Providence in LA
OpenTable, Yelp and the Michelin Guide led us to Providence on Melrose between Rossmore and Highland. An unlikely place for a high-end restaurant but who cares? It is one of only 4 restaurants in LA with 2 Michelin stars, most reviewed LA restaurant on Yelp and Best Food winner on OpenTable. I could not move out of the LA area without going there!
I had high expectations going there. We had a 9:45pm reservation (good food is good food at any time). We had some time so we went to IKEA first. Let me just say, we have never gone through IKEA that quickly before. I was so excited and could not wait to get to the restaurant. Once we got to the restaurant, we were seated promptly in the covered patio. I was expecting some stuck up service but was pleasantly surprised by the informal but informed service. We looked through the menu quickly and decided to go for the 5-course tasting menu, and decided to splurge completely and added on the wine pairings. The 5-course menu ran us $65 per person and the wine pairings $35 per person. Considering how easy it is to run up a high bill at very mediocre chain restaurants with very mediocre cocktails, we decided this was going to be our mini vacation for the long weekend and splurged.
Let me preface the description of what we ate by saying, I did not write down what I ate so the exact names and ingredients may be off. Before our first course, we got a nice platter compliments of the chef. Who doesn’t like free stuff? Especially free stuff that tastes amazing. It consisted of two cocktails, one had a jello-like consistency and tasted lemony, and the other looked like an egg yolk but was some other cocktail and burst inside your mouth. And the third item was in a small shot glass, and it had some caviar, creme fraiche, some crushed japanese crackers and cured fish. Yum!! If this tasted so good, I couldn’t imagine what the actual 5 courses would taste like. The first course was a sashimi style fish. Lovely! It was clear that there was a Japanese influence in the cuisine. It made me want to try Urasawa next time. There were some coriander flowers on the fish that tasted delicate and fresh. It was clear that I was eating in a fine restaurant due to the attention to detail.
While this was great, it was nothing compared to the second course… hands down… best scallops I have ever eaten! Melt-in-your-mouth scallops, that did not need a knife to cut, in combination with the beautiful curry sauce it sat upon was just pure bliss! That single dish did it for me. If I could go back and ask for all 5 courses to be the same dish, this one would be it. I have never had scallops that tasted good before that in my life. When I used my fork to cut them, it felt like I was cutting butter. I scraped up every last bit and savored it as long as I could. Although they were excellent, the remaining courses could not keep up with the scallops. I had a nicely done halibut for the 3rd course, and veal tenderloin for the 4th. I really liked the veal. The dessert course consisted of blackberries stuffed with a berry puree, a tart merengue, and a lemony yogurt-like concoction.
I will end by saying, $65 per person a very small price to pay for a great dining experience in LA. I wouldn’t recommend the wine pairing for those who are not picky about wine. I am very picky so I thought the additional $35 was definitely worth it. I plan to go back and try the full tasting next time, and maybe I will take better notes as well. This was the first Michelin-rated restaurant I’d been to and I was very impressed.
