Ratatouille Lasagna with Celery Root Crème – Enjoying Local Produce

Most people associate the warm weather and the laid-back life style of San Diego and California in general as one of the main perks to live here. There is no doubt that before we moved to San Diego we mainly associated these attributes with California and are still enjoying them daily. But over the years we also more and more savor the sheer abundance of outstanding local produce. The climate of California allows farmers to grow many different types of produce year-round, and San Diego itself is one of the best places to live for outstanding local produce. According to the San Diego County Farm Bureau San Diego had in 2009 more than 6680(!) farms with most of them between just 1-9 acres which is more than any other county in the US. San Diego County is also the largest community of organic growers in the nation with 374 organic farms. Some of the well known farms have also gained a high reputation outside of San Diego, like Be Wise Ranch, Suzie’s Farms and most prominently Chino Farms.

Many restaurants started to use more and more local ingredients and to cook seasonally. Over the last few years this whole movement took off, and now pretty much every relevant restaurant claims to follow this locavore trend of using local and sustainable ingredients. When we cook at home we try to use fresh produce as much as possible but it’s not always easy to also use local ingredients. We often don’t have the time to go to one of the farmer’s markets which are the best option for local produce. Fortunately some of the local markets like WholeFoods started to include a section dedicated to local produce. On a recent visit the selection included fresh local produce from places like Be Wise Ranch, Sun Grown Organics, Aviara Farms, Stehly Farms, Suzie’s Farms and Sage Mountain Farms. Seeing this great variety of local produce we decided to use it in one dish– Ratatouille Lasagna with Celery Root Crème. Besides the pasta and Parmesan cheese all ingredients were local or at least came from somewhere in California.

Ratatouille Lasagna with Celery Root Crème

Cooking with local produce

Ratatouille is always a good choice to showcase outstanding fresh produce but since it is mainly used as a side dish we wanted to make it more substantial by including it into a lasagna dish. What really made this dish special was the béchamel sauce which was based on celery root. Celery root is one of these vegetables which are underappreciated and most people only know it, if at all, raw in a salad. But celery root is a versatile ingredient which is can also be used in soups, purees, casseroles or sauces. Its taste reminds of celery but has a more subtle, round flavor which stays more in the background. We served the lasagna with a salad of local heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers.

Clean celery root, peel and cut in small pieces. Steam for 15 minutes, cool and dice.



Heat butter at medium heat and cook onions for two minutes. Add flour and cook for two minutes with continuous stirring.



Slowly add milk and cream and cook for 15 minutes at medium heat.



Add diced celery root and puree with immersion blender until creamy. Season to taste with lemon juice and salt.



Cook lasagna sheets al dente, rinse with cold water and drain the pasta.



Heat oil at medium heat, add shallots and garlic and cook for two minutes. Add zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper and chili and cook for 4 minutes until vegetables start to soften. Season with salt and pepper and remove vegetables from pot.



Add diced tomatoes with juices to empty pot and thicken by cooking for 6 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and some sugar and mix with vegetables.



Coat the bottom of an oiled casserole with celery root crème, cover with a layer of lasagna sheets, add some celery root creme and add half of the vegetables.



Repeat everything starting with the second layer of lasagna sheets and finish with some celery root crème. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C/400F for 25 minutes.



Mix parmesan with lime zest and sprinkle over lasagna. Bake lasagna for 10 minutes until golden yellow.

Recipe adapted from “Essen & Trinken”

Serves 4-6

250 g (9 oz) celery root

1 small onion

2 tbsp butter

30 g (1 oz) fluor

300 ml (1.25 cups) milk

150 ml (2/3 cups) whipping cream

2 tbsp lemon juice

8 lasagna sheets

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes

300 g (11 oz) zucchini, diced

300 g (11 oz) eggplants, diced

1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, diced

2 shallots, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red chili, minced

6 stems basil, minced

4 tbsp olive oil

Sugar

30 g (1 oz) Parmesan, freshly grated

Lime zest, from 2 limes

Homemade Quark - A Staple in German Cuisine

When people ask is if there is any specific type of food that we miss from Germany by living in the States we usually tell them that we can get almost everything here in California. And even a lot more as we love the variety of different ethnic food markets and also the abundance of local fruits and vegetables. But there is one staple in German cuisine that is hard to find here, and even when found in specialty stores and now even at Whole Foods, its quality is lacking and it is sold way overpriced: a soft cheese called “Quark”.

