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Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: 8-Course Dessert Tasting at Providence in Los Angeles

Published

on February 28, 2010

. 24 Comments

By nature and nurture, I’m not a very excessive person. My television is cable-less, I drive a Camry, and my idea of a good time involves dinner and conversation, rather than booze and booty. Okay, maybe a little booty. [Wink, wink.] However, I have my weaknesses. When it comes to sweets, I throw restraint out the window and go buck wild. I’m not just talking about an extra slice of pie or an additional scoop of gelato; when I need a serious sugar fix, the town gets painted red. Thus, it’s no surprise that I’ve long had my eye on the dessert tasting menu at Providence.

Orchestrated by Chef Adrian Vasquez, the eight-course dessert extravaganza ($50) is a feast for the senses. The two-hour symphony of delights features daring flavors, gorgeous plating, and unparalleled creativity. While an octet of sweets might seem like too much of a good thing, diners leave perfectly satisfied under the pastry chef’s brilliant care.

Thanks to the Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 program, I was able to treat The Astronomer, my mama, and my lovely friend Esme to Providence’s dessert tasting this past Saturday evening. While everyone around us was digging into salt-roasted prawns and sea urchin in fresh eggs, we took a stroll through the entire dessert menu. From beginning to end, we were oohing and ahhing with contentment.

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Course I: “Cocktails”

The parade of desserts began with a trio of “cocktails”—mojito, gin and tonic, and greyhound. The mojito and greyhound were held together by the thinnest of membranes. One slip of the tongue and the orbs burst in our mouths. The gin and tonic was taken with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. It was cold, jellied, and potent.

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Course II: Kalamansi Gelee

Next, Chef Vasquez sent out a kalamansi gelee floating in a soup of white chocolate and coconut milk with tiny tapioca balls. The fruity gelee was topped with a quenelle of litchi-shiso sorbet and coconut crumbles. Every refreshing spoonful captured the tropical flavors of Southeast Asia.

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Course III: Mandarin-Rose Sorbet

The mandarin-rose sorbet was accented with a miniature pistachio macaron, airy fluffs of yogurt cake, cardamom, and a disc of orange gelee. The yogurt cake’s sour notes were so pronounced that I swore I was eating a carton of plain yogurt.

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Course IV: Apples in Butterscotch

After three courses featuring citrus fruits, a plate of apples in butterscotch arrived next. The tender slices of fruit were beautifully caramelized and rested atop a cashew cake along with poached north star cherries. A quenelle of miso ice cream provided a delicious contrast to the sweet and warm fruits. This course highlighted the chef’s ability to juxtapose unlikely ingredients deftly.

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Course V: Caramel Pudding

The sticky sweet layer of caramel married luxuriously with the smooth pudding. I loved how the flavors teetered between sweet and slightly burnt. The caramel popcorn provided a crunchy contrast, while the dried apricots cut some of the pudding’s richness. Both accouterments were well chosen, but a part of me yearned for a sprinkling of sea salt, just like Pizzeria Mozza’s butterscotch budino.

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Course VI: Milk Chocolate Ganache

While the centerpiece of this creation was meant to be the chocolate ganache, it was the banana-passion fruit ice cream, cayenne marshmallow, and peanut butter that captured my attention. It seemed to me that this dessert was inspired by classic childhood sandwiches—peanut butter and banana, as well as the Fluffernutter. A little whimsy always makes for a fun sweet.

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Course VII: Dark Chocolate Mousse

Candied kumquats and ginger, along with a scoop of goma (sesame seed) ice cream were just the thing to brighten up this traditional chocolate mousse.

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Course VIII: Affogato

The final course was an affogato. A shot of hot espresso was poured over the canelé-flavored ice cream tableside.

The espresso’s bitterness was tempered by the ice cream’s double punch of richness and sweetness. The layer of hazelnut streusel beneath the ice cream was an awesome surprise.

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Finally, we were treated to a plate of mignardises—banana caramels, white chocolate snowballs with coconut flakes, and barley gelees.

Thank you to Foodbuzz for making this avalanche of desserts possible!

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Providence
5955 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: 323-460-4170

LA Street Food Fest

Published

Gastronomer

on February 15, 2010

in Banh Mi, Brazilian, Cha Gio, Food Event, Japanese, Los Angeles, Meals on Wheels, Mexican, Nem Nuong, Street Food and Vietnamese

. 21 Comments

Even though I was warned by the Twitterverse of hour-long lines and have experienced firsthand the utter chaos of large-scale food events (See: Grilled Cheese Invitational and Great American Food and Music Fest), missing out on the first annual LA Street Food Fest was completely out of the question—I live for meals on wheels!

I am not alone in my passion for street eats. Fifteen-thousand Angelenos descended upon LA Center Studios in downtown this past Saturday to stuff their pie holes with Brazilian acaraje, Japanese hot dogs, Mexican huarache, and so much more. The thirty-five trucks at the festival were armed and mostly ready to feed the masses. Even though lines seemed to snake on forever, nearly all of the vendors managed to bring enough food to last the entire day. Those who endured the lengthy waits were rewarded for their efforts.

Hands-down the most popular truck of the day was Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s pop-up fried chicken mobile. In true Ludo Bites fashion, Krissy ran the front of the “house,” while Ludo and his brigade churned out fresh bites in the back. Hungry folks hankering for a piece of LFC waited upwards of two hours for a taste.

