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Like many a successful immigrant, French-born and -trained chef Ludo Lefebvre loves his adopted homeland, in his case Los Angeles. He owns five area restaurants there with a sixth on the way, created the pop-up dining concept LudoBites and the food truck LudoTruck, and is generally credited with carrying the flag for the fine-dining experience in SoCal. He's certainly made his mark in the L.A. Basin and for the next few episodes, he invites viewers into his restaurants, his world and his thinking in Season 5 of "The Mind of a Chef," airing Thursdays on PBS (check local listings). The 45-year-old Lefebvre has seen much change in his 20 years as an Angelino, watching a restaurant scene that was based largely in French and Italian cuisine to one more influenced by Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian flavors. And he has changed with it, moving away from French ingredients and toward Asian. And like a good Angelino, he knows that a lot of fine dining can be found in strip malls. He has two side by side in a strip mall in Los Angeles, Trois Mec and Petit Trois, the latter of which is the setting for this week's episode. "For me it was less pressure to open a restaurant in a strip mall because I can do whatever I want in a little restaurant like this," he says. "Even if I decide to do ... for example, a Mexican restaurant tomorrow, I can do it because it's low cost. It's a small place, the costs are smaller and it gives you a lot of freedom to change if you want. "You know, when you have a big restaurant you can't change just like this, a whole concept," he continues in his thick French accent. "So for me to be in a strip mall, it was more about freedom, express myself the way I want and ... also less pressure financially. ... I don't need to spend $2 million and I don't want to do that." For Lefebvre, the strip mall is also representative of the L.A. lifestyle that he now so enthusiastically embraces. "The strip mall – that's Los Angeles, California," he says. "You know, we have a lot of strip malls here and I love it because I know it's not Paris but at least in my strip mall I know I can walk. I love it. I can walk and get my donuts, to my cleaner, I go to get my pedicure and manicure. I like it. You know, it's life happening in the strip mall and I like that." What book are you currently reading? "I just got this very, very old cookbook yesterday, 'The Greens Cookbook.' It's a book from Deborah Madison. ... it's a very, very old cookbook from I think the '80s. It's pretty interesting what they did at that time with vegetables." What did you have for dinner last night? "For dinner last night, I ate at the restaurant and actually I got an omelet with mushrooms." What is your next project? "My next project is to open a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, where I live. It's going to be a very classic French restaurant. I have a very classic French restaurant called Petit Trois. And now I'm opening another Petit Trois in a different location in Sherman Oaks, in the (San Fernando) Valley, where I live." When was your last vacation, where and why? "My last vacation I went to Ojai in California with my family." The strip mall is the place to eat for Ludo Lefebvre on 'The Mind of a Chef' BY GEORGE DICKIE Page 8 October 24 - 30, 2016 the Country Club of Jack- son in Jackson, Miss. (N) 5:30 p.m. GOLF Champi- ons: PowerShares QQQ Championship (Playoff 1), Second Round. From the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (N) 11:00 p.m. GOLF WGC-HSBC Champions, Final Round. From the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China. (N) SUNDAY 2:30 p.m. GOLF Sander- son Farms Champion- ship, Final Round. From the Country Club of Jack- son in Jackson, Miss. (N) 5:30 p.m. GOLF Champi- ons: PowerShares QQQ Championship (Playoff 1), Final Round. From the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. 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