I've been meaning to try providence for the past year or so, when I started succeding in justifying to myself the price a poor medical resident can pay for food. Almost all the reviews I've read had been positive. Being a seafood lover and a tasting menu lover, this seemed to be the perfect place close by to try. Finally came the perfect occasion - bf's bday and I'm too lazy to think of a gift -> default = food. Coincidentally when I called for reservation, I found out the restaurant was also having its 2 year anniversary celebration and offered a special - their current tasting menus at the 2006 price (which came out to be about $15-20 bucks off each person). I was thrilled, knowing that the feeling of getting a "deal" can only make the food taste even better!

Upon entry, there is a small bar area to the right, a main dining room to the left, housing about 10 tables or so, and a small extension dining room beyond that, which seemed to be sort of semi open air to the outdoors? All I knew was it was that week where it was 90+ degrees out. When we took our seats at that outdoors addition, I immediately requested to be moved indoors. Though this part was connected to the main dining room, the AC was very weak and it was uncomfortably warm. Thankfully the waiter was gracious enough to move our table indoors. But even so, seemed that the main dining room had to spare its AC to the addition area, and throughout the night we still had moments of being uncomfortably warm, and I had to ask the staff to turn up the AC several times. The dining space was definitely not ideal due to the heat. But I told myself, hey if i'm down for going hole in the wall for good food, this should be worth it.....

We went with another couple, and the girls got the 5 course tasting with wine pairing, while the boys got the 9 course tasting. I'll briefly go through all the dishes.

Amuse - these were little delicate ravioli like things filled with each vodka and mojito, clever and tasty. To the right is a mixture of fennel foam/saffron shooter, i thought this was sooo cute in a little beer mug like presentation, though the saffron flavor a bit overpowering.

First course - Kanpachi with red shiso granite, salted plum ice, and olive oil. If I could pick one category of food to eat every day for a month straight, it would be sushi. So I was looking forward to this dish. However, as I dug into it, I was disappointed to find out it looked much better than it actually tasted. I had a problem mainly with the fish quality. The fish was very lean/ firm instead of melt in ur mouth, and lacked the natural sweetness of yellowtail that I oh so love. If this was sashimi a la carte it would not fly at all. The accompanying components of plum shaved ice, chili sauce, etc were fresh and light on the palate. I would only give this dish 6/10

Point judith calamari olio, oligo, pepperconio - this was again, to my surprise, quite average. The calamari was quite tender but the pieces were so small that it lucked the rich plump texture i looked for.

Live hand schucked sea scallop with roasted asparagus, almond milk, and pedro jimenez sherry - Finally a good tasting dish! The scallop was perfectly seasoned and cooked. The drops of almond milk and sherry gave good contrasting sauce and brings out the sweatness of the scallop.

Monkfish with summer squash, meyer lemon, and chive blossoms - The monkfish was tender yet not overcooked or saugy, had an enjoyable texture. The fish had good flavor, prolly one of the better monkfish dishes i've had. The summer squash was very tasty and I could have prolly ate a whole plate of it.

Wild king salmon with shimeji mushrooms, radish, applewood smoked bacon, cinnamon and mitsuba - This dish sounded REALLY good on the menu. When I tried it though, it lacked the bold tastes I was looking forward to. All the ingredients are harmonious and mild but did not produce any lasting impressions on me. However, it was enjoyable and well executed in technique.

Tenderloin of veal with brentwood sweet corn, porcini, confit tomatoe, spring onions - Now when I came to providence I came FOR the seafood. I love seafood and was expecting to be wowed by seafood. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this dish! The tenderloin could not have been more perfectly prepared - nice and crisp on the outside and pink/tender in the middle. The meat was very clean in texture. The confit tomatoe added tartness and balanced with the delicious sweatness of corn..... it was heavenly. When we ate this dish, my dining companions all said ... " nowwwww we are talking"

Assortment of cheeses, dried dates, candied walnut, apple jam - Though two of us opted for the 5 course which did not include this dish, the portion was big enough that all 4 of us were able to enjoy it.

persian cucumber and orange flower sorbet - if i was a cucumber fan, i could really love this. I am not. But I still found this palate cleanser creative and quite unique/refreshing.

Dessert - Blackberry jello/sorbet and corn tortilla ice cream - The blackberry jello/sorbet was pretty standard, but corn tortilla ice cream?? this was like something I would see on iron chef! I was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted, though it was still weird to me to taste corn tortilla in this form. Definitely high marks for creativity.

Overall, providence though was a good meal, fell under my expectations. First, I was not wowed by the seafood dishes... I wish more lux ingredients were used... maybe if we had gotten the more pricy chef's menu? I wanted to see lobster, sea urchin, high quality sashimi, more shell fish, etc. And it was strange that the most impressive dish was the veal dish. Again, from other foodie's blogs seemed like their dishes were great. I was expecting a 10, but found it to be more like a 7.5. Mmmm either that or my tongue has become too spoiled =p I think I would probably go back to give it one more chance sometime.

providence

5955 Melrose Ave, LA, CA 90038

323 460 4170

omg im the ultimate foodblog slacker. Not that im too lazy to eat... i mean... never! ... but im so behind on blogging my gluttinous advantures! Lately I've the chance to visit many new places, and definitely slowly creeping up in the price range. Hey I guess sometimes you just have to spend a little to see what hype is about. I've had some great, some somewhat disappointing meals.

