IMG_1377, originally uploaded by sygyzy.
St.-Germain elderflower liquor and Lucid absinthe (first legal one in the States)
Monthly Archive for January, 2008
Karen and I tried to make a power foodie weekend by having secret Japanese BBQ on Saturday and Providence on Sunday. Providence is one of LA’s favorite restaurants and a one star Michelin restaurant. The chef, Michael Cimarutsi, comes from the famed Water Grill so it’s no surprise that Providence shares the same seafood-centric theme. With various changes in plans, we ended up dining on Saturday evening with Steph.
Olive Bread
Generally not a big fan of this trend in restaurants. I am fine with olives, sometimes, but not in my bread. The butter and sea salt was nice. Just be sure you use the salt in moderation.
Mojito liquid ravioli; frozen gin and tonic with sodium bicarbonate, lime zest,and powered sugar. Squeeze of lime on top to get it fizzing; greyhound (grapefruit and vodka) ravioli
I liked this amuse a lot. I felt kind of dumb bceause I was explaining the gin and toinic to Steph and Kare and when we tried it, it didn’t fix. Mine were much cooler.
Soy marshmallows with wasabi pea crumbles; goat cheese lollipop wrapped in heart of palm; fennel soup with saffron syrup
I really enjoyed he marshmallows. I have been interested in making my own but never thought about savory ones. The wasabi pea was such a cool addition and challenges my ideas of what toppings should be like. The other two were great as well. I think Steph especially liked the lollipop because she likes goat cheese.
Oyster with American caviar; superfine mirepox
I generally don’t like cooked oysters but I am starting to see their place. Everytime I’ve had it in a fine dining restaurant it has been cooked. The cavar adds a strong salty element to it and the sauce balances it out.
Soft scrambled eggs with uni and black truffle. Served with fresh brioche
One of my favorite dishes of the night. To have such simple comfort food like eggs paired with truffles and uni makes it so elegant.
Foie gras parfait; beet and cherry syrup reductions and gelee’s; fois gras powder
Lots of molecular gastronomy here but you wouldn’t know it. It was like a showcase of what they can do. I give lots of credit since these seemingly easy concotions always fail me in my kitchen lab. Foie paired with a sweet tanginess works. But it was sort of weird too.
Poached lobster; parsnip and parsnip emulsion; nicoise olive and black seaweed
Yummy. Love the foam. Don’t know much about parsnip except I need to start cooking with it now!
Chantham cod; assorted vegetables and reduction of vegetable broth; crushed rice crackers
I didn’t know that Chantham cod was special, but I guess it is. The waiter made it a point to mention where it was from. I like the simple preparation down to reducing the poaching liquid to make a sauce. The crushed rice crackers was a genius way to add texture.
Pork belly, red cabbage puree; pearchip and poached pears; microgreens
Umm pork belly. Gimme gimme. Classic dish. The one complaint I have is almost all pork belly is prepared the same way. The accompaniments are what make this dish unique and delicious.
Lamb with black truffles and carrot foam
Not a huge fan of lamb or carrots but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I just am generally not thrilled with it. I did like this dish though. Karen gave pieces of her lamb to me and Steph. Score! I tried to get her truffles but it was a no go.
Market cheeses, savory olievs, apple jam, candied walnuts, dried figs
Yummy. Loved it all, except for maybe one of the cheeses. I didn’t touch the olives either. Yuck.
Peanut butter-banana napolean, tamarind and dried chili
Very interesting use of flavors. I like the idea of using crisps to make a brownie sandwich. I like the tamarind and the spiciness of the chili.
Ruby grapefruit, litchi-pandan sorbet, coconut soup with thai flavors
Very well executed. The only thing I didn’t like is it was sort of astringent and had a weird mouthfeel. I love the Thai tropical flavors.
Warm cornice pear; spiced (chipotle) chocolate and raisin puree with corn tortilla ice cream
Mixed feelings about this. I think I’ll go towards not liking it that much. The knot was pretty cool and reminds me of WD-50’s foie knot or butter knot. I believe Wylie uses xanthan gum, kanjac, and some other hydrocolloid. I didn’t really like the flavors or texture.
Chocolate ganache, fig compote, salt and pepper ice cream
So far I’ve had garlic ice cream, olive oil ice cream. and now salt and pepper. Next, I want to try blue cheese. This dish was great, by the way.