Quark is similar to other soft cheeses such as Fromage Blanc in that it is a white, unripened cheese. It is made without rennet and can have a variety of consistencies ranging from yogurt to dry ricotta, depending on how long the curds are allowed to drain during its preparation. Similar to Fromage Blanc, plain Quark has a much lower fat content than cream cheeses. In Germany, Quark can be bought in three different varieties: Magerquark (low fat Quark) is prepared from low fat milk, Quark is made with whole milk, and Sahnequark (cream Quark) is Quark mixed with heavy cream (4 to 1 ratio). Quark is commonly used as a breakfast spread (Quark topped with jam on a fresh oven-baked roll is a breakfast classic), for baking (e.g. in doughs or cheesecakes), and in a large variety of Quark desserts, mostly with fresh fruits.

Since we have recently started to venture into cheesemaking at home, we were highly motivated to try making our first Homemade Quark.

Before you get started, one reminder about cheesemaking: make sure to sterilize all your equipment before use, we typically rinse everything with hot water.

Pour whole milk into large cooking pot equipped with a thermometer. Slowly heat milk to 32 °C (88 °F). Remove pot from cooking stove and add 1 packet of direct set buttermilk starter. Gently mix in the starter with a cooking ladle in an up and down motion. Then cover the pot and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Sterilize butter muslin in boiling water for 5 minutes, then place it into a colander on top of another pot for draining the curds.



Cut curds with a cheese knife into large cubicles, this will help with better draining.

Transfer curds into the butter-muslin lined colander. Tie ends of butter muslin into a knot and let the curds drain for 12-24 hours, depending on the desired consistency. We have found that it works very well for us if we cover the pot again and place it into a refrigerator to allow draining for 24 hours. This way we can also prepare Quark during weekdays when we are not home during the day.



After draining you can adjust the consistency of your Quark by adding back in some of the whey, or by adding some heavy cream for a creamier taste.

Transfer quark into smaller containers for storage. We have found that it will be good for at least a week. We were very happy how our first homemade Quark turned out – although the complete process takes about two days, the actual work amount is rather minimal – and we were delighted that its taste was up to par, and probably better due to its freshness, than Quark we could buy back in Germany.

Recipe adapted from “Home Cheesemaking” by Ricki Carroll

3.8 L (1 Gallon) pasteurized milk

1 packet direct-set buttermilk starter (New England Cheesemaking Supply Company)

Heavy cream

Makes about 1.2 kg (2.6 pounds) of Quark

Petrossian (Los Angeles) – Eight Course Tasting Menu or the Night we had our own private Chef

Eating a great meal in a newly found restaurant is one of the ultimate pleasures of being a foodie and in the end it is what foodies strive for. For us it is not only the restaurant visit itself we are looking for but also the search for the gems, might it be an unusual high end restaurant or a hole in the wall. There are of course many different sources for good information about all kinds of restaurants starting from professional reviews, well known web pages as Chowhound or eGullet, discussions with other foodies to the ubiquitous foodblogs. There are rarely restaurants or chefs which get only positive reviews and posts but there are a few exceptions like Ludo Lefebvre with his pop-up restaurant concept LudoBites. Most recently a more unexpected restaurant appeared to get high marks from nearly everybody – Petrossian in West Hollywood with Chef Benjamin Bailly.

