I know we were just at Ad Hoc 11 days before, but I made our New Year’s Eve reservations way before they put grilled short ribs on the menu the same day we were going to The French Laundry. And I certainly wasn’t going to turn down a special end-of-2009 dinner of Prime Ribeye and Maine Lobster with Truffle Butter.

Prime Ribeye and Maine Lobster with Truffle Butter

I’ve had ribeyes at Ad Hoc before, but this was the first time Ad Hoc was allowed to serve the calotte (ribeye cap) alongside the ribeye. Normally, the calotte is trimmed from the rib roasts and sent up the road to The French Laundry where they serve it like this:

The French Laundry’s Calotte de Beouf Grillée (12.08.08)

You know how prime rib has that ring of meat on the outside that tastes way better than the middle? That’s the calotte. If you’re a real fan of beef, you already know that the calotte is considered the best part of the cow because it’s tender and loaded with flavor, and chefs have been known to save the calotte for themselves.

Ad Hoc Blowtorch Prime Rib

Here’s the ribeye broken into separate components.

Anatomy of a ribeye, from left: rib bone, the eye, and the calotte.
Picture from Ideasinfood.com.

Everything at Ad Hoc is served family style, but they portioned each platter so that everyone at the table got two pieces of calotte, two pieces of ribeye, a whole lobster tail and a whole lobster claw. It was served with steamed broccolini and Carolina red rice with black eyed peas. I don’t mean to besmirch the meltingly tender lobster—the whole claw fell out of its shell when it was picked up—the perfect medium-rare ribeye, or the accompaniments, but really…this meal was all about the calotte. It was especially gratifying to find out that the calotte and lobster tail were separate courses on The French Laundry tasting menu that evening, as well.

A full plate of food to close out 2009.

Normally, you can ask for seconds at Ad Hoc and they’ll oblige, but not on this night. It wasn’t a problem because my wife gave me some of her calotte because she was getting full and saving herself for dessert. The Chocolate Bombe was a dark chocolate hazelnut mousse served with caramel sauce and hazelnut brittle, a lovely way to end 2009.

The Chocolate Bombe was the bo— nevermind… ;)

Here’s pics of the rest of the meal:

And here’s Cibo Matto’s – Know Your Chicken on YouTube to ring in 2010!

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The thing I love most about Ad Hoc is that you never eat the same meal twice, and this was no exception. I’ve noticed from looking at the menus that they’re coming up with some really interesting first courses that deviate from the traditional soup or salad paradigm.

As I was getting out of my car, I ran into Nessim, one of Ad Hoc’s lead servers, and he asked me if I wanted to meet Claire Clark, the former French Laundry pastry chef who’s spending time at Ad Hoc making desserts before going back to the U.K. This was an unexpected treat since we were there specifically to try her dessert course. I also reconnected with Chef de Cuisine Dave Cruz, and he was kind enough to send over an additional course to our table in between the first and second courses.

The crab cakes were outstanding. They were fresh and free of any flour “filler”—just crab with seasoned panko to hold it together. It was served with some nice fingerlings in remoulade and some avocados cooked sous vide, which made them even creamier.

The lamb was local and less gamey than the Colorado lambs that Ad Hoc sometimes gets, which I liked. It was served with fennel gratin and Borlotti bean ragout that the entire staff was raving about, and it easily outshined the lamb although it was a tad salty for me. My wife, who loves salty foods, had no complaints.

The cheese course featured toasted almonds, cheese from three different animals (goat, sheep, and cow) and was served with a really nice bitter orange jam.

The red velvet cupcakes were smaller than a typical Ad Hoc dessert, but when they’re this pretty, does it really matter? Technically, this was a great cupcake. It was dense (by design), and the texture reminded me of pound cake . The white chocolate and cream cheese frosting had just the right amount of sweetness and the Valrhona chocolate pearls added some crunch to it. However, I’m coming to the realization that I just don’t like red velvet cake. I think my eyes see red cake and expect something bold, but the flavor is always much more subdued.