Genmai Cha green tea
We each got a different tea. They came in heavy cast iron pots. I asked for the water to be off boiling and the waiter, who seemed so knowledgeable and proud of every other part of the meal, sort of scoffed at my request, saying he could only produce one temperature for water. Hint: You can cool water by leaving it or by pouring it into another vessel. Anyway, my tea was brewed too hot and was not that great. Karen got some really fancy tea that was $15. Wow!
Caramels, Hong Kong tea mini macaroons, hazelnut truffles
What can I say? I love macaroons and these were sweet. I think they might be too small though per Thomas Keller standards. The hazelnut truffles rocked. The caramels were greasy (I suspect they did this so it wouldn’t stick to the plastic, but it was too much) and not that good.
We thought the meal was over and Steph was talking about how she could not eat another bite and felt sick. Right then, our waiter came out and placed down new silverware. Steph’s face dropped. I, on the other hand, was excited and pumped my fist. Then the waiter realized what he was doing and apologized that he made a mistake and this was for another table. After some nagging, he agreed to bring out something extra.
Dark chocolate lollipop; pineapple, jalapeno and ginger
Overall, I am glad we went. I have been wanting to try Providence for a while. I have never dined at the Water Grill so I don’t carry any opinions to the table. I thought the meal was good but not excellent. I liked the technique and subtle use of MG. I think for the money, the Dining Room offered a better value though Providence is much less classical, which is generally a good thing.
Total for three: $720
me: man
how did juno and ellen page get nominated for best picture
you have got to be kidding me
Stephani: did u not like that movie?
me: no i liked it
but picture of the year?
and actress of the year?
you think it was that good?
Stephani: i thought it was really good, and i think comedy kind of gets a bum rap
so i’m glad it got some recognition
me: some recognition is maybe people’s choice award for comedic movie by a newcomer and former stripper
not Academy Award for Best Picture
As you can imagine, this list was quite challenging to come up with. No, not because steaks in SB are so great, it’s that they are generally mediocre or bad. So much so, that I tend to avoid ordering them altogether. Steaks used to be something special but over a decade ago the prices dropped, and now you can get steaks for under $10 at Denny’s or $2.99 along with a a side of eggs at any Vegas buffet.
Here is my list of the three worst steaks in SB.
1. Arnoldi’s – I was served this sorry excuse for beef during a company function. I thought I was sticking it to the man by ordering the steak over the chicken. I was the one who got stuck – with a piece of crap. Think about a steak that you see in the movies, when a bachelor with a hangover tosses a piece of meat from the fridge on to a skillet in his 1 bedroom apartment. You barely have an idea of how bad this was.
2. Outback Steakhouse – The one in SB is stuffy and grim. No wonder its biggest clientèle are the elderly. They serve a pretty bad steak though it is miles ahead of Arnoldi’s.
3. The Palace Grill – I hate to say this but at $30 a pop and only a 50% success rate, this has to go on the list. For an otherwise great restaurant, their steaks are consistently overcooked and dry.
Karen and I have been forging ahead on a quest for fine food. For me, it’s a relatively new experience and she has been kind enough to let me hit my picks, even if it means a place she’s already been before. This time, it was a mutual decision and we chose the Dining Room because she said it was being purchased (past tense as of this entry) and Chef Strong may no longer be there, even though he said he would be.
The simply named Dining Room is located at the Ritz in Pasadena. I’ve driven past the hotel many times and even had a small "after-party" of sorts in the bar for my birthday a few years ago. It is a Michelin 1 star restaurant, which is pretty impressive for such a young chef.
We had reservations for 6:15 and arrived closer to 6. We checked in and were told that we could wait in the bar. Karen told the lady that we’d prefer to be seated immediately and the girl replied that the tables were not ready and we could go wait in the bar. So we waited until 6:15 and walked up to the stand again. This time the Asian girl was replaced by a European lady and a man standing next to her. Karen checked in again and mentioned that nobody came to get us. The lady snapped back, "Maybe that’s because the restaurant wasn’t open yet!" We realized how untrue this was when we saw at least 6 parties seated when we entered. The restaurant opens at 6PM.
They seated us at a table for two with seats next to each other. It was in a little alcove that faced the center of the dining room. It felt kind of special. Then we realized we were next to another table with and Asian couple. Then we felt segregated. Our waitress turned out to be the Asian girl who originally spoke to us in the front. She had an assistant who was another Asian girl, who did not speak much. From the get go, we know we were in for a ride because our waitress was as green as they come.
I was prepared to spring for the tasting menu but when the menus appeared, we were faced with a new possibility – the Chef’s Blind Tasting. It was $55 more and the chef comes out to ask you for your preferences, food allergies, etc. Karen decided to go for it and when the chef came out, I looked like a duntz ordering "only" the tasting menu.