Petrossian has been well known for close to a century as a great source for many high-end food specialities, and in particular caviar. The company was founded in 1920 in Paris by the Armenian brothers Melkoum and Mouchegh Petrossian, who were born on the Iranian side of the Caspian Sea but were raised in Moscow, as a way to earn some money after they had to flee from the Russian Revolution in 1917. The business idea turned out to be successful early on also thanks to a large population of Russian emigrants. But the Petrossians were also pivotal to establish caviar as a delicacy in the gastronomy world with the 1929 World Exposition in Paris as a key event. Petrossian still remains to this day one of the largest players in the world of caviar importer but has started over the years to expand their offerings of high-end products like truffles, foie gras, smoked fish, teas, and coffee. As a consequence of the Iranian revolution and the dwindling Iranian caviar imports in 1980 Petrossian established a US subsidiary in New York followed in 2001 by a boutique in Los Angeles. For a long time the company saw their restaurants more as a marketing tool to make the Petrossian brand known to the public but didn’t put too much emphasis on it. This approach recently changed in Los Angeles with the remodeling of Petrossian Paris Boutique & Café which also included hiring new Chef Benjamin Bailly.

Benjamin Baill, born in Valenciennes in northeastern France, comes with an impressive background: After graduating from cooking school in Aulnoye-Aymeries he moved to London to work at the Sheraton Park Tower before working for Alain Ducasse at Spoon at the Hotel Byblos in Saint-Tropez. He stayed for a year before starting to work in 2004 in the Robuchon restaurant empire for the next five years in increasingly responsible roles beginning as Commis de Cuisine at Restaurant Joel Robuchon in Monaco, Chef de Partie at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Paris and finally as Sous Chef at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas before moving to Los Angeles.

This combination of high reputation of Chef Bailly, excellent ingredients from Petrossian and numerous good reviews put this restaurant on top of our list and we finally contacted them to arrange some kind of tasting menu to get the best experience. After a few brief discussions we agreed that an eight course tasting menu at Petrossian would be a great way to get to know their cuisine.



Petrossian is located on a quiet part of Robinson Avenue and has more the feeling of a small café than a restaurant with several tables outside on the walkway.



The interior is kept in light colors and was nicely complemented with brightly colored flowers. We were quite surprised when we arrived on a Saturday night that besides us only one table outside was occupied which left soon after. We expected that more customers would come throughout the night but it turned out that we were the only guests that night and for the first time we had our own private chef in a way.



Cosmopolitan – Vodka, Patron Citronage, lemon twist. Hibiscus Champagne – Champagne, rhubarb syrup, hibiscus. We started the night with some cocktails. The cosmopolitan was a rather classical approach and had a nice balance between the alcohol and the lemon. Their signature hibiscus champagne had a similarly nice balance between the dryness of the champagne and the sweetness of the rhubarb syrup.



1st Course: Blinis with crème fraiche and three kind of roes (sturgeon, trout and salmon)

A great way to start a tasting menu at Petrossian with a classical presentation of tastings of different roes. Very good blinis served as the foundation for the interplay of tartness of the crème fraiche and the saltiness of the roes. It was interesting to taste the differences in saltiness and fishiness of the three different roes with trout being the mildest of the three.



2nd Course: Chilled borscht with caviar

Even though Petrossian is a French company it has due to its caviar business strong connections to Russia. And so it is no surprise to see a classical Russian dish on the menu – borscht. Chef Bailly’s variation is served chilled and much less rustic than what you would get it in Russia. It has a very smooth consistency not unlike Gazpacho with a nice earthyness from the beets and other blended vegetables. The caviar adds some saltiness and completes this light and refreshing course.



3rd Course: Cauliflower panna cotta with caviar

Another very strong dish – Nice balance between the sweetness of the panna cotta, which had a very slight cauliflower/vegetable aftertaste, and the saltiness of the caviar. The “popping” texture of the caviar also added some textural diversity.



4th Course: Steak tartare, caviar, quail egg, crostini

The ultimate “surf’n’turf” – Hand sliced hanger steak tartare topped with caviar and a fried quail egg. When we got this course we weren’t really sure if steak tartare and caviar would work together but after the first bite we were convinced. The meat and the caviar are a great match and the dish is perfected by the running yolk of the quail egg. It will be hard to ever again eat a regular steak tartare. At this point our excellent waitress mentioned that she can’t remember when Chef Bailly last time used such amounts of caviar in one tasting menu. And the caviar layer was indeed as thick as the meat layer.