Or maybe I just don’t get it and that means there’s more red velvet cake in the world for the rest of you. :)

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My parents’ wedding anniversary is two days after Christmas, and in the last few years, we’ve started taking them to restaurants that normally aren’t on their radar. Last year, we took them to Osteria Mozza, and this year, after reading my French Laundry post, my mom said she wanted to experience something like that. Granted, it’s impossible to find something comparable to The French Laundry in Southern California, but L.A. is no slouch when it comes to great restaurants. I ended up choosing Providence because of its seafood-centric menu and more affordable five-course tasting option, but two Michelin stars didn’t hurt either.

Two Michelin Stars in Los Angeles.

My first exposure to Providence and Chef Michael Cimarusti was on the second season of After Hours with Daniel Boulud, the MOJO HD show where Boulud throws after hours dinners at prominent restaurants. Season two was set in LA, and admittedly, it was hard to keep track of which one-word restaurant was which. As I rewatched the episode on Hulu.com, I instantly remembered Providence while watching the episode where a lobster attacks a piece of Kobe beef. You can watch the episode in its entirety at Hulu.com.

One of the first things we noticed about the tasting menu was that the dessert course featured a kalamansi gelée. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’ll know that kalamansi is the citrus of choice in the Philippines, especially in one of my favorite dishes, bistek tagalog. My parents were especially excited to see this versatile Filipino citrus featured in a fine-dining setting. For us, it was the second time in a month we’ve seen Filipino ingredients on a high-end tasting menu. (The first was the Ilocano salt and Pili nuts at The French Laundry.) So while the rest of the tasting menu looked fabulous on paper, we already had our eyes on dessert.

We started with an inventive amuse bouche trio.

Amuse Bouche Trio
From left: Gin and Tonic Gelée with Lime Zest and Tonic Powder, Mojito Raviolo,
Celery Root Soup and Black Truffle Syrup

The Gin and Tonic Gelée had a little tonic powder on it that started fizzing once you squeezed the juice from a lime wedge on top so that when you put it in your mouth, it replicated the carbonation of the tonic water, while the gelée supplied the gin. The best way to describe the Mojito Raviolo is that it’s a mojito shot in a bubble. When you put it in your mouth, it bursts with all the flavor of a good mojito. The third amuse was a mug-shaped shot glass filled with celery root soup on top of black truffle syrup. Since the soup was lighter than the syrup, it took up the top half of the mug. You drink this like you would a shot of liquor so that the soup and syrup combine into a tasty mix of temperatures and viscosity.

Before we got to the tasting menu, we ordered another appetizer, just because it sounded good.

Fatty Big Eye Tuna and Santa Barbara Sea Urchin
Soy Créme Fraîche, Crispy Soba, Mache, Black Truffle.

The Fatty Big Eye Tuna and Santa Barbara Sea Urchin was served with soy créme fraîche, crispy soba, mache, black truffle. This dish sounded interesting because of the contrast in textures between the tuna and sea urchin, as well as the addition of the crispy soba. It was delicious.

The first course of the tasting was Japanese Kanpachi with Satsuma tangerines, black olives and Piquillo Peppers. The combination of all the little elements of this dish were excellent together, but the Satsumas were especially impressive on their own.

Japanese Kanpachi
Satsuma Tangerines, Black Olives and Piquillo Peppers.

Nancy’s Day Boat Scallops were perfect and served with a subtle truffle vinaigrette, Juilet tomatoes, and frisée.

Nancy’s Day Boat Scallops
Truffle Vinaigrette, Juilet Tomatoes, Frisée

The Norwegian halibut was the last fish course in the tasting menu and another perfect dish. It was served with fried burdock, which my wife wasn’t a fan of because it’s too woody, but I thought it was pretty good. The lemon butter sauce and shiso foam were great complements to the halibut.

