Providence; Still #1

This is still number 1 on my list of restaurants.  You just can't beat the food (everything is super delicious), service and ambiance. I was invited last weekend to an elegant feast on a 7 course meal with premium wine pairing for each course. Aside from that, we ordered from the "Should You Be In The Mood" menu. We got the Tsar Imperial Kaluga caviar, the Uni Egg, the special, which was Italian White Truffles which we elected to have with pasta. The mini Brioche rolls were too good to pass with the warm rolls and lots of butter.

Before anything else we had an array of amuse-bouches. The first presentation was a Mojito cocktail bubble that just slid from mouth to esophagus to our tummies. This was followed by a Scallop Tartar with nasturtium (leaf) & Sushi Rice. Then there was Cured Saba followed by Smoked Halibut Fumet (reduced and seasoned fish stock) with mushrooms at the bottom. Next we had the Potato with Smoked salmon egg & dill powder. It was presented in a big ceramic egg container which looked like a dinosaur egg and inside were the delicate potatoes. The next amuse bouche was my favorite. A cigar box was laid on our table. Our server opened it and inside were 4 Wagyu cigars with a plum mayonnaise. After eating our cigars, we had Foie Gras Ravioli with a 50 year aged balsamic. That was delicious as well. I have to remind you that at this point, we have not started on our first course.

The Kaluga Caviar was wonderful but I have to tell you that the blinis they served was the best I have ever had. My only regret was that I forgot to ask for the left overs. It must have had a ton of butter. It enhanced the whole caviar experience with the creme fraiche and all the trimmings. The only way this could have been better is if someone prepared each serving for me as it was time consuming preparing each one without everything falling off the blinis. When we finished the whole 30 grams of caviar, they presented the Uni Egg; Santa Barbara Uni with champagne butter in a poached egg yolk with brioche croutons. I think I could have drank a good 8 ounces of this!

The first dish was a Fluke Sashimi with blood orange, pearl onion followed by Sea Scallop with cauliflower, vadouvan (Indian curry blend spices). The third dish was the Maine Lobster with eggplant and smoked sesame, miso. The fourth was a Wild Striped Bass with squash, nasturtium and shitake. We almost forgot one other thing we ordered which came just before the entree. The Pasta alla chitarra with Italian White Truffles. Another treasure box was set on the table. When opened, there was the truffle on white linen. The server very carefully picked it up and started shaving it onto the pasta.  The portions were not big but we all could not finish the serving even if it was way too good! The Moscato, pomegranate and grapefruit came just in time to cleanse our palate just before the main entree.For the main entree, we had a choice of the Wild King Salmon with  pancetta and black truffles. The Liberty Farm Duck with Japanese turnip and tangerine or the A5 Wagyu with sweet potato, aged vinegar and parmesan. One of us had the Wagyu Beef. We were informed and educated on the grading of Wagyu beef. Apparently the highest score is A5-12 which can only be found in Japan. Outside Japan, the highest is A5-11 which is what they serve. They even brought a piece of the Wagyu to show us the beautiful marbling of the beef. By the way, the wagyu was an extra $25-$50 depending on how many ounces you want. Three of us had the duck but by the time we got the entree, we were all too full. I had one bite of my wonderful duck and had to take the rest home.

The finale was our dessert. It was Sonora Wheat Feuilletage with hazelnut and an orange sauce. We didn't have any difficulty consuming that. Because we finished our desserts, they came with more desserts of macarons, and something with chocolate and marshmallows and jellied candies. Before we left they handed us something that resembled a coffee cake/muffin wrapped and bagged beautifully ....that's in case we get hungry on the way home.

The Premium drinks served with each course were served by Josh, the sommelier. They were well picked. We particularly enjoyed the German Riesling and Gewurztraminer. We made note of all the wines but if I listed them all, you would probably fall asleep. Our server, Katherine took very good care of us answering our numerous questions and patiently repeating things we asked her to explain. It is possible not to do the wine pairing if you do not drink alcohol. They have a non-alcoholic drink pairings. There were numerous virgin cocktails and fruit drinks. It was a bit overwhelming. The best one was the Calamansi which we were all familiar with as it originated in the Philippines.

We were all very happy and stuffed after this feast. It would have been nice to be able to move to another room to relax and maybe even take a nap. I always thought this to be a great idea because who wants to get in a car and drive after all that?