Luckily, we were able to finagle a piece from our friend Mattatouille, who was helping out on the truck. Cutting in line is admittedly bad form, but Ludo’s fried chicken elicits bad behavior. The fried chicken was comprised of various pieces of boneless dark meat held together by a crisp batter. The meat was juicy as heck, while the crust was superbly seasoned. The side of sweet and spicy piquillos sauce was a nice touch—everyone loves to dip their nuggets.

The Astronomer took one for the team and waited forty-five minutes at the Phamish truck (@eatphamish), which specializes in Vietnamese home cooking. While my boy was diligently waiting in line, I met up with my pals Sook and Sarah, and we kicked it with Jonathan Gold. Woot woot! We talked about good food, Pasadena, and good food in Pasadena (not!).

When The Astronomer finally arrived on the scene, we dug into one very mushy cha gio, one sad nem nuong skewer, and two stale banh mi sandwiches. All of the food tasted like it was made the day before and with indifference. Mr. Gold quipped that the nem nuong had a Kibbles ‘n Bits-like quality to it. Hilarious. I’d like to give Phamish another go when the crowds have simmered down.

Next, we moved onto Dogzilla’s Japanese-style hot dogs.

Served on lightly toasted King’s Hawaiian Bread, the spicy sausage was topped with bacon, avocado, caramelized onions, furikake, Japanese mayo, and teriyaki sauce. The wiener was interesting, well-balanced, and quite tasty.

Following wiener time, we met up with my friend Bill for Brazilian street food at Sabor da Bahia. I indulged in a warm acaraje, a traditional Bahian street food made of black eyed peas fried in dendê (palm) oil. The fritters were served with a hotter than hot malagueta pepper sauce. We also shared some coxinha de galinha, drumstick-shaped bites filled with savory shredded chicken and cream cheese.

Our last stop of the day was at Antojitos de la Abuelita, a cart specializing in Mexico City-style street food.

Mr. Gold procured a huge spread for our group to share. It included huarache with cecina (dried beef); clayuda (Mexican “pizza”) with chorizo, tasajo (thinly sliced and seared beef), and cecina; mole verde (green) with chicken; pambazo (Mexican “French dip” in chile guajillo sauce filled with potatoes and chorizo); and Oaxacan mole.

I love this city. Check out the complete set of photos via Flickr.

Eat My Blog: Doing Good Never Tasted So Delicious

Published

Gastronomer

on December 6, 2009

in Charity, Food Event and Los Angeles

. 26 Comments

I am thrilled to report that the first ever Eat My Blog charity bake sale was a tremendous success! The event was scheduled from 10 AM to 4 PM, but due to the wonderful turnout, we were largely sold out by 1 PM. When all was said and done, the Los Angeles food blogging community sold 1,500 treats and raised over $3,000 for the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank! Hip, hip, hooray!

Here’s now the fabulous day played out:

The Eat My Blog planning committee (Laurie, Diana, Anjali, and me), along with our chief supporter The Astronomer, arrived at Zeke’s Smokehouse two hours before game time. Before the crowds rolled in, we did what needed to be done—platters were dolled up with cute wrapping paper, donated boxes were assembled, and each treat was given a hand-crafted name tag and price.

Bakers dropped off their wares late Friday night at committee members’ homes and Saturday morning at Zeke’s. As the boxes of goodies were piled atop one another and the room began to smell of sugary sweetness, it finally hit me that after months of planning, Eat My Blog was becoming a reality.

About an hour before showtime, we started to lay out the irresistible spread. Thirty-six square feet of surface area wasn’t enough to display all of the wonderful creations we received. The extras were stashed underneath the tables; we replenished each platter as supplies ran low.

From bacon-wrapped bread sticks to butterscotch budino, the diversity, quality, and uniqueness of the treats on hand was phenomenal. Each participating blogger put a lot of heart, soul, and time into crafting a delight that would please the eye and rock the taste buds.

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf served coffee and hot chocolate at the event, with all proceeds donated to the Foodbank. Kim of Ravenous Couple and H.C. of L.A. and O.C. Foodventures lent a hand to Ingrid, the barista on duty, throughout the day.

The hours between 10 and 12:30 were a blur. The mad rush of customers and rapid disappearance of sweets and savories was nothing short of exhilarating. Before we knew it, every single item was sold, even the box of sub sandwiches that Jersey Mike’s randomly donated at the eleventh hour.

The Eat My Blog committee would like to extend heartfelt thank yous to the Los Angeles food blogging community (a full list of participating bloggers here), Zeke’s Smokehouse, JS2 Communications, Los Angeles Times, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Challenge Dairy (the official butter sponsor of Eat My Blog), Kiss My Bundt, Vanilla Bake Shop, Susina Bakery, Joan’s on Third, 20th Century Fox, and last but certainly not least, everyone who came out to the bake sale and bought a treat or ten—we couldn’t have done it without you all. Check out the complete set of photos via Flickr.

Eat My Blog. Summer 2010. Get ready.

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Not a Los Angeles resident? Bring Eat My Blog to your city! Shoot me an email at cathy37 [at] gmail [dot] com if you’re interested in replicating this event in your town.