5th Course: Crispy egg, cippolini onion soubise, caviar

Soubise is a bechamel based sauce but here it had more the consistency of a puree. Once you cracked the panko crusted egg the egg yolk mixed with the soubise and formed a smooth but slightly acidic foundation for the egg. And again the saltiness of the caviar really brought the dish together.



6th Course: Seared foie gras, strawberries, pistachio

A simple but successful variation on seared foie gras. Foie gras is normally accompanied by something sweet to counterbalance the richness of the foie gras. Often chefs use jams or fruit reductions which can be too sweet. Chef Bailly used instead the natural sweetness of ripe strawberries which just add the right amount of sweetness. The pistachios add some nice texture to the course.



7th Course: Halibut, lardon, english peas

Very moist fish with fresh peas which had a wonderful sweetness. The lardon was a good addition to the dish.



8th Course: Gianduja parfait, vanilla mascarpone and vanilla panna cotta, mango, pop rocks

Very rich parfait with great hazelnut flavor. The vanilla panna cotta was also excellent and very light. The pop rocks added an unusual twist.



Espresso to end the tasting menu



On the way out our waitress also gave us a small box of truffles which we later ate and they continued the high quality of everything served at Petrossian.

We had quite high expectations when we came to Petrossian and Chef Bailly easily met and exceeded them. It is impressive to see with which ease he combines often just a few ingredients and creates outstanding dishes. Especially considering that he is somehow limited by what he can use as key ingredients to reflect Petrossian’s business. We had caviar before at different restaurants but it never impressed us as a noteworthy ingredient, but the night we ate at Petrossian we started to love caviar. Just looking at the picture one could get the impression that the tasting menu was a caviar overkill but every single dish was perfectly balanced and had just the right amount of caviar.

We were first a little bit wary that being the only customers on that night would lead to a rushed and uninspired tasting menu but it became very clear from the beginning that everybody at Petrossian was just interested to provide us with the best possible experience. Therefore it is even more disappointing to see how empty Petrossian was on a Saturday night knowing that many restaurants around serve less impressive food but are packed. There is no doubt for us to return to Petrossian soon but hopefully more people will have found out that the hype around chef Benjamin Bailly is more than justified.


Petrossian Paris Boutique & Cafe
321 N Robertson Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90048-2415
(310) 271-6300

Moroccan Vegetable Ragout

Moroccan cuisine is often characterized as one of the most refined cuisines of Africa. Due its long history as an important crossroad of the Western and Oriental world, the country has over centuries created an interesting, unique style of cuisine. Starting from the rural traditions of the indigenous Berber population of Morocco to strong influences by the invading Arabs, particular the culinary culture of Baghdad, the Moroccan cuisine later got a strong Spanish influence since many Moroccan Berbers were part of the Arabic armies who invaded and occupied Spain for several centuries.

Many Moroccan dishes often use strong spices, like cumin, coriander, cinnamon but at the same time savory dishes get enhanced by the simultaneous use of sweet components as honey or fresh/dried dates, figs, raisins. This unusual but well balanced flavor combination gives many Moroccan dishes a unique signature which clearly separates this cuisine from many others.

When we were thinking of trying to emulate this characteristic flavor profile we thought that this recipe for Moroccan vegetable ragout would be a good starting point. It had all the characteristics of Moroccan cuisine such as cinnamon and cumin as well as honey and fresh orange juice as the sweet counterbalance for the spices. We also found the included vegetables, kale, sweet potatoes and chickpeas, promising as fitting ingredients for this dish. Appropriately for the Moroccan theme of the meal we served the ragout with couscous, most likely the most famous staple of the Moroccan cuisine. We opted to serve it with toasted almonds but skipped the often included raisins since we thought it would make the dish overly sweet. Overall we were pleased with the Moroccan vegetable ragout but if we would repeat this recipe we would increase the amount of spices and at the same time use less honey. Even though the dish wasn’t overly sweet we felt that the spices could have been more pronounced.