Orange curry cream puff
I didn’t take a picture of one of the first amuse bouche which was a caviar taco. I liked the cream puff because it had a nice essence of curry and orange but not a strong flavor of either.
Tuna on top of a sesame crisp with a dollop of mustard sauce
Good but what do you expect. Seared tuna is good.
Cold trout puree soup topped with caviar and pieces of trout
I wish I could come up with a fancier description. While this sounds bad, it was actually quite delicious. I am becoming a fan of cold soups.
Olive Oil Poached Baby Shrimp with Vegetable a la Greque and Bread Tuile
Worst dish of the night. Imagine the shrimp you get in a shrimp cocktail, in Vegas, at the buffet. The small vegetables were pickled in a fancy sounded French process but even with all that fluff, it did not help the dish.
Country Paté; Guinea Hen and Foie Gras, Scarbrough Farms Lettuces and Truffle Vinaigrette
This was Karen’s first course. Thankfully she let me try some (as she did for the whole meal). I am used to standard pasty pate but this was a constructed one. Really yummy. I could not help imagining it with Vietnamese food. Imagine this in a Viet sub sandwich.
John Dory; Sautéed over Fresh Potato Gnocchi, Artichoke, English Peas and Mussel Nag
This was Karen’s second course and one of her favorite’s. I don’t remember trying the fish but I had one of her gnocchi and it was the best I’ve had. If you know how gnocchi is made, imagine using as little flour as possible, barely binding it. When it hits your tongue, it separates into peas of potato. Very different texture than I am used to and an improvement.
Lightly Smoked and Sauteed Sturgeon and Caviar, Kale, Fingerling Potato Salad and Horseradish Sauce
This was my second course. It was good, especially the fingerling potato salad. I don’t remember much about the fish besides it was good.
Roasted Lobster; Toasted Vermicelli, Bok Choy, Shiitake Mushrooms with a Thai Spiced Carrot Sauce
This was Karen’s third course. I did not try much of it but it was one of my favorites. It’s just so well put together. I even like the carrot sauce even though I am not a huge fan of the root.
Liquid Polenta & Truffles; Poached Quail Egg, Serrano Ham and Shaved Truffles
Karen’s fourth dish was a hit. It was pure bliss. Just think about it. Read the ingredient list. Each of those things can stand on their own. Together, they are magic.
Roasted Prime Rib Tenderloin, Individual Onion Tart, Asparagus and Bordelaise Sauce
My main course. The onion tart was so delicious. I loved the presentation of the asparagus. The rib tenderloin was as moist as could be. The sauce was good but I’ve had similar. It was well executed, though.
Muscovy Duck Breast; Sautéed with Duck Leg Confit, Basil Potato Mousseline, Cipollini Onions, and Huckleberry Sauce
Karen’s maincourse was duck two ways. I had mixed feelings about the mousseline but the confit was great. I thought about making duck confit from the Bouchon cookbook but I don’t know where to get duck legs and duck fat. I am becoming more and more a fan of duck.
Selection of nine cheeses
Our newbie waitress had trouble remembering the literature for some of the cheese. We just smiled, appreciating her efforts. Favorite of the night was the one at 9′oclock. It was covered in mustard seed but the flavor only hinted of mustard. We asked her for the name later on but she never got back to us. I asked my local cheese shop and they never heard of it either.
Ice cream sitting on a small chocolate cake with chocolate/coffee cream
Sorry I don’t have a better description. It was simple, good, but not mind blowing. Good palette cleanser.
Chocolate and Brandied Cherry Clafouti with Mint Ice Cream
My dessert was a mixed bag. On one hand, the fresh mint ice cream was inspiring. In fact, I made it a few weeks ago but it did not turn out as good as Chef Strong’s. The chocolate cake was good but I absolutely hated the brandied cherries inside. Every time I was enjoying a piece of cake, this tart cherry crashed the party.
“Spanish Virgin”; Yogurt Olive Oil Sponge Cake, Crèma Catalana Foam,Marinated Black Berries and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Ice Cream
Karen’s dessert. Very impressive. I never had olive oil ice cream before. It was surprisingly good.
Petifores
I was impressed at how generous they were. Everything was good. I loved the mini-madelines and pate de fruits the best.
We left stuffed and satisfied. As I write this, I realize how much I enjoyed the experience here. It was slightly marred by the rude receptionist and our server’s greenness but all in all, a great restaurant. I would gladly go back but unfortunately, this might not be possible with the sale of the hotel.
Total for two: $375
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