Massive and Mammoth

And now for the big photo wrap up of our weekend outdoors at Mammoth mountain.I sent the snow bunnies off to ski Friday morning. I noted that the forecast called for snow to begin falling starting at 7 that night and continuing until after we left. This would be my only shot at driving around the town and seeing any sights. So I did.

These are the gayest figure skating bears I have ever seen.

The snow was not just up to the front door, it was up past the patio door. On the deck. On the second floor. (this was before another 4 feet of snow fell.)
On the right the sign reads "Road Narrows"... uh, in front of me there is a wall of snow 8 feet high. That's not narrow, that's CLOSED.

I hopped out and took a quick picture of myself in front of the frozen lake. When I grabbed my camera to see if the picture worked, the camera wouldn't display the photo and wouldn't retract the lens. I had to get back into the warm car to make it work. I was outside for maybe, uh, 5 minutes. Oh, I think I should have worn a warmer outfit as well. (But I did look good!)

There is a tunnel you can ski through down to the lake.

And then promptly at 7 pm, the snow began to fall.

Look out for angry bears!

The snow bunnies bravely went back out on Saturday. By lunch, they were down to two out of three. I rode the gondola up to the main lodge to meet Lyle and Todd for lunch. The gondola ride was better than Disneyland. It was windy and we were SWINGING!

About an hour after lunch, Todd and Lyle packed it in. Too cold. Too windy. Luckily, Todd still had lip protection.

Unfortunately, Lyle did not have bunny ear protection (from me).

You can see there was a fair bit more snow around the houses day two.

We met up with friends for Aprés ski. There will be no photos of this event.

Day three arrived and it was STILL SNOWING. Compare the next two pictures:Saturday Gondola ride.

Sunday Gondola ride.

The bear was cold and grizzly and none of my snow bunnies went up the hill.

We found the perfect accessory to go with Dan's highlighter yellow jacket.

A few final pics to seal the memories in.

There was no escaping the snow.

We even looked at getting some warmer hats!

(Oh, and if you look up at the photo header at the top, that's a panorama photo I took on Friday of the valley below.)

Providence restaurant, Los Angeles

Lyle's birthday is on Monday. In preparation for this monumental occasion, he has declared himself "King of the World" and this is now his official "Birthday weekend". So we kicked it off last night with a visit to the restaurant Providence.

Providence has consistently been ranked among the best restaurants by leading critics and Bon Appetit. Providence garnered a coveted James Beard nomination for “Best New Restaurant” in the United States, “Top 20 New Restaurants” by Esquire Magazine, and “World’s Top New Restaurants” by Travel and Leisure. Gourmet Magazine named Providence as one of the top 50 restaurants in the US. Providence was awarded two Michelin Stars in the Michelin Dining Guide for 2009.

Our chef (and the owner) last night, Michael Cimarusti, is an “Iron Chef America” Champion beating his opponent, Masaharu Morimoto, and has appeared on Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters”. He was nominated for “Best Chef: Pacific Region” by the James Beard Foundation in 2010. Recently, he was named “2010 Chef of the Year” by Angeleno Magazine.

Let's just say, expectations were high. We were also going to be seated at the "Chef's table" which is a separate table in a room off of the kitchen that has a full window into the kitchen to see what is happening throughout the evening.

We had the wine pairing with the meal. Please pardon me if the descriptions aren't as full and flowery as they could be. The night was full and blurry.

We begin with an amuse bouche. On the left, frozen mojito Jelly shot. On the right the frozen screwdriver egg.

Two more amuse bouches came out separately. I saved them to photograph together. Abalone on a stick and grilled squid on a stick with chorizo.

Santa Barbra Spot Prawn tartar in a nasturtium leaf.

Santa Barbra sea urchin on toasted brioche.

Parsley panna cotte, big eye tuna sashimi, caviar and creme fraiche topped with gold leaf.

Our view into the kitchen.

Dungeness crab, meyer lemon gelatin strips, grapefruit, pine nuts and flowering cilantro.

Scallops with season's first asparagus served over a cabbage soup.

Lobster with pea tendrils, baby peas and butter foam.

A toast to this fabulous evening! Only halfway through!

Sweet breads with a red wine rosemary reduction.

Smoked eel on top of fois gras.

Australian Wagu Beef.

The action never stops in the kitchen.

Our sommolier gets cozy with the table.

And then the cheese arrived!

Is this picture too cheesy?

For some reason, the addition of the cheese in the room made everyone get a little serious.
Very serious.
Incredibly serious.

I think we all knew there wasn't a chance of me being serious.

Our chef for the evening. We couldn't thank him enough.

And then desserts began. That's right plural, dessertS.
Lychee gelee, white chocolate coconut soy milk soup.

Panna cotte with rice puffs, and grapefruit foam.

The birthday boy.
Dark chocolate ice cream, graham cracker crumble, brandied cherries and marshmallows.

Peek a boo!

And just when you say to yourself and everyone else at the table, "I can't eat anymore! I'm stuffed!" it arrives...
Petit fours! Miso Caramel, chocolate brownie and a macaroon.

Oh, don't go just yet... we have a lovely parting gift for you,
a box of chocolates to take home.

We started our evening at 7:30 and left there at 12:30. It's been over 12 hours since we left and I am still full.