I'll start with Sushi Gen. I've been to this place multiple times but just had little chance to write about it. We usually sit at sushi bar, and I feel a bit dorky taking pics of sushi. I mean, afterall, sushi pretty much all look the same. This place is one of my favs with good sushi that does not require me to travel into the maze of westLA traffic. Price is not cheap ( unless you get the combo meals), but sushi is definitely fresh.

The restaurant is divided into two parts, the sushi bar and tables. They have amazing deals on combo dinner/lunch, but only allowed for those sitting at the table. The place is very modest in size and decor is simple. Actually just looks like a regular neighborhood sushi joint, except with a crazy mob of people waiting outside.  I tried the sashimi dinner combo once- the deal was great for what you get. The bento plate was quite a color feast to the eyes....there was tuna, semi-toro ( fattier but kind of got stringy tendons in between), yellowtail(kind of watery not the best), shredded crab, spicy tuna( very good here), tamago, surf clam, salmon, etc. It was around 30ish, and is more than enough for one person. The fish quality is in general better than most japanese places' combos, but not comparable by any means to sushi bar. Most people who wait in line at sushi Gen are actually there for the tables where they can get the combo. I can see why. However, though this was good deal I don't think I would get it again. I'd rather pay 30 dollars more for perfection =)

On this particular visit, we sat at the sushi bar. The chef was polite and efficient. The notables include this live scallop sashimi - so sweet. I think i can eat 5 of those giant scallops by myself. The chef cut out the single giant scallop from its shell, slices it into thing pieces of sashimi. Tiny drops of lemon juice really brings out the delicate sweetness in the scallop. I thought about how satisfying it may be to just eat that giant scallop on its own instead of sliced.

Not pictured, other notables include

yellowtail - good, but if u want fattier part u need to order belly... they dont just sneak in a little fattier slice for you.

Uni - according to the chef this was Santa Barbara uni.O-M-G. It's been a while I had uni THAT good. Pure sweetness.... with only hint of ocean flavor. I think I have a perpetual love affair with uni... i constantly crave good uni, perhaps bc the flavor is so unique that no other food group has a similar offering. Chef also told us uni is mostly a winter catch, and it's harder to get good uni in the market during the summer.

Japanese snapper - topped with tiny pinch of yuzu chili, the flavor combination was great. I was never a snapper fan bc it's usually tougher and not very flavorful at most places. But this one was tender and juicy.

We also had other more standard sushis....mackarel, tuna, tamago, sweet shrimp, etc. What impressed me so much is how PERFECT they make their sushi price. Barely warm, just enough vinegear, perfect balance of sweet and sour. That component made the sushi so much more enjoyable. A dinner for two there without alcohol came out to about $120. But we did have quite a bit of sushi, and many pricier picks. Overall I'm swooned and can not wait to go back. A place like this makes me feel that I can eat sushi literally EVERYday. Hey guys, if ur high maintnance girlfriend loves sushi... take her here! It's the perfect place to remind a girl that ...sometime simple down to earth things can be... amazing=)

Tip - go early! especially if u want to eat at the table. On wkns people start lining up at 5:30!

Suhsi Gen

422 E 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012  (213) 617-0552

This past wkn we took a little day trip to the beautiful San Diego. La Jolla is one of our fav wkn get aways... I've always found the the cliff beach and the relaxed atmosphere very charming. One of our regular stops is George's at the Cove, for it's great ocean view and simple but good tasting lunch... it also opens til late til 4pm for lunch which was key for us. The place boasts elegant but casual Californian cusine by chef Trey Foshee. The view from either ocean terrace or the bar are both great

George's famous soup - smoked chicken/brocolli/black bean soup. This soup apparently was well liked by Oprah, featured in some magazine. It was flavorful but too salty. It reminded me of the chicken tortilla soup from Chili's, which is good but nothing special.

Niman ranch applewood smoked ham panini with gueyere cheese, fig mustard and arugula  - quite a tasty sandwich with the fig mustard unique and sweet, but it would have benefited from having more cheese component since both the ham and the fig were very sweet, i was craving a little more salty balance.

Grilled Niman ranch burger with choices of cheddar cheese and bacon - pretty ordinary but well prepared with good quality beef patty.

Grilled salmon on salad bed of arugula, white beans, roasted tomatoes, olive, fennel, radish and shallot vinegrette - the salmon was just wutever, but the combination of salad ingredients and the vinegrette harmonized well and is one of my fav salad combinations! Loved everything from the raddish to the roasted tomatoes. The shallot vinegrette was excellent.

Grilled steak sandwhich with arugula and guacamole - this was very tasty, the sliced steak was tender with smoky flavor. Hearty and satisfying.

Overall, Georges had good though not outstanding.... the amazing ocean view and atmosphere completely make up for it. (which is very rare for me, i almost never eat at restaurants for the ambience)The outdoor seating also has heaters so it's still enjoyable when the ocean breeze becomes a little chilly. All lunch dishes range from 12-16 dollars, pretty reasonable and portion size is sufficient. They also serve yummy cocktails for 10-12 each.

George's at the Cove

1250 Prospect Street
La Jolla CA 92037