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and cook onions for about five minutes until softened.

Add cinnamon stick and cumin and cook for about one minute until spices are fragrant.

Add sweet potatoes, chickpeas and tomatoes, olives, orange juice, honey and three cups of water. Bring mixture to boil, reduce temperature and simmer covered for about 15 minutes.

Stir in the kale and continue simmering for about 10 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and kale is softened. Season with salt and pepper and serve with couscous and toasted almonds.

Recipe adapted from “Fine Cooking”

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1.5 tsp ground cumin

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (1/2-inch)

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

½ cup pitted green olives

6 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

1.5 tsp honey

1 bunch kale, coarsely chopped

Providence (Los Angeles) – Thirteen Course Chef’s Tasting Menu

As foodies we often feel the dilemma of having to decide if we want to experience something new or indulge into some tried classics. Might it be at home when we have to decide what kind of recipes we want to try for the next dish or when we have to determine which restaurant to visit next. The next restaurant visit might be relatively easy to agree on if it is for the city you live in, but it gets really tricky if it is for a city you just visit, even if that happens quite often. Over the last few years our travels to Los Angeles have become a regular habit and have provided us with many memorable dining memories. But every time before we go to LA it takes quite some time to nail down our culinary tour. It is always a struggle to find the best balance between trying new spots you heard or read about and some of our favorites. Our list of favorites includes rather newer additions to the LA dining scene as Bistro LQ or Animal, but one restaurant which we “discovered” early on and liked from the first course we experienced there is Providence.

Providence represents for us what fine dining is all about – very creative cuisine using the best possible ingredients, extensive multi-course tasting menus, impeccable execution in the kitchen, knowledgeable and good service without being stuffy, and a relaxing ambience. For us Providence is a restaurant for special occasions but we always make sure to “find” enough opportunities so that we can visit it more than once each year.

Providence was started in 2005 by executive chef/co-owner Michael Cimarusti and Donato Poto (co-owner and Maitre d’, formerly General Manger at Bastide). Chef Cimarusti experienced a career path similar to many high profile chefs. He graduated from one of the top-ranking schools (Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY) before working under many acclaimed chefs as Paul Bocuse, Gerard Boyer and Roger Vergé at Le Cirque in New York. During this time he also married his wife Cristina Echiverri, a pastry chef, and both decided to move to France and continue their culinary education by working at La Mareé and Arpège. After returning to New York Cimarusti became the opening chef of Osteria Del Circo. He then decided to move to Los Angeles to work as Chef de Cuisine at Spago before he became in 1997 executive chef of Water Grill. After seven years at Water Grill he finally opened his own restaurant – Providence. Providence became an instant success and got a James Beard nomination for “Best New Restaurant” in the US in its first year.

Providence has several different menu options – you can of course also order à la carte. They also offer a five course tasting menu, a full tasting menu, but every time we go to Providence we prefer to order the best way to fully experience this restaurant – the chef’s tasting menu. After ordering it you simply sit back, relax and wait for good things to come. It will be a long and exciting culinary trip.

Providence is located on Melrose Ave, a little but further east of Hatfield’s and both Mozza restaurants. It occupies the old Patina building and has some interesting architectural features outside using wood which makes it easily recognizable.

The restaurant has two dining rooms. This time we got our table in the main one. This room has mainly brown/beige colors and is a wide open space. Since we favor more private tables we often try to get one of the booth-like tables at one side of the room. The walls are decorated with barnacles and fit nicely to the seafood focus of the restaurant.

We also like the lights on the tables which resemble corals.

We started the night with two cocktails: Cyanide Kiss – Remy VSOP, ginger infused sake, white peach puree, licor 43, savory herb. Asian Pear Martini – Stolichnaya vanilla vodka, sake, passion fruit, monin vanilla syrup, organic pear juice. We always enjoy the cocktails at Providence which are creative and well executed. Both cocktails had a nice balance between fruitiness and alcohol. The Asian pear martini was one of the first cocktails we tried here and it is still our favorite. It’s good to know that you can also get it at Copa d’Oro, the cocktail bar of former Providence mixologist Vincenzo Marianella.

