Lavo by Ludo
Lavo? Really? It's the name of the Las Vegas restaurant opening in the Palazzo hotel (not to be confused with the Plaza Hotel downtown — don't let a cabbie pull that one on you), where Ludovic Lefebvre, formerly of Bastide in West Hollywood, is now chef.
It's Lavo, as in "to bathe or cleanse" in Latin, or as in Lavo by Ludo (has a ring to it). Eater LA and Los Angeles magazine had reported on the new 300-seat restaurant featuring Eastern Mediterranean small plates, and a news release came out this week with further details: It's opening in August, and the lounge will be "surrounded by worn tile walls and water stained plaster." Other highlights include Turkish water basins to evoke the "bathhouses of ancient Mediterranean culture."
Maybe the name is apropos, because if the above photo from Lefebvre's cookbook ("Crave: The Feast of the 5ive Senses") is any indication, he likes water. Certainly, he must be a chef who surfs.
And hey, it's Vegas. Vini, vidi, lavi!
— Betty Hallock
Photo credit: Stephen Wayda/Regan Books
