There's a monkey in my drink

Providence

Wow. There are times when I get taken away. Transported? No. I never left my seat. Glued to it. Transfixed. Well, not entirely true, but I did have a really wonderful experience. My friend Mollie texted me out of the blue yesterday to see if I wanted to have a dinner adventure. You never really know what that will entail with Mollie- Could be Ghetto tacos, or Ethiopian Gelato, or Afghani Froyo. After a brief discussion, we decided on one of the three, Two Michelin Star restos in LA, Providence. I'd never eaten there, and have been really wanting to go for a long time. Free corkage Monday nights made it a necessity. Mollie brought a Champagne Rose, and a Slutty Australian Viognier. We went with the Champagne. And I brought an '02 Meursault-Charmes "Les Dessus" from Antonin Guyon. Both of 'em, STUNNING. The Champagne was light on it's feet, but substantial, and the Meusault was an inspiration, a learning experience. The Guyon was almost restrained at first, not showing too much on the intro, even a bit coy, but then, wow did it open up on the finish, maybe one of the best White Burg finishes I've ever experienced.

Mollie and I both did the tasting menu, in fact, we did one five course menu, and one full tasting menu, which overlapped perfectly. Really have to hand it to these guys, the service was perfect from start to finish, and I have to definitely put this down as the best restaurant experience I've had in LA to date...


providence market menu

kanpachi (kagoshima, japan) *
crispy rice crackers, cilantro blossoms, soy crème fraîche
txakolina, talai berri 2008

santa barbara sea urchin
champagne beurre blanc, fines herbes
(add american caviar, $20 supplemental)
crémant de bourgogne “blanc de blancs,” domaine parigot & richard m.v.

bobby’s block island sea scallop *
japanese eggplant, rhubarb, cashews, reduction of vadouvan and jurançon
riesling kabinett, kaseler nies’chen, erben von beulwitz 2007

wild halibut (sitka, alaska) *
summer squash, black olive, dried apricot, basil
chardonnay, the pinnacles, michaud 2002

wild king salmon (skeena river, b.c.)
french breakfast radish, kumquats, asparagus
rosé “albemarle,” kluge estate 2009

marcho farms veal tenderloin (franconia, pa) *
bacon, almond, english peas, maitake mushrooms
pinot noir, sangiacomo vineyard, vergari 2007

market cheeses
welschriesling beerenauslese, rosenhof 2006

melon soup
strawberries, lime granita

yuzu curd, meringue *
blackberry sorbet, jasmine
moscato d’asti “riveto,” dante rivetti 2009

Dagueneau

As it happens with wine, there are winemakers, rockstars even, who captivate us grape juice nerds, and create followings. Such is most definitely the friggin' case with Monsieur Dagueneau, who, as rockstars will, passed before his time. Didier, was definitely a game-changer, and one who helped us otherwise occupied Americans, catch a glimpse of what the Loire Valley has to offer. I've found, and no, I won't divulge, a lovely resto in LA that is offering Dagueneau's '04 Silex, on the wine list for roughly $65. IMPOSSIBLE! You can't find it retail for under $120, and any resto that still had it should be charging $200 AT LEAST! But no, these guys have it, and yes, I've tried it there. The Wine Director, Frenchman of course, brought the bottle to the table, and checked in, to make sure we knew what we were getting, (Here's where I love the French) I can't help but think, that if we weren't familiar with Dagueneau, that he would have steered us towards a less expensive, and available, bottle. It was almost, as if, he needed to be sure, we were worthy of the cork pulling to take place. But, yes, I assured him, I was familiar with Dider, and I was most expectantly hoping, and drooling, for the opportunity. He seemed at peace, especially, when I offered him to join us in a taste of the nectar. And wow. WOW! Yeah, it's true, I get overtaken with labels sometimes, and yeah, maybe I wouldn't have jumped up and down if tasted blind, BUT, knowing what it was, asking to have it decanted, and checking out the floral nuances as it opened- EXCELLENCE! Find it if you can, But I'm going to drink the place dry before I let on!

Food Trucks

So, there are a couple of things at play here. First, there's the food truck craze that's been sweeping the Nation for the past year and a half or so, which is, admittedly, the reason for the post, right? NO, WRONG. It's not about the craze and the hype, it's about the food. Yeah, maybe there's all sorts of comradery on line, and girls in short skirts, and celebrities and whatnot...


but who really cares about that? It doesn't really get me my spicy chicken taco any faster, now does it? So anyway, there's the original Kogi truck which has a twitter feed and hour long lines, while people go chasing after it all over LA like their favorite coke dealer-


And then there's BullKogi, the impostor, or new kid on the block, depending on how you view it. The marketing behind all this is not so much genius, as it is perfectly timed, for all the bullshit hipster hype of the current Mega-Generation. I say Mega-Generation because it occurs to me, that there aren't generations lately so much as an amorphous glob of unmarried, unchilded, afterschool 20, 30, and yes, even 40 somethings, that drag around LA looking for inexpensive, cool things to do. (Not that I really have any problem with that as a plan, mind you). But so anyway, back to what was, mildly, a point, I got to try BullKogi today since I categorically refuse to track down some food truck, drive 20 minutes or more to get there and then stand on line for an hour or more. In the immortal, yet timely, words of my father, "Fuck that bullshit, leave it for the morons from Queens".
So, TA-DA, Bullkogi it is. One chicken, one beef, and one pork taco later, I have to report, a solid, "Pretty Good" I'd go back, but I wouldn't stand on any line. The Yamashiro tacos at their Thursday Evening Farm Stand though, now those I'd stand in line for...


Of Course, when it comes to food trucks I need to try, first in line is Lucky J's Chicken and Waffles. This guy's been blowing up all over the Austin scene, even making network morning TV shows. Most important, Lucky J is my High School Buddy from Brooklyn, and I still need to get one of his awesome T-Shirts...