Celebrated French chef Ludo Lefebvre is becoming quite the regular at Crypto.com Arena. And it’s not because you can expect to see him sitting courtside watching the Lakers, but instead, he’ll likely be spotted in his chef’s coat inside some of the venue’s hottest concession stands.
“I want to be in the arena because I want to feed more people, cook for the masses,” Lefebvre said as he stood on the Crypto.com roof deck during a tasting event that included dishes from his two new concession stands.
The fine dining chef’s new spots, Ludobab and Trois Familia, are located next to each other on the arena’s Main Concourse and opened in conjunction with the arena’s 25th anniversary. They join fried chicken spot LudoBird, the chef’s other concession stand at the venue, which opened in 2013.
Lefebvre is known for his innovative cuisine that’s rooted in French culinary techniques and for being the chef behind dining hotspots that include Petit Trois le Valley and L’Original Petit Trois in Hollywood, plus for appearances on shows like “Iron Chef America.” He said the goal with his stands is to give people food that’s as good as the dishes he serves at his high-end restaurants.
“I want to have fresh food in an arena. It’s important for me, I want to feed good food to people,” he said. “Everything we cook is cooked fresh here. Nothing is going to be frozen so it’s very fresh vegetables, fresh meats.”
At Ludobab he focuses on Mediterranean cuisine, offering dishes like hefty pita sandwiches generously stuffed with tomato, cucumber, red onion, herbs and hummus with a choice of chicken or beef. He also serves kebabs, falafel and lemon rice bowls.
“I grew up in Paris and I always loved kebabs. There are a lot of kebab concepts in Paris, a lot of Mediterranean food and I think it fits well in an arena because it’s very healthy,” he said.
Trois Familia is his nod to the city’s Mexican culture and cuisine, which he said has been an important influence since he moved here.
The menu at the stand includes hefty barbacoa nachos with house-made queso, a corn and cheese quesadilla drizzled with a slightly spicy house-made sauce and a Tres Leches cake that’s so perfectly moist it pretty much melts into your mouth immediately. It’s topped with frosting and rainbow sprinkles.
But the star of the menu will likely be his Double Decker Potato Taco. It’s a big taco made with two crunchy tortillas, sliced carrots, mashed potatoes, Pico de Gallo, lime juice and cheese.
“This is a very good taco, it’s something you must try, trust me,” Lefebvre said.
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