Providence has a very good bread selection with the bacon brioche as our highlight. Cute little scoop for the salt.

1st Amuse Bouche: Greyhound, Margarita

One of the well known amuse bouche of Providence and an interesting play on spherification. Both “cocktails” tasted very much like their real versions.

2nd Amuse Bouche: Squid and chorizo

Nice presentation of this simple but tasty course – very tender grilled squid and slightly salty chorizo eaten together give a good combination.

1st Course: Kanpachi, lemon, olive oil, black truffle

Firm but tender/buttery kanpachi was accompanied by cucumber, some lemon and black truffle but not overpowered. The olive oil gave it an additional fruity note and the crispy rice cracker some textural counterbalance.

2nd Course: Big eye tuna, basil seeds, pickled ginger

Relatively fatty but very tender, slightly seared tuna with a texture not unlike very good beef in steak tartar. We liked the slightly sour combination of pickled ginger and the crème fraiche based sauce. Similar to the first course, a cracker provided some textural variety. We also enjoyed the presentation of this dish in the earthen bowl and the wooden spoon. Pairing: Junmai dai ginjyo, kanchiku – we rarely drink sake but we thought it paired nicely to this course with its light rice taste at the beginning and some floral/fruity notes at the end.

3rd Course: Santa Barbara sea urchin served in a farm fresh egg, champagne beurre blanc, fines herbes, caviar

This was one of the two courses we already had in previous tasting menus but it was a welcome repeat. The sea urchin, yolk and beurre blanc were mixed to a creamy and rich mixture whereas the salty caviar helped to cut through this richness. We wished that the taste of uni could have been a bit more pronounced. Pairing: Crémant de bourgogne “blanc de blancs,” domaine parigot & richard m.v. – Champagne blend which was not too dry or sweet with some apple aroma.

4th Course : Grilled Santa Barbara spot prawn, lemon, olive oil

This course was the second dish we already had previously,but again we weren’t sad to have it again. It was prepared by Donato Poto tableside. Many dishes at Providence are often fairly complex with many ingredients but this dish shows that simplicity can be equally satisfying. The prawns are roasted in salt and rosemary and just served with olive oil and lemon. The perfect way to eat this sweet and flavorful prawns. Pairing: Sauvignon blanc new zealand, te muna road vineyard, craggy range 2008 – Appropriate acidity for the prawns with fruit at the finish.

5th Course: Unagi and abalone, daikon, dashi, scallions

Very nice combination of flavorful freshwater eel, which wasn’t overly fatty, and tender abalone. The use of dashi foam really brought this dish together and showed that foams can be used as more than a gimmick. Pairing: Chardonnay langhe, ettore germane 2009 – Typical Chardonnay with some oak taste.

6th Course: Foie gras, cherries, mizuna, fennel

Perfectly seared foie gras paired with not too sweet cherries to balance the richness of the foie gras. The addition of anise-flavored fennel and peppery mizuna gave the dish a more complex twist compared to the regular sweetness – richness pairing of foie gras dishes. Providence often likes to work with powders of some of the ingredients. In this dish foie gras and cherry powder helped to intensify the flavors. Pairing: Riesling kabinett, kaseler nies’chen, erben von beulwitz 2007 – As expected for a pairing with foie gras the wine had some sweetness with tones of apples and peaches.

7th Course: Pork belly and porcini, polenta, summer truffles, fried quail egg, miner’s lettuce

The pork belly was very tender and had an interesting texture not unlike pastrami or meat cooked sous-vide. The sauce with fresh porcini mixed together with the quail egg was a good companion for the pork. The truffle added the desired addictive flavor without overpowering the dish. Pairing: Pinot noir, maranges le croix moines, 1er cru, camille giroud 2007 – Relatively dry wine with some sour cherry flavor.