Providence is not the type of restaurant you would go every week unless you have unlimited funds or you just received your tax refund but definitely for a special occasion. They are located at 5955 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles.

Valentino

Last weekend, I took a friend to Valentino's in Santa Monica. I had a voucher which I got from Groupon. For $149 (dinner for 2), you would get your choice of an antipasti, primi, secondi and of course, dolce. I have been to Valentino's numerous times in the past and have not had a bad meal yet. Service is always very good. My guest was appreciative of the dinner invitation that he insisted on ordering the wine. We enjoyed a bottle of Barolo by  Michele Chiarlo.

My guest and I ordered the same antipasti which was Polpo Alla Griglia E Fregola Al Nero; translated is Grilled Octopus with Squid Ink Fregula. Fregula is a type of pasta from Sandinia. We both loved the texture and it was just a lovely dish. Before that, they served an assortment of bread and an amuse bouche of Mozzarella with tomatoes and a fried or baked croquette.

Primi was a no-brainer. We both had the Lasagne with Duck Ragu and Porcini Mushroom. We both loved the lasagne. The noodles were nice and thin served aldente and just plain wonderful.

For our secondi, my friend had the Veal Piccata with capers and lemon. I had a bite of that and loved it. I thought I would eat healthy (after the lasagne) so I decided on the Branzino Alla Livornese, grilled with capers, olives and tomatoes. Believe it or not, I enjoyed that fish.

Dessert was the Chef's selection. It was a Budino alla Vaniglia e Cantucci Crocante. This dessert was quite impressive. It looked like a fried egg. I can't remember what the yolk was made out of; probably a fruity mousse like maybe apricot? Whatever it was, it was very good with the different textures. We thoroughly enjoyed it. That was my fruit for the day!

I have to thank Frederick (the great)  our server, for being so attentive and entertaining. I had forgotten to take a picture of the Budino that Frederick offered to go to the kitchen and take one for me. It was nice to see Piero Selvaggio on our way out. Signor Selvaggio, I salute you once more.

dineLA Terrine

Unfortunately, I could not have dinner every night during the 2 weeks of dineLA. I tried to get as much as I could in the 2 weeks in January 2016. One solution was to try the lunch menu.

Gary, Sandi and I decided to try Terrine. For $20, it was almost a no-brainer. The menu looked good. My only regret was the Foie Gras Terrine was not listed. I was tempted to order it for $22 but Gary talked me out of it. The idea of us going to 2 course meal was to only pay the $20.00.  Keep in mind that valet is $8.00 plus tip.

Gary and I had the Lobster Bisque which was delicious but was served warm, borderline cold. We did not bother to send it back since we didn't want to wait as service was on the slow side. Sandi had the Salade of Frisee which included a poached egg. She raved about the dressing. It looked to healthy for me. Gary ordered the Crispy Chicken Sandwich which he seemed to enjoy as all I could hear him say was " Um...ummm...um."  Sandi and split the Truffled Grilled Cheese with caramelized shallots and the Terrine Burger with truffle butter aioli and tomatoes. We were both very happy with our sandwiches.

I must mention that $20 seems cheap and affordable for lunch, but by the time you add drinks, in this case, diet coke was $4.00 and aside from the sales tax, they add a 3% Healthy L.A. What you may ask is a Healthy L.A? It's helping the owners provide health insurance to their employees. I didn't want to spoil the lunch by getting into it so we just paid it. In the meantime, I got a chance to call Terrine later to ask about it. Their response was:  "It is an optional charge."  I asked the lady on the phone that if indeed it was optional, why were we not asked? They are counting on having a "conversation" with the customers, so if they don't like the idea then they would have the option of not paying it. She further told me that if they had it on the menu, people would not see it. Yeah......who are they kidding....(us); they just figured they could get away with it. Very sneaky.

I just decided I can live without the Foie Gras Terrine.

dineLA Lawry's

So sorry if you're sick of me talking about Lawry's. We just could not pass on the $49 dinner deal which included the Famous Spinning Bowl Salad, California Cut of Roasted Prime Ribs of Beef with mashed potatoes and Yorkshire Pudding with Broiled Nova Scotia Lobster Tail.

