Eating Out: Trois Mec by Chef Ludo. The happiest birthday!

As I said the only other time I have written about a restaurant experience.......It's pretty rare that I am super blown away by food. Don't get me wrong, I eat A LOT of amazing meals and am lucky enough to have dined at some pretty amazing restaurants (thank you Richard Keith) But it really does take a pretty special experience to get me to actually blog about a meal that I didn't prepare. That said..... one can only assume how beyond amazing our dinner was last night.

First off, it was my birthday.... I love my birthday, so there's that. Second, we ate at Chef Ludo Lefebvre's new(ish) restaurant Trois Mec. (Trois Mec means three bloaks.... and Ludo opened this spot with the amazing guys from Animal.... also fantastic!) I guess you would call it casual fine dining. Amazing french food, served to a hip-hop soundtrack in an impressive open kitchen. With only 26 seats in the restaurant and a somewhat grueling reservation process (meals must be paid for in advance and tables are released for reservations 14 days before the date... no exceptions) I wasn't sure if it would be a bit pretentious for my taste, but it was really anything but. Every single person working there was involved in our meal and so kind, which was awesome!

Upon being seated, we were brought some "snacks." A bowl of buckwheat popcorn, a tart with egg foam and a tandoori madeline. Amazing. We decided to do the wine pairing. At $45.00 per person I was a bit skeptical (as I usually am with wine pairings) but this was the best one I have ever had. Every wine complimented the food flawlessly and I was so impressed with their selections. I felt knowledgable about even the most obscure wines (thank you Domaine LA) and was obsessed with the sparking rose dessert wine.... it's like they knew I was coming!

Our first course was sushi rice with avocado, cilantro, lime and a walnut tofu cream (I had the vegetarian options for the evening and they were amazing. Rich said they were just as good as the regular menu.) Next, I had a soup with fresh peas, white asparagus and crispy shallots. It was ridiculous. Absolutely to die for. Rich's was the same, but with bone marrow.... so I guess not really the same. Both were fantastic. Rich actually preferred the vegetarian version. My mind was blown. This was paired with a really nice, crisp rose. Perfect.

The potato pulp was next. After the peas I was already pretty blown away.... then this course came. No wonder it is usually a staple on the menu. It was rich, but perfect in every way. Very light and fluffy potato pulp topped with browned butter, onion soubise, and salers cheese. It was just phenomenal. Mashed potatoes on crack paired with a really light pinot noir. 

Now, some people would probably seriously disagree with me, but the next course was my least favorite. I was also starting to get insanely full at this point......

I had a barbecued carrot dish with yogurt foam. Don't get me wrong, it was wonderful.... the BBQ flavor was just a bit strong for my taste (weird, I know) but the wine pairing was perfect. 

We, of course, opted for the extra course..... a truffled grilled cheese with clover ice cream and a maple, buttermilk cream. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. This was possibly the best thing I have ever had. Truffles? Amazing. Grilled Cheese? Amazing. The twist with the clover ice cream and maple...... seriously ridiculous. It was so so insanely good that I think it took me 20 minutes to eat it. I literally savored every bite (for an extra $18.00 per person, I better have.) It was also paired with a really great Jura wine.... which sometimes I am not the biggest fan of, but with this course it was absolutely perfect. 

And as if it couldn't get more decadent, we were brought our first dessert course served with an amazing sparking rose dessert wine. Fresh berries with hibiscus, vanilla bean cream and meringue topped with szechwan peppercorns.... and I am definitely forgetting something else. It was so wonderful. So SO wonderful. 

Our final course was a lemon ginger tart and a habanero truffle. Both were very tasty and served with another glass of dessert wine. Chef Ludo also came over and wished me a happy birthday with a song dedication which was pretty amazing. (He is very french and very handsome.) Our final bite truly rounded out the evening.... an overall perfect experience. Certainly a splurge, but truly worth every penny. 

Note: you are allowed to take pictures, but I was very sneaky about it.... nothing worse than an obnoxious flash going off every three minutes. With only 4 tables in the restaurant, being a respectful diner is key :)