Dear Mr.Gold:

Every time I drive past the old Famous Amos building on Sunset in Hollywood, I get nostalgic. As a kid in the mid-1970s I thought Famous Amos were the best cookies I had ever had: the balance of crispiness and molten chocolate, the slightly burned taste of butter and roasted pecans and vanilla lingering on the tongue after the bite was over. I also remember the little bag costing about $5 in 1976, which I guess now might cost around $20. If Providence is the best restaurant in L.A.’s history, is the best chocolate-chip cookie still sucking in the ’70s?

—Michael DeNoya, Los Angeles

Dear Mr. DeNoya:

Is Providence the best restaurant in L.A. history? I still have a sentimental attachment to Spago circa 1983 and L’Ermitage during its heyday, if not Ginza Sushiko in its original space near Wilshire and Western, Joachim Splichal’s short-lived Max au Triangle or the transcendent, evanescent Deli World Cafe in Monterey Park. Oh, and Trumps. But it could be the nostalgia talking. As for the chocolate-chip cookie — I remember Famous Amos. Those things were like crack. But you’ve got to try the version at Square One up in East Hollywood, which is essentially a thin, edible wafer surrounding a single enormous, gooey chocolate chip. It will blow your mind. 854 Fountain Ave., Hlywd.; (323) 661-1109.

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