Providence

Well, we're married! And the hubbub has finally died down enough that I have time to post. Unfortunately, we don't really have any wedding photos in yet, and we definitely don't have any wedding food photos in yet. So you'll have to wait with bated breath for those. However, I do have some delicious pre-wedding photos in the meantime.

I wasn't interested in a traditional bachelorette party, but N and S were sweet enough to humor me with the tasting menu at Providence, possibly my #1 destination in Los Angeles--after a girls' nails day with my closest high school lady friends. I have to say, I enjoyed it a lot more than I would have enjoyed a Coyote Ugly style evening. By the week before, the stress was really getting to me. Providence was the perfect calm-me-down dinner.

We started with a gin and tonic gelee. So interesting! It had a texture similar to that of a very soft Turkish Delight.

"Mojito." This was just like the mojito ball I had at Cafe Atlantico's Minibar in DC, but I have to say Minibar's was better because the filling was fizzy and more minty. Still, I'm not going to put down an explosion of mojito flavor when I get it! This was delicious.

Fennel and saffron soup. This was possibly everyone's favorite, and by far the most unusual tasting dish of the evening. The clear orange layer is intensely tangy, and the top layer is simultaneously creamy and fennel-infused. It's a very creative marriage of contrasting flavors and textures, all in a shot glass.

Tuna tartare, wrapped with a thin slice of hearts of palm. My only quibble: too small! They gave us a huge plate of buttered toasted brioche for this, and we gobbled down the tuna in no time. Classic flavors, very well done.

Lobster "ravioli" with daikon as the skins. Very much like what I had at L'Atelier du Robuchon in Manhattan. Man, I'm starting to sound like an insufferable snob.

Er, fish? I don't remember what it was. Bad Pei. Obviously I'm not enough of an insufferable snob.

Seared scallop with mushrooms and tiny cubes of butternut squash. I love scallops, and this was nicely prepared, so no complaints there.

Veal sous vide with herbed mashed potatoes. I know people go to Providence for well-prepared, though not earth-shatteringly innovative, seafood. However, this was my favorite dish of the night. Meltingly tender veal, prepared sous vide. Maybe it was because this was my first time eating anything sous vide, or maybe it was beacause I was ready for some meat after all that seafood. Or, maybe, it was just that good.

I swear the menu said trout with orange mousse, but it looked and tasted like wild salmon to me. By this time I was pretty tipsy and full.

But no matter how full, this girl always makes room for cheese. This is probably the best cheese plate I've had in a restaurant. We seemed so excited by the selection that our server piled it all on: dried fruits, nuts, fruit paste, cheese, yum yum yum. And I'd never heard of any of the cheeses (or maybe I was just that tipsy), which is saying a lot 'cus I'm kind of a cheese head.

Pre-dessert dessert: fennel sorbet. If I ever decide to to tackle something we ate that evening, it'll probably be fennel sorbet. So airy and crisp, barely sweet and very palate cleansing, the perfect bridge between savory and sweet courses.

Real dessert! A sort of ice cream cobbler, with a knot of poached pear and chocolate sauce. A light and refreshing end to an amazingly long and fulfilling meal.

Post-dessert dessert. Truffles, super salty (in a good way) caramels, and fruit gelee. We hardly had room for all of them, but we made it work. Thanks, girls! I couldn't have asked for anything more. Really!