Providence Lunch, Los Angeles (August 2008)

Before heading back to school, my mother, brother, and I decided to enjoy a Michelin-star restaurant in Los Angeles that served lunch. Providence met that criteria.

After placing our À la carte order, an amuse bouche of trout tartare and fennel soup with saffron cream arrived.



I ordered the tuna tartare with guacamole and radishes and green peppercorns, while my mom and brother went with the foie gras. Creamy avocado coupled with creamy tuna made for an incredible combination.

Since Providence is known primarily as a seafood restaurant, we all chose fish: basil crusted wild halibut with tomato compote, clam tempura, and roasted baby artichokes, wild king salmon with parsnip purée, king trumpets, crispy salmon skin and wasabi, and wild striped bass with roasted sweet peppers, chorizo, olive mashed potatoes, and cipollini onions. Everything was delicious, save for one peccadillo when an unpalatably large garlic slice - large enough to impair one's palate - surfaced in the tomato compote.

Dessert more than compensated for the aforementioned blunder. Innovative and chemistry laden, the milk chocolate-whisky panna cotta with Bailey's ice cream, and a coconut raviolo brought the meal to a cheerful close.