A couple weekends ago, the culinary geniuses over at
Animal Restaurant held a special event to take a stand
against California's imminent ban on foie gras. Their
"fight for your right to foie" dinner consisted of eight courses of, you guessed it, foie gras. Head chefs Vinny Shook
& Jon Dotolo even invited a special guest, Ludo Lefebvre, to help
design the eight course meal. Chef Ludo has been gaining popularity by promoting the concept of the "pop up" restaurant in Los Angeles. I've been dying to see what he's all about, so I jumped at the chance of a dinner prepared by not only him but the head Animal chefs.
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| Animal. Literally a hole-in-the-wall on Fairfax Ave. No sign in front, simple, clean decor. |
We arrived on time for our reservation, but still had to wait a few minutes outside while the next table cleared up. By the time we were seated, we were more than ready to feast.
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| Feeeed me. |
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| Me so hongray |
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| Course 1: Marble foie gras terrine, prosciutto, fennel, yogurt, honey, bruleed fig |
Chef Ludo started this meal off right. The layers of prosciutto and fig combined perfectly with the foie. It was also fun combining the different elements on the plate with the terrine: salty (sea salt), tart (yogurt), bitter (fennel), and sweet (bruleed fig).
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| Course 2: Foie gras crudo, dates, lemon confit, black ash brioche, mushrooms |
Not gonna lie, I had a little trouble with course 2. This was another one of Chef Ludo's creations. When he said crudo, he meant it. Nothing on this plate was cooked except for the brioche ashes. I was all for it until I picked up a piece of foie and saw blood. The blackened brioche did a good job of disguising the blood, but it was just a liiiitle too raw for me. The husband was all about this dish, though, so I was probably just the weird one here.
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| Course 3: Smoked foie gras, veal tongue, pumpernickel, crab apple |
Ah yes, finally something cooked and cooked well! This was the first of Chefs Vinny and Jon's dishes. As good as the smoked foie was, it was secondary in this plate. The veal tongue totally stole the show. And then paired with the glazed apple...heaven!
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| Course 4: Foie gras ssam, herbs, peanuts, green curry, bibb lettuce, plum char siu |
Husband and I gave a thumbs up all around for this course right here. This was a build-your-own-wrap of sorts: Thai seasoned foie goes inside the lettuce+herbs, sprinkle it with the fried and green onions, and douse some sriracha over that bad boy.
Boom! No utensils necessary.
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| Course 5: Steamed foie gras, cabagge, mustard ice cream duck fat potato, juniper berries |
You know what this reminded me of? A
pupusa. Except in this case, the cabbage replaced the masa and the stuffing was a smooth, creamy layer of steamed foie. And yes, you read that right:
mustard ice cream. It provided a nice hint of mustard flavor to the foie pupusa. Oh, and the duck fat potatoes - excellent. Props to Chef Ludo for this course.
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| Course 6: Roasted foie gras, cheeseburger flavors, benton's bacon |
Another fun dish! Think deconstructed cheeseburger, but replace the beef with the roasted foie. A traditional selection of toppings were included: dressing, pickles, onions, frisee, and bacon.
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| Course 7: Liquid foie gras agnolotti, corn, black truffle |
Ohh my....this dish could have very well qualified as dessert. The agnolotti literally melted in your mouth, and then you got this flavor explosion from the warm liquid foie combining with the shaved black truffle. This was probably our most favorite course of the entire meal.
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| Course 8: Brownie sundae, foie gras chantilly, caramel, vanilla ice cream, peanuts |
I hate to say it, but dessert was a little anti-climatic. After an exciting 7 courses, I was expecting something more out-of-this-world. "
What kind of dessert can you possibly make out of foie gras," we asked ourselves. Apparently so did the chefs because they really played it safe with the final course. It was a brownie with vanilla ice cream topped with a dollop of cream that
barely tasted like foie. I mean, it was as good as a brownie can be. Plus, the portion was huge. I was not eager to stuff my face with a giant brownie after 7 courses of foie gras.
At the end of our meal, I managed to get a peek into the kitchen. The chefs were super nice and more than welcoming while I snapped away as they did their thang. I didn't want to be too much of an intruder, so I took a few pics and scooted on out.
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| Chef Vinny keeping things running smoothly |
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| Chef Ludo hiding in the back |
Even though this was a one-time menu event, I can see why Animal has already gained so much recognition in the LA dining scene. These guys are serious about bringing good food to the masses. We can't wait to visit again and try their normal menu next time.
