I always ordered it. So one day last week I showed up at Petit Trois for lunch, getting in line shortly before the noon opening. Chef Ludo happened to be walking in too (not my first sighting -- he once took my order when he had the truck, he was there the night we were at Trois Mec and here he was again). In fact I tried holding the door open for him as a gesture of respect, but he politely insisted I head inside first. Unfortunately the people in front of me in line got the prime counter seats, but I took one of the ones opposite the small open kitchen. I knew what I was having, but here's the menu:
I ordered the Escargots and, because I was feeling somewhat decadent, Frites! First came a basket with a small perfect baguette and the most excellent French butter you will ever eat. Look:
I would have devoured it all almost instantly, but if you like Escargots, you also love all the garlicky melted butter that comes with it, and you need bread to sop up all those juices (although Frites were good for that too. Just saying!). Here's the Escargots before I started in:
I know some people are squeamish about snails, but come on…this is so good.
The small space filled up fast. Everybody on the crew was super-friendly. And if all the conversation was in French you might have been in a little bistro in Paris. What a fantastic, truly stellar lunch, and I can't wait to get back because I pretty much want to eat just about everything on the menu. Sort of like the couple perched on stools next to me -- they ordered the Steak Frites, the Omelet, and the Croque Monsieur, and were happily sharing, digging into all of it. One final cool quirk about Petit Trois -- don't bring cash because they don't take it! Credit cards only.
So if you're in the mood to be transported from LA to another place for lunch, hit up Petit Trois. You might even feel a little rebellious!
Here's some important info:
Trois Mec: www.troismec.com
Petit Trois: www.petittrois.com
Ludobird and all things Ludo: www.ludolefebvre.com
Don't forget the cookbooks: Crave and Ludobites
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