Bistro Provence

345 North Pass Avenue
Burbank, California 91505

Situated in a strip mall amid a Vons, a Starbucks and a Jenny Craig is a little slice of Aix-en-Provence. Edith Piaf playing in the background, warm honey colored walls with paintings of jazz musicians and comfortable booths comprised the warm, upscale yet unassuming venue.

The real star, though, is the food. Or maybe the prices. For under $30 per person, Bistro Provence serves up a three-course prix fixe menu including an appetizer, an entree and a dessert.

We each ordered a prix fixe meal, naturally. I ordered the mushroom ravioli with shrimp and scallops, the salmon with truffle mashed potatoes with rock shrimp and the lemon curd. The mushroom ravioli was very good, savory and rich, with the seafood providing a nice textural counterpart to the pasta. The Salmon was perfectly prepared, moist with a crispy skin -- but the potatoes were amazing. I am not a big fan of mashed potatoes but I'm a sucker for truffles and I loved the truffley potatoes with teeny shrimp. The lemon curd was light and fluffy and toasted on top like a toasted marshmallow. Very different and delicious.

My fiance ordered a tuna tartar appetizer, beef bourginon and the chocolate raspberry torte. The tuna was wonderful, sashimi grade and buttery, with a peppery sear. The beef dish was alarmingly tender in a rich, very French bourginon sauce.

My brother got the Manchega and apple salad -- a fresh, nutty taste combination -- to start, then the twice-cooked pork, which was beyond succulent, practically falling apart on the fork it was so well-cooked. It was served with a sort of sauerkraut cabbage on the side, lending a Germanic flair. He finished with a creme brulee which was perfectly tasty but nothing special.

My dad ordered the highlight of the night, in my opinion -- the beet tarte tatin. The beet was sweet and juicy in it's thin little crust, topped with a dollop of tangy goat cheese. Absolutely great, very unique.

Overall, a great find -- a sweet, cosy, reasonably-priced gem right off the 134 with amazing French food. We'll definitely go back.

Ciudad

445 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, California 90071

Church & State Bistro

The outdoor patio at Church & State Bistro
1850 Industrial Street, Downtown Los Angeles

In an otherwise industrial area of downtown LA is Church and State Bistro, flanked by the Nabisco Biscuit Company loft apartments, an Irish pub and a high end convenience store.

At Church & State we enjoyed fresh raw oysters and epicurean bone marrow, homey macaroni and cheese and classic highballs from the innovative bartender. The drinks were really something special -- the bartender, Michel, made us drinks based on our spirit of choice, and my fiance and I experienced whiskey and tequila in new ways.


The bacon and egg salad -- a poached egg atop crisp greens, liberally salted and peppered with bacon. Delightful.


The charming, al fresco-esque interior of Church and State.


The escargots en brioche -- wonderfully light puff pastry over buttery snails. Definitely a highlight.

Definitely worth a leisurely meal before a night at the theater or the symphony.

Providence

me: heh

yum

9:23 AM we went to Providence for dinner last night

classy joint, 2 michelin stars

it was sooo good

9:24 AM Sara: what did you get?

9:26 AM me: we all did the nine course tasting menu

me, dad, kyle and chuck

it was ridiculous

9:27 AM first was the amuse bouche (so food network) -- a tiny cup of curried carrot soup, a little gin and tonic flavored jelly thing, and a little jell-o "ravioli" with a mojito shot inside (which was INSANE)

9:28 AM next was kampachi sashimi which was nom, i love kampachi anyway and this stuff was the shit, it had the consistency of butter.

then an oyster soup which was all foamy and reminiscent of waves on the shore (as kyle pointed out poetically)

very good, very savory and salty.

9:29 AM then a seared scallop with shaved truffle

which i think was my favorite of the night. it was just perfect

then a sea bass, which was super buttery and rich -- kyle's favorite of the night

9:30 AM then arctic chard, which was sort of like a richer salmon, with like caviar and shit, it was good, but we were totally losing steam by then

THEN FUCKING VEAL

likke five ounces of veal

when we were already stuffed

but it was so good we all ate every little bite

then cheese -- they brought by this cart and we just pointed at what we wanted.

i don't even remember what we got, i was totally slipping into a food coma

9:31 AM then a palate cleanser little gelee thingy

then dessert

which was this really light custard with lychee gelato and shaved chocolate and coconut on top

it was really light which was necessary by then

9:32 AM SO FUCKING GOOD

You have to save up and go sometime.

i am not kidding, you would fucking LOVE it.

9:34 AM Sara: yeah that sounds so good

i have not had a fancy dinner in awhile

me: it was almost ridiculously excessive, but it was for a special occasion so we were all wutevs, let's eat!

9:36 AM Sara: you B-day?

your

me: y

9:37 AM Sara: that is a special occasion!

9:38 AM you are as old as me now

me: yes dear.

27

jeebus

what happened to our youth?

9:39 AM Sara: it is flying by...

SiLa

2630 Hyperion Avenue @ Griffith Park Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

SiLa Bistro is a Silverlake newcomer we found in the Zagat Guide. It calls itself a "Cal-American" restaurant and prides itself on preparing foods locally grown and serving local wines. Carrying the eco-conscious theme, SiLa is located in a tiny strip mall next to a "green" drycleaner and you'll want to carpool, as parking is tight, even on a Wednesday evening.

SiLa is a small, one-room joint with a patio and a well-stocked wine bar. We were one of only three tables that night, and the servers were attentive and helpful, guiding us through the menu which featured nouveau takes on comfort classics.

For starters, we had the SiLa tart, as recommended by our server, the Bistro salad and tortilla soup. The SiLa tart was the standout, a sort of flatbread, pizza-like bruschetta with fresh greens on top. Italian comfort food with a salad on top.

I ordered the Absinthe Shrimp for my entree. The flavor was unusual but quite good. The absinthe imparted the barest hint of licorice onto the shrimp; otherwise it was a basic, well-prepared shrimp in a light cream sauce. My fiance was not quite as taken with his country fried steak - a native Midwesterner, he holds fried food up to very high standards.

SiLa was a great place to kick off our SPAM project. Small and neighborhoody, it is exactly the sort of place we were hoping to support. For those in the Silverlake area, I can heartily recommend the good food, good service, reasonable prices and relaxed, warm atmosphere of SiLa.

What is SPAM?

For purposes of this blog, SPAM is not meat in a can. SPAM is the name of a supper club consisting of myself, my dad, my brother and my fiance.

The mission of SPAM is to support the local restaurant industry in a time when many are tightening their purse strings and to experience new restaurants in Los Angeles.

This blog is the record and chronicle of our SPAM meetings, including reviews, impressions and anecdotes of the restaurants.