Back to Providence

Sunday, January 15, 2017

It is "Dine in LA Week" again so back to Providence. www.providencela.com . It is the only time I can afford this restaurant. Special dinner set up at $99 plus tax and  tip.  Got out of here tonight for $180. Had to share the corkage and contribute to the cost of Stan's wine he brought. A 2006 Moet Chandon, Grand Vintage and a 2007 Calera, Selleck Vineyard, Mt. Harlan, Pinot Noir.  Both excellent wines.

The restaurant itself seems small and dark but they have numerous dining areas. The bar is small . 6 seats but this is not a place where you go to drink. I did have a cocktail made with kumquats while waiting for our dining companions.  It was excellent. But at $14 it should be. Service is beyond what you would expect. Large staff.  No one rushes you. They don't start clearing the plates until everyone at the table is finished.  It is easy to see why it was given a Michelin 2 star rating.

Their regular menu, which is all "tasting"  menus runs from $120 with wine $165, $185 with wine $270, $220 with wine $325.  Plus everyone in the party must order the same menu.  Corkage is $50 per bottle. So you would only bring a really good wine here. And never bring a wine they have on their wine list. 

Again we were offered the "Chef's Table" so we could watch the kitchen staff prepare the plates. Also it is private and quiet. Could seat 5 or 6 in a pinch.   And again we received numerous "amuse's" over the set menu.

Started out with a Pisco Bubble. Don't know how they make the bubble but put in your mouth and the bubble melts and the Pisco flows out. Scallop Tacos,  diced scallops with wasabi and rice craker in a folded Nasturtium leaf.  Then onto crab folded into a very thinly sliced piece of radish set in a crab shell on a bed of ice.  A  chocolate mousse , topped with  bit of cherry pudding , a drop of champagne anglaise on top of a buckwheat round. Black mussel  on  foccacia toast with wood sorrel mushrooms, herbs and garlic.  A black mussel soup with foam served in a small glass. All this followed by the "Cigar Box"  Grade 5 Wagu beef wrapped around a buckwheat thin and filled with a sour plum aioli  Shaped like a cigar and presented in a an old vintage cigar box.

This was just  the amuse's.  Now onto dinner which I hope I can finish

Striped Bass Sashimi,  pomegranate,  ruby red grapefruit, ume.

 Nancy's Day Boat Sea Scallop., buckwheat, parsnip and pepitas.  

Striped Bass with tiny vegetables no bigger than peas. Carrots, beets, peas, turnips and thin slices of black truffle in a truffle bouillon.

A tray of breads were passed .I really likes the brioche and the seaweed foccacia.  All served with Normandy butter.

Dessert as "Fallen Branch",. looked like a branch with bark falling away filled with a chocolate grenache on a bed of anglaise and illanke. Followed by a plate of macaroons. Different flavors. Did not note what they were and did not taste because I was so full.  

 I need a better way of keeping track of what they are serving. I don't want to spend on my time keeping notes and not eating. I am sure some of these descriptions need to edited.

Providence is one of the highest rated restaurants in Los Angeles. You pay for the impeccable service and great food. But once a year is a real treat for me.