This is a second visit to Providence and it hasn’t lost its touch – it’s a lovely dining experience. You can see why Michelin awarded it 2 stars when they covered the LA area. The service is top rate and friendly. There were some similarities to last year’s menu but overall it was a new set of tastes and some different takes on ones we saw last year. A different table gave me a better feel for the dining room and although it still feels “dated” it also felt quite comfortable. Most of the guests were dressed well but it’s LA and you’ll still find sneakers and t-shirts. They offered a seasonal tasting menu, one for DineLA week and a chef’s tasting menu which we opted for, all with optional supplements.
The menu started with a lot of amuse bouche. First were the Mojito cocktail bubbles which were a one bite wonder – the exact taste of a mojito. Great!
Next was a nasturtium leaf filled with scallop tartar and puffed rice- so tasty.
The crab on radish was nicely sweet and combined with the ginger made a very tasty bite.
The melon soup was divine. It was so fresh tasting and I loved the slick little pearls of basil seeds in it.
The oyster was just plain intense – in a good way.
The egg white with sausge was wonderful combination of tastes and textures.
The cigar was presented as the way to end this fine array of amuse. It was braised Waygu beef rolled in a very crisp filo dough. A very fun presentation but the least of the tastes presented.
The tasting menu now starts! The clam cocktail was a combination of little neck, razor and other types of clams with a little nasturtium leaf
The spot prawns were served with a chip made from rolling the heads to pulp and baking them between sheets of wax paper. They were amazing but the prawn itself was also quite good especially mixed with the caviar.
The bread was a white roll which was chewy but bland, a very buttery brioche and seaweed foccacia that tasted mostly of foaccia. The butter was French from Briton.
The Japanese mackerel were strong and had a velvety texture. The pickled vegetables were fun a perfect accompaniment.
The urchin and custard were covered with Australian winter truffles and served alongside of brioche and baby corn. The truffles were nicely strong and wonderful. Brioche overshadowed the urchin but the custard mix was quite nice.
The Japanese scallop was served with mussels, clams and squid body and tentacles. The shellfish broth was tasty and the scallop amazingly tender.
The salmon belly was served with tapioca and really small chanterelle mushrooms. The salmon was moist wihtout the usual storng taste. A nice dish, considering I’m not a salmon fan.
The John Dory was from New Zealand and wrapped in lardo and filo and served with foie gras. You could call it rich!
The a5 wagyu beef was a plate I hoped they repeat and they did and it is without a doubt the most amazing beef you can put in your mouth. This beef rocks! The pluot was very tart as was the onion. The brown thing is turnip greens with smoked sesame seeds – it could have been left off the plate. But I don’t think many accompaniments could stand aside this meat and be worthy.
The cheese course was an array of 2 year old Comte, blue cheese, cows milk cheese, sheep milk cheese and a chestnut-apricot cheese. It was served with a wonderful fig sauce that made them all taste great.
The rhubarb sorbet was served with a meraingue. It was good and very refreshing.
The camomile panna cotta was smooth and nice and served with a honey mustard ice cream. They were dull alone but combined it was quite good.
The last dessert on the menu was a vanilla mouse coated with green tea powder and served with black sesame cake and milk chocolate. Nice.
To make sure you don’t leave hungry you then had pineapple jellies, peach macaroons and chocolates. The chocolates were tasty. In case you wake up hungry they sent us off with some nice muffins.
