Gluttony is a sin, a delicious delicious sin…

Our latest travels brought us to Los Angeles, also known as The City of Angels and the Entertainment Capital of the World…  I don’t know about all that, but their food was pretty good…  The first stop on our marathon of meals was at Providence, which ended up being the best meal over the entire weekend.  Too bad for the rest of the party that I dined alone on this one…

A pair of edible cocktails arrived for the first round of amuse bouche.

Mojito

• like an ICEE® in cube form – has a crushed ice crunch

• very subtle mint flavor

• no apparent alcohol presence

• barely gelatinous

rating:  3

Screwdriver

• looks like an egg yolk

• tastes like concentrated orange juice

• exterior has gelatinous texture

rating:  3

A Second round of amuse bouche arrived bringing a trio of bites…

Passion Fruit Carrot Soup

• strong passion fruit flavor

• carrot flavor not as prominent

• salty, but not overwhelmingly so

rating:  3.5

Gougeres

• creamy trout filling

• chives in filling really come through

• slightly dry exterior

rating:  3.75

Mexican Shrimp

• smells shrimpy

• veiny, chewy texture, still chewing…

• standard americanized mexican flavors

rating:  3

 

The first course arrived with Japanese Kanpachi…

tasting notes:

• delicate, light (raw) texture

• smells fresh and herby, like a garden

• cucumber adds slight crunch, which is accentuated because it’s cut into ribbons

• tapioca adds gummy texture

• enoki adds a mild/subtle crunch

• ever so slight acidity

• shiso adds a japanese essence to the dish

rating:  4.75

 

The second course arrived with Scallops, which had a peculiar pairing with beets.  Quite an inventive take on surf-and-turf, and it really works…

tasting notes:

• seared scallop smell

• perfectly cooked scallops, perfect moist texture, not rubbery

• beets add a subtle sweetness and earthiness

• almonds add unneeded, muted crunch

• upland cress adds a much-needed vegetable presence and more acceptable crunch

• nori soil adds more crunch

• well seasoned

rating:  5

 

The third course arrived with Wild Alaskan Halibut…

tasting notes:

• herby/savory aroma

• halibut is slightly undercooked and luke warm

• charred tomato and epazote pistou add a savory punch

• purple runner beans just taste like beans, adds a different texture

• flavors are excellent, but the protein was not executed properly unfortunately

rating:  3.5

 

Fourth course arrived with a tender Veal Tenderloin that was sous vide for TWO HOURS…

tasting notes:

• veal is SO TENDER

• whole dish smells like seared, savory goodness

• turnips are SO soft and tender, not crunchy at all

• sweet pea puree is slightly salty and verges on gummy, could do without

• sunflower sprouts add a needed leafy vegetable component

• mushrooms are tiny and add a moist crunch, also slightly salty

• sun-dried tomato is moist and adds intense tomato flavor

rating:  5.5

 

Dessert course was originally a chocolate option, but I switched it to the Corn Pudding offering since I don’t care for chocolate…

tasting notes:

• smells like corn

• corn pudding is moist and CORNY

• lemon verbena ice cream is sweet and herby, which I could eat all day…

• apricots are mushy and blah

• Popcorn?  Why is this Here?  It adds crunch for sure and another corn element, but the buttery popcorn flavor I could do without…

rating:  4

 

Mignardises arrived with the check…

Blackberry Macaron

• smells like cinnamon

• crisp texture

• slight blackberry flavor

rating:  4

Vanilla Caramel

• smells odd

• salty and caramelly

• soft and chewy texture

rating:  3

Thai Iced Tea Gelee

• smells and tastes lemony

• very slight crunch from the sugar coating

rating:  4.5