Providence

One of the more unique gifts we got for our wedding was a generous gift certificate to Providence. We knew we wanted to save this for a special occasion and a 30th birthday sounds special enough to warrant such an incredible meal. Off we went last week and it was quite spectacular! I spend the days leading up to this night drooling over the menu and plotting every dish I wanted to try. We chose to split a half bottle of wine and did the 9 course tasting menu as it would give us ample variety and the 16 course menu sounded like a tad excessive. The whole experience at Providence is beyond just a dinner. It really is an experience! Every course was exceptional and while we did get very full (we had to take the cheese course to go), the presentation and techniques are show stoppers! The service is exceptional, you are treated to something very special, and about a 3 hour meal. If you ever get the opportunity to dine here, take it- its an evening like no other.

Bacon and black olive breads

Screwdriver and Mojito "Cocktails."
The screwdriver bursts with liquid in your mouth
and the mojito was like an icy block of intense mojito flavors.

Amouse Bouche: Trout on Salmon Skin and Gougere

Kanpachi sashimi with Mexican cucumbers and cherry creme fraiche

Santa Barbara sea urchin
hiding beneath soft scrambled eggs

Nancy’s down east sea scallops with oven roasted tomatoes
{I started getting full right about here}

Striped Bass with foie gras foam, brown butter powder, and turnip

Salmon with artichoke and jalapeno pistou

Dutch Valley fFarms veal tenderloin with oyster mushrooms

 {Cheese course not shown. A rather impressive cheese cart gets wheeled around the room and you choose your cheeses and they create a lovely plate for you}

Palate cleanser: raspberry and lemongrass sorbet

Chocolate dessert with peppermint chocolate ice cream, cocoa nibs,
and dehydrated strawberries

Box of petit fours including passion fruit macarons, lychee gelee, and caramels

This meal was epic! It's hard to talk about because it's just...so..WOW! Have you been to Providence? What was your most spectacular dining experience?

LA Weekly's Gold Standard

Forgive me for all the backtracking, but there's too much to post about. Even if it's a few months old, it's still going up!

Pulitzer winning food critic, Jonathan Gold, hosted a food tasting event with LA Weekly a few months ago at Smashbox Studio's in West Hollywood. Mr. Gold invited 20 of his favorite restaurants to showcase a dish for hungry Angelinos and this was not an event to miss!

David Myer's Sona put out some salmon bites- a french sushi if you will.















Palate Food+Wine did a pork belly over polenta, but the pork belly of the day that stood out to me was from Animal. I didn't get a picture of that one due to chaotic lines. Animal is high on my short list of places to check out.















Holly paella batman! The ladies of Ciudad and Border Grille put this out- it was a highlight for me. A good paella goes a long way!














Providence put out these stunning chocolate bon bons! Beautiful and delicious! Meanwhile, I'm watching Michael Cimarusti on Top Chef Masters. Represent LA Michael!














Another crudo, this time from Drago. Thanks to the elapsed time from when I ate this goodie, I don't remember what it is. Shame, shame!














It was a tough day for picture taking, but some other notable dishes were from Lou on Vine, Pizzeria Mozza (their incredible caprese salad with burrata), Alcazar's mediteranean food, Babita Mexicuisine (the guy's who throwdown against Bobby Flay with their chile rellenos...and they were SO good!), and Annisette did a take on duck l'orange. MMM MMM GOOD!