Providence..., The Drinks Edition

It took a while, but I finally got around to writing up the second part of a two-part post on Providence Restaurant in Los Angeles. The first part, which can be read here, focused on the food, the decor and the service of the restaurant. This post focuses on the cocktails and wine list.

Cocktails
You wouldn't necessarily think it, but the bar at Providence Restaurant in Los Angeles is a great place to get a drink. Vincenzo Marianella, who has been the head barman since Providence's opening in 2005 put together a list of both innovative house cocktails and perfectly recreated cocktail classics. Using quality spirits, fresh qsueezed juices, house made mixers and perfect technique, Marianella produces some of the best cocktails in Los Angeles, which is why I was disappointed to read in the LA Times a few months ago that Marianella has left Providence to head up the bar at Cedd Moses' new private club downtown. Now only those folks who can afford the $5000 membership fee at the Doheny will be able to enjoy a drink made from Marianella's hand.

All is not lost, however, Marianella, who has started his own consulting company called MyMixology, has apparently passed the Providence torch to a trusted confidant. He has also left behind the recipes for his award winning original cocktails, like the Rhode Island Red, one of the drinks we had that night. The Rhode Island Red, is a mix of 100% agave tequila, Chambord, lemon juice, agave nectar, orange bitters, fresh raspberries and a splash of ginger beer. You can find the exact recipe on Marianella's MyMixology website.

Coupled with the "original cocktails" listed on Providence's menu is a list of bar classics like the Manhattan and the Sazerac, the latter of which I had that night. The Sazerac is an absolute classic and one of my favorite drinks. It is something I order all the time and this one at Providence was very well made.

After our drinks, we settled into the market menu discussed in the earlier post. Putting our trust in both the Chef and the Sommelier, Drew Langley, we decided to drop the extra $45 per person for the wine pairings.

White Wines
The first dish was raw big eye tuna served with a blood orange vinaigrette. It was paired with a 2006 Encostas do Lima Vinho Verde. Encostas do Lima is located near the town of Ponte do Lima in Northwest Portugal. This is a fresh fresh, crisp, white that has a touch of spritz in its mouthfeel. The wine is comprised of two varieties: 80% Loureiro and 20% Trajadura. It was a nice start to the meal with a low alcohol content, about 9.5%. It appears to be readily available and retails for about $10.

The second dish was seared scallops with tahitian squash, mushrooms and a sauce made from late harvest gewurztraminer. It was served with a 2005 Girlam Aime Gerurztraminer. This is an Italian wine from the Alto-Adige. It was golden-yellow color, aromatic and fairly full-bodied for this varietal. It was pretty dry and matched nicely with the sweetness of the scallops and the squash. Another nice pick by Langley that retails for about $20.

Our third course featured a razor clam and parsley risotto with preserved Meyer lemon. This dish was matched with the 2005 Foley Chardonnay from the Santa Rills Hills AVA. First thing first, this wine was not overpowered by oak. That isn't to say there wasn't any oak, just that the full flavor of the fruit was able to shine through. The citrus flavors and crisp acidity paired nicely with the rich risotto. The wine retails for about $30 and has a 14.6% ABV. It is a nice example of a Central Coast chardonnay.

The next course showcased Chatham cod with artichokes, basil and spring onions. Artichokes are notoriously difficult to pair with wine. Chokes contain cynarin, a type of organic acid that produces an undesired sweet taste in wines that do not normally possess a sweet component. One of our favorite Riesling specialists, Dee Vine Wines on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, notes that "extremely dry, acidic white wines are not affected so adversely in pairings with artichoke preparations." They add that "a suppressed or hidden fruit quality in the wine may be enhanced, actually improving the overall structure." With this in mind, we were happy to see that the listed pairing was a 2005 Charles Hours Jurançon Sec. It had "dry" right there in the name. It turns out that this wine from Southwestern France is a combination of the gros manseng and petit courbu varietals. It was almost too acidic at first, but I don't think the artichokes got in the way of the flavor. A tough pick for the sommelier that turned out ok. It retails for about $23.

Red Wines
The fifth course, and the last fish course, was slow cooked arctic char with mushrooms, bacon, roasted cauliflower and a cinnamon foam. It was paired with our second Alto Adige wine of the night, a 2006 Pinot Nero from J. Hofstätter. It was a nice light wine that tasted of cherry and paired very well with the smoky flavor of the bacon and the rich fatty flavor of the Icelandic char. One of our favorite pairings of the night. It retails for about $23.

The next course was a tenderloin of veal with truffle and roasted salsify. It was paired with a 2006 Montirius Côtes du Rhône. Jancis Robinson, a wine writer, notes that Domaine Montirius is "a large, biodynamic domaine in the garrigue-covered hills of the south of the Vacqueyras appellation." If my memory of the night serves me right, this wine is 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah. It actually smelled of the same truffles that were served in the dish and matched well with the veal. It is a full-bodied wine with with a nice velvety texture. It retails for around $30.

With the cheese course came Allegrini's 2004 Palazzo della Torre IGT. This wine is comprised of 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, and 5% Sangiovese. Interestingly, the winery employs a unique variation of the ripasso technique for its Palazzo della Torre and is an annual favorite of Robert Parket. The traditional ripasso method calls for the wine to undergo a second fermentation on the skins that are leftover from the vinification. The estate believes that this method leads to oxidized wines. Instead Allegrini dries a portion of the grapes for a few months (around 30%), ferments them separately and then adds that fermentation to the larger portion of the wine. That night our pour tasted big and jammy, loaded with fruit. It was perfect with the strong cheeses and dried fruits that came with the course. Hard to believe that this wine retails for as little as $20. A great value.

The final course, a hedgehog mushroom and chocolate ice cream, was paired with Taylor Fladgate's 20 year old tawny port, which retails around $50. Although it sounds like I may just be copying the critics, I think Taylor makes the best readily available tawny ports. The first time I bought my own bottle of the 20yo Tawny was back in law school and I enjoyed every drop. It is rich and sweet with a wonderfully long finish. The dark fruit flavors of this bottling paired perfectly with the earthy chocolate dessert. Add to that the joy of receiving a complementary second pour because were one of the last few tables in the restaurant that night and there was just enough left in the bottle. A great way to end the meal.

I have to say that Drew Langley did a very nice job matching Chef Cimarusti's creations with some unusual and unknown wines, varietals and appellations. It is always safe to please the customer by picking "known" entities, but Langley showed that wasn't always necessary. There were also some nice retail values among his choices; wines that appear to be readily available in the stores. The $45 per person fee for the wine tasting was well worth it. We could not have found a $90 bottle of wine on the list that could have possibly matched all nine courses.