Halibut
Burdock, Shiso, Lemon

My parents and wife enjoyed their Veal Tenderloins served with chanterelle mushrooms, Weiser Farmers torpedo onion, celery root purée.

Tenderloin of Veal
Chanterelle Mushrooms, Weiser Farmers Torpedo Onion, Celery Root Purée

Earlier in the evening, our waiter told me about the $50 Kobe ribeye supplement for the tasting menu, and I jumped at the opportunity. It was served tableside by Providence owner and General Manager Donato Poto.

Kobe ribeye prepared tableside.

The Kobe ribeye was cooked medium rare, had a nice salty crust and literally melted in my mouth. I liked the pieces of veal I got to try, but was even happier that I did upgraded to the Kobe. Plus, I got to share it with the table, so everyone got to try it. It was served with porcini mushrooms, pomme fondante, and spring onions…

Japanese Wagyu Rib-Eye (Kagoshima, Japan)
Porcini Mushrooms, Pomme Fondante, Spring Onions

…and a really nice bacon parmesan risotto.

Providence is also the home of cutting-edge desserts, and pastry chef Adrian Vasquez is one of the best in the business. In fact, you can go to Providence strictly for their dessert tasting menu, which we are planning on trying on a future visit. The kalamansi gelée was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The kalamansi flavor was instantly recognizable and the texture was a perfect complement to the litchi-shiso sorbet and the tapioca balls in the white chocolate coconut soy milk soup.

Kalamansi Gelée
White Chocolate Coconut Soy Milk Soup, Litchi-Shiso Sorbet

Our tasting service had ended, but the kalamansi gelée was so good that my wife and I looked at each other and knew we wanted to try some more desserts. She ordered the pumpkin “pie” and I ordered the “cheesecake.” Both of these desserts were “deconstructed” and while they tasted really good, the platings were a bit fussy.

Pumpkin “Pie”
Curry Ice Cream, Pecan Streusel

The beignets in the “cheesecake” were really good.

“Cheesecake”
Passion Fruit, Guava Sorbet, Beignets.

Providence is regarded as one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles, and it’s hard to argue with that assertion. My parents had a good time, and my mom was glad to have had the experience. It’s definitely a place I want to return, but I think our next visit will be for the dessert tasting menu. If you’re looking for a world-class restaurant with fresh, modern cuisine, Providence should be at or near the top of your list.

INFORMATION
Providence
5955 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038 map
323.460.4170
Web site

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Trader Joe’s is one of our favorite places to buy groceries. We’re big fans of their frozen foods, especially their pizza, but we’ve never really explored the wonders of their flash-frozen seafood until now. Sous vide lends itself well to cooking seafood, and from what I’ve been reading, fish prepared sous vide is soft, tender and flaky.

The Seasoned Wild Turbot Fillets caught my eye because they were already seasoned, and I figured I could just drop the bag in the water and be done with it.

I heated up the water bath 113F/45C and cooked the fish for around 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, we took the fish out of the bag, reserving the juice. The fish is very fragile and soft, so be careful when moving it around. In a lightly buttered pan, sear the fish for about 30 seconds a side. Remove the fish from the pan and pour the juice from the bag into the pan to make a sauce. After cooking down the sauce a bit, spoon it on the fish and you’re done.

Here’s mine served with steamed rice and wilted spinach.

The texture was just what I wanted—soft, tender, and flaky, and the impromptu pan sauce was a nice touch.

NOTES

• 113F/45C is considered below “food safe” but if you’re serving the fish immediately and not storing it for later use, it should be fine. Also, pan searing before serving should also make the fish “safer.” Cooking it right in the bag that it came in also minimizes possible contamination.
• You don’t have to use much butter…just coat the pan lightly.
• Because the cooking time is so short, you could easily do this in a pot over the stove. Just make sure you can regulate the water temperature for 20 minutes or so.

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I know this is old, but I had to post it. All I can really say is that I love Photoshop!

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