We celebrated Piero's birthday there 2 nights ago. He too never gets tired of Lawry's. We made it a point to get there before our reservation so we could enjoy a couple of meatballs, though Piero thought he needed more than a couple. Their homemade potato chips are almost the best and I say almost because it lacks salt. This time I remembered to pack some in a tiny ziplock and happily sprinkled some on my chips.

I thought we would start with an order of Shrimp Cocktail which I have had in the past. It was nice and plump. We enjoyed them with lemon and cocktail sauce. We loved our server, Miss Sargent. Before she tossed our salad, she whispered something to Piero and before we knew what was going on, he was standing by the spinning salad ready to do the honors. In all my years of coming to Lawry's I was never asked to do it. It was a very nice touch which made the birthday boy feel special.

After the good sourdough bread, shrimp cocktail and the salad, we were ready for the main event. The prime rib was a good portion. We were asked if we wanted any sides. Creamed corn is always a must no matter what. We were not aware that this was not included in the menu; just so you know, it was $7.00 extra. It was not a problem because I would have ordered it anyway though it would have been nice if it was included. The Lobster tail was downright heavenly. Again I am amazed how they cook this to perfection. Sure it's only a few bites but with all that butter, that's all you need.

The dinner was delicious and filling.  Before we ordered our desserts which was included in the dinner menu, Miss Sargent and her team brought out an English Trifle for Piero which is always light and refreshing. Piero ordered the Chocolate Fantasy Creme which was a mousse with white chocolate shavings on top and whipped cream.  Sandi and I opted for the Apple a la Mode with sea salt caramel.  Sandi didn't care much for pie. What do you expect from someone who bakes delicious pies and bread pudding all the time. I liked that the apples were not mushy; it had a bit of a crunch to it and went well with the ice cream. The sea salt caramel was hardly there. I think next time I will have to ask for a little cup of caramel.

After almost finishing a bottle of wine between 2 people since one can't drink red wine, all 3 of us felt like we needed to be loaded up on a wheelbarrow as we were unable to move. Well, Sandi did have some left overs so technically she could have pushed the wheelbarrow with me and Piero in it.  I am happy to report that so far, dinner at Lawry's has never been a disappointment.

Thomas' Maple French Toast English Muffin

A week ago I bought Thomas' Multi-grain English Muffin. It was too healthy for me. When I toasted it, it got very hard. I didn't care for it at all. So, as soon as I finished that batch, I went back to the market intending to buy the regular sourdough which is always good.

On the shelf of Ralph's market was a "Limited Edition" Maple French Toast. It sounded good and I thought to myself: "It can't be worse than the multi-grain." I also thought it might be good with cream cheese if it's already sweet.

The following morning, I experimented. I toasted both and applied cream cheese and the last of my raspberry jam from good old L'Amande Bakery, and on the other one, butter and jam. Both were very good. In as much as I love butter, the cream cheese won! It balanced the sweetness of the muffin. The raspberry jam was not that sweet so it complemented the cream cheese.

Since this is a limited edition, I plan to go back and buy a bunch to freeze for future enjoyment.

Virgie's Mango Tart

My mother sent my brother and I a box of Virgie's Mango Tart from the Philippines through the kindness of Ramon. I was so excited to get a whole box since I love mango tarts. I opened the box and found a dozen individually wrapped tarts. My first thought was, in the future it would be practical to empty the box into a ziplock to save a lot of space in a suitcase. Oh well, it was not my problem as I was just the recipient.

I unwrapped one and had a bite. My teeth could not release my bite from the tart as I bit harder and pulled it away from my mouth. It was hard and dry. I took another bite hoping to taste a burst of the mango filling just like the picture on the box of mango oozing out. Nothing oozed out. In fact, the dried up mango looked petrified. It didn't even taste like the dried mango you could get at the market. The tart tasted old and brittle. It was so bad I had to spit it out; something I rarely do!

I gave it the benefit of the doubt that maybe this was just one tart. I opened another one and yet another and they were all hard and brittle. I looked at the date and it was marked 05-20-16. I called my brother and to be fair, he did tell me that his batch was good.

If this was purchased in the United States, there would be no issue on returns or refunds. This was purchased in the Philippines so my mother will go back to the store she bought this from and tell them my story; perhaps even have them read this blog.  It will be interesting to see if they will give her another box or offer to refund her money.   I know if I were Virgie, I would try to make things right, that is if there really is a Virgie.