Sweetheart Deal

Providence’s night of happy endings

Comments (0) By Jonathan Gold Wednesday, Feb 21 2007

...continued from page 1

Next comes a banana capsule, which is to say the half-frozen flesh of the fruit shaped into a thumb-size cylinder. To one side of the capsule is a small football of smooth, barely cold chocolate sorbet that threatens to collapse into a rich, brown puddle; to the other, a spoonful of golden “caviar,” a sweet, cinnamon-infused syrup fashioned into tiny orbs that pop in the mouth like salmon roe. The dish, as such, doesn’t really exist until the act of eating begins, when your spoon cuts into the capsule and a smooth, almondy caramel oozes out, the tart, slippery, crunchy passion-fruit seeds at the base begin to meld with the chocolate, the cinnamon explodes in little firework bursts, and the postmodern barbecue smokiness of the roasted cacao nibs buried in the ice cream spreads over the dish like warm liquid: spectacular.

The last course, an almost meaty chocolate cream served under a basil-flavored marshmallow bent to look like a midcentury-modern chaise and flanked by a smear of lemon curd, is structured so much like a Providence entrée that you start wondering what might be for dessert. I would have contemplated a plate of Cimarusti’s spot prawns if I wasn’t ?so happy, half-drunk on Banyuls and Coteaux du Layon, ?and full.

Dessert storm: The final course, chocolate cream served under a basil-flavored marshmallow (Photos by Anne Fishbein)

Adrian Vasquez, pastry architect

Location Info

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Providence

5955 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Category: Restaurant > Modern American

Region: Hollywood

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Providence, 5955 Melrose Ave., L.A., (323) 460-4170. Open for lunch Fri. noon–2:30 p.m. and dinner Mon.–Fri. 6–10 p.m., Sat. 5:30–10 p.m., Sun. 5:30–9 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking. AE, MC, V. Dessert tasting $20 for three courses, $30 with wine pairing; $30 for full tasting, $50 with wine pairing.