8th Course: Skeena river king salmon, hazelnuts, morels, roasted baby carrots, pea tendrils

This dish was all about the salmon and carrot flavor. Lightly seared salmon belly and roasted carrots made an unusual combination which worked nicely. The carrot flavor was boosted by the carrot sauce and carrot powder. Pairing: Pinot noir, sangiacomo vineyard, vergari 2007 – The second Pinot Noir had some acidity with spice and raspberry flavor.

9th Course: Lamb saddle, tomato compote, chorizo, cauliflower

There were a lot of things going on in this dish. Not only was this plate very colorful but also had many different flavors – slightly gamey lamb with a flavorful basil crust, sweet-sour tomato compote, saltiness from the chorizo and subtle smokiness from the roasted cauliflower – but the dish came really well together once you tried everything. Pairing: Red blend slovenia “veliko,” movia 2002 – You don’t often see wines from Slovenia on restaurant wine lists in Los Angeles. Balanced wine with notes of tobacco, leather and some berries.

10th Course: Cheese selection

Providence has a very good selection of cheese so that we covered an array of goat, sheep and cow cheeses. Unfortunately they were out of our beloved Epoisses but had at least some Muenster. The bread and condiments, figs, walnuts, apple gelee, were good but paled in comparison to our favorite cheese plate at Bistro LQ. Pairing: Welschriesling Beerenauslese, rosenhof 2006 – Unusual pairing for the cheese course with this sweet wine. Not a bad Beerenauslese but we would have preferred a more classical pairing with a red wine.

11th Course: Coconut milk-pandan soup, thai-flavored granita, mango jelly, fried banana

Desserts are always a highlight at Providence with the impressive creations of pastry chef Adrian Vasquez. The first dessert course was no exception and showcased his strength by using many different flavors which you can taste individually but that combine in your mouth to more than just its sum. The coconut milk-pandan soup with the tapioca formed the earthy base for the fruity flavors of the granita, jelly and lightly fried banana. Very strong start for the dessert part of the tasting menu.

12th Course: Dulce de leche-miso panna cotta, blueberries, passion fruit & buckwheat

The use of miso for the dulce de leche panna cotta puts this dessert to the next level and gave this dish an addictive umami flavor. The blueberries and the passion fruit lightened the creaminess of the panna cotta whereas the buckwheat added some textural counterbalance. Only disappointment was not to be able to get seconds of this dessert. Pairing: Moscato d’asti “riveto,” dante rivetti 2009 – Sweet wine with some notes of honeymelon.

13th Course: Milk chocolate mousse, raspberry ginger, hazelnut marshmellow

A great finish to the tasting menu with the light milk chocolate mousse cake and hazelnut marshmellow.

Good coffee too from LAMill which is not surprising due to the close connection between Providence and LAMill.

Petit Fours: And the night ended with some tasty treats

The moment we stepped into Providence we knew that it would again be an outstanding night. It is always a good sign if people who work in a restaurant remember you and welcome you with a handshake and you just start chatting with them. This time they didn’t even bother to give us a menu and just asked us if we wanted to have the chef’s tasting menu like the other times before. Part of the good service at Providence is that you never feel rushed and you immediately get the feeling that everybody there is interested to let you experience the best possible night without being overly stuffy or formal. This high level of enthusiasm of the front of the house is also easily recognizable in the work of the kitchen. The tasting menus are constantly evolving and a burst of creativity. The kitchen shows a good balance between focusing on the quality of the single ingredients and creating complex dishes with a talent for small details which improve the dish, e.g powders, foams, without being complex just to impress. Providence is often characterized as a seafood restaurant but we feel this description falls short to capture the restaurant. The meat dishes are in no way less impressive than the seafood preparations and show the depth and confidence of the kitchen. The desserts at Providence earn a specific mentioning as we feel that pastry chef Adrian Vasquez creates some of the best desserts we have eaten anywhere. And it is time for us to try one day his dessert tasting menu.

After an exiting and never boring five hours culinary trip we left Providence as one of the last guests and already on the way out we discussed when we will "find" the next occasion to come back soon.

Providence

5955 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038-3623
(323) 460-4170