DTLA: Lunch at Ledlow (Formerly Pete’s LA)

 

I knew something was up when I went to Pete’s Los Angeles about a week ago. I studied the menu, I looked at the clean lines of the refreshed dining room, I admired the booze on the backbar. This was not the Pete’s Cafe where everyone and their mother loved the bleu cheese fries and one of the stops of my mac and cheese crawl. One of my favorite chefs, Josef Centeno had taken over and the menu was very reflective of his style. It’s always a toss up which one of his restaurants is my favorite; the bacos at Baco Mercat or frito pie at Bar Ama? I still haven’t made it to Orsa and Winston but it’s on the list for next year.

This new Pete’s was Chef Josef’s interpretation of American classics. The menu nodded at that direction …

Still …

As I was putting together this story, it was announced he had changed the name to Ledlow Swan and then just Ledlow. The name is an homage to his grandparents. Then it clicked. Of course! Anyone familiar with his style would recognize the menu as his food but it didn’t fit the old Pete’s. And so the name was squashed. As it should have been when he became the chef.

So far the menu hasn’t changed very much from what I saw at Pete’s LA so I suspect the dishes I had might still be around for a bit. Well, within seasonally reason.

The dry-farmed persimmon salad was sent out to me and I really enjoyed the flavors of the pickled grapes, pink grapefruit, semi-sweet persimmon and red walnuts together. It was too much for one person but I greedily ate it all.

As I did with the chicken-farro salad. There was a ton of confit chicken oysters but the best part was the generously buttered toast!

 

I got the chicken club for lunch. It was a great sandwich, perhaps a tiny bit messy with the fried chicken skin on top but I just ate it like a chip. It was really great fried chicken and if it wasn’t already stuffed with so many other goodies; thick cut bacon and cheese, I would have slid some cole slaw in the sandwich.

Not only do I have Orsa on the list for next year, I suppose I also have Ledlow as well. Time for dinner!

Ledlow (formerly Peter’s Cafe, Pete’s Los Angeles, Ledlow Swan)

400 S Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90013  —  (213) 687-7015

 

© The Minty  2014