ftfy
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Reminds me of a favorite scene in “This is Spinal Tap”
Marty DiBergi : The review you had on Shark Sandwich, which was merely a two-word review, it just said, “Shit Sandwich.” Um…
David St. Hubbins : Where’d they print that? Where’d they print that?
Nigel Tufnel : That’s not real is it?
Derek Smalls : You can’t print that!
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they should have started at a higher price point immediately as opposed to the scaled approach being done within 2 months of opening. But after a bit, no one will really remember.
I was just looking around at other restaurants and saw Providence is at $310, N/naka is at $310, Melisse $295, every high end sushi restaurant seems to be approaching $300. Had no clue we’ve hit that point.
Yeah, prices have definitely gone up and possibly restaurants are just focusing on the high-end. We now live in the Pasadena area and hadn’t ventured out into the main part of LA (besides DTLA) for a higher-end meal since before the pandemic, but recall that Somni was $235 and Dialogue was $200 back in the day.
In any case, Manzke looks like a good value given all the expensive ingredients, but somehow the meal doesn’t look that “fun” like the aforementioned Somni and Dialogue (though Dialogue was my least favorite flavor wise).
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Some 350++
Man I miss Somni. Even if a certain dish wasn’t a home-run taste-wise (which was rarely the case there), you could be sure that it was at least fun and thoughtful… Somni was just a great place to enjoy a special dining experience, for newbies and returning customers alike.
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I was just at Providence on Tuesday and it was $275 a person
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This comment makes me even more sad that we got our March rezzies cancelled due to Covid, hopefully I’ll be able to try the next iteration.
Sorry I was just doing crappy math adding in the $40 wagyu supplement on the final savory course.
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And it even includes unlimited bread!
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This rant may get split off into a separate discussion, though it pertains to Manzke, Providence, Shunji’s (and the other omakase-only Japanoese), Somni (RIP) et al
Tasting menu/prix-fix/omakase used to be AN OPTION but now it’s all these places do.
I have been to some of the best places in France and was offered the tasting menu, as well as the a la carte menu. Now you get only the TM option. A meal @ Providence used to be so customizable, but not anymore. I guess the a la carte option is a loss leader.
It must be really boring for the cooks and chefs to be doing the same thing - with a few tweaks - night-after-night, for each and every diner.
I am sure it makes a huge amount of sense – from the restaurateurs POV – to have only a one-size-fits-all, assembly line output as far as their costs, procurement and supply chain but as a diner, I find it a depressing evolution.
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And where are the mignardises, eh?
Impression?
Can you still order ala carte for lunch on Friday?
where? Providence? I think you can order some limited bar food ALC at the bar for dinner. I have never been for lunch.
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Yes looks like they stopped Friday lunch post Covid.
But pre Covid they had a discounted reduced course Friday lunch tasting menu and you could supplement a la carte items.
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I went to a Friday business lunch at Providence pre covid and there was both a tasting menu and a la carte option, I don’t remember the exact price for the TM lunch, but it was less than dinner. We all got the TM and the wine pairings as well. It was a really nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Friday afternoon. Hopefully they’ll bring it back if/once covid goes away.
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I don’t want a TM + ALC supplements.
I want to order only the dishes that I want to eat.
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Well you could order ala carte without the tasting menu. So if providence ever offers lunch again in its previous iteration you could.
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The California restaurants with three Michelin stars are all tasting-menu only, as are most of those with two.
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