Providence

It is always an exhilarating experience when I get to go to Providence. This time, my excuse was to thank Sandi in advance for her willingness to be Nurse Sandi for my upcoming knee replacement. As if I needed a reason to dine there. Two years ago, Sandi and I celebrated our birthdays there.

We both opted for the classic menu, which had 8 courses plus 5 amuse-bouches. We both started with cocktails. Yes, I was able to convince Sandi to place an order. She had Bee's Sneeze: tequila, sherry, lillet, citrus lavender honey, bee, and fennel pollen (from their rooftop beehive). I had the Vesper in Disguise: vodka, gin, cap corse, rooftop nasturtium, and Chef Daniel's onions.

Our first amuse-bouche was Blue Fin Tuna tartare with kaluga caviar, nori, toille, and nori aioli. This was followed by Kokkaido Uni, tsukedani, egg dashi, and beer-battered croustade. The next one was House Smoked King Salmon feuille de bric cracker, sour cream & onion crème fraîche.

The fourth amuse-bouche was a Wagyu tartare with black truffle and a nori cracker. The final one was a Mini Grilled Cheese with Comté, Parmesan Reggiano, and black truffle. The entire amuse-bouche was delicious as it looked. In fact, it pained us to eat them as they all looked like works of art. The only reason I was able to describe these works of art was that our server, Julia, was kind enough to write them all down.

Our first course was King Crab with kaluga caviar and coconut (not the shredded coconut, which I so dislike). The second course was Sashimi with sungold tomato and basil.  In addition to our 8-course meal, we ordered Uni Eggs, featuring sea urchin, champagne buerre blanc, and brioche coutons. The Red Abalone, which came next, was accompanied by matsutake and abalone tare. These were all mouth-watering. Just before our 4th course, we were presented with a Red Fife Sourdough loaf, which is a three-day process and is baked nightly at the beginning of dinner service. Notice my last name on it!

Our fourth course was the Hokkaido Scallop with carrot and carrot, scallop XO (oil infused with dried seafood, such as scallops and shrimp). The fifth course was a Kinmedai (deep-sea fish, aka Splendid Alfonsino or Golden-eye Snapper). This included cranberry bean, romano bean, and fig leaf.

We had a choice of main entrées: Salmon, Duck, or A5 Wagyu. This was almost a no-brainer. Not too many restaurants serve authentic A5 Wagyu. This was served with Brentwood corn and lipstick pepper, and yes, there is such a thing as lipstick pepper. It is a variety of pimento pepper that is non-spicy. The meat melted in your mouth. It almost brought tears to my eyes!

Our last course was dessert. Mango, Shiso, and Sansho. This was refreshing and made for a nice finale... so we thought. This was followed by numerous chocolates. The owner, Donato, came by and was gracious to sit with us and have our picture taken. We shared stories of Turkey as we learned that he and his wife were there at the same time Sandi and I were. 

Special thanks to Sarah for accommodating us. It is always a pleasure to dine at Providence. I think that if I were on death row, this would be my request as my final meal! It is always worth the hour-and-a-half drive from Palos Verdes. 

Before we left, we were given 2 chocolate bars, which were crafted at Providence with single-origin cacao from Peru. Donato, the Chef and owner, gave us a tour of the kitchen, and we were able to say hello to Chef Aitchison. Providence is a restaurant that everyone should experience at least once (or multiple times) in a lifetime.  It is always a treat, truly amazing, and splendid!  They are located at 5955 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles.

AND DID I MENTION, PROVIDENCE EARNED AN ADDITIONAL STAR IN THE MICHELIN GUIDE. THEY NOW HAVE A WELL-DESERVED 3-STAR RATING.