Central Provisions
Hemingway Daiquiri
Bread and Butter – Farm Egg, Green Garlic Butter, Lemon
Mini Raised Donuts – Strawberry Chamomile Jam, Powdered Sugar
Masa Hush Puppies – Jalapeno, Scallion, Agave Butter
Burrata Cheese – Arugula Pesto, Apricot, Honey, Crispy Pork
Brandade Croquettes – Preserved Lemon and Garlic Aioli
Chilled Strawberry Soup – Mascarpone, Pomegranate, Angelica
Cinnamon Roll – Cream Cheese Icing, Sea Salt
Skillet Cornbread – Egg, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese
Foie Gras Parfait – Custard, Raspberry Jam
Said by some to be the hippest spot in the city, everything from signage and upscale comfort food menu to the Motown Soundtrack and reclaimed wood indicating the rumors to be true, it was only after a 70-minute wait that seats were offered at walk-in only Central Provisions, the service generally more pleasant than the dismissive sort offered at similar spots in larger cities while the cuisine was pretty much exemplary across the board.
No doubt a popular spot for Millennials, our table bringing the average age up by a couple years simply by default of all being born before the Nirvana released Bleach, it was with menus in hand that an ordering strategy was pondered, the typical description of a “small plates concept” suggesting that 2-3 items per person were recommended with everything to be sent out “as it was made by the kitchen.”
Opting to taste a cocktail in addition to water poured in glasses that most can easily swallow in one gulp, prices at Central Provisions trend far lower than one might expect given portion sizes as well as the ingredients included, the meal starting off with Bread and Butter that is worth paying for as the housemade sourdough shines beneath a spread of whipped eggs mixed with green garlic and lemon.
True to their word regarding service, sweets and savories arriving temperature appropriate with no particular pattern, Mini Doughnuts dusted in powdered sugar proved to be the meal’s weakest selection while the housemade Burrata shined beneath a sweet drizzle of honey and apricots with bitter greens and pork cracklins added as a well thought out foil.
Happy to see Hush Puppies and Cod Croquettes on the menu, both lightly fried and full of flavor with their respective sauces or butters, a big surprise was presented by a cold soup that tasted like an upscale Strawberry Julius with Mascarpone and Pomagranate contributing to the balance.
Again falling short in sweets, the Cinnamon Roll just fine, but nothing more, two more showstoppers arrived in the meal’s waning moments, the Foie Gras parfait eating like a pot de crème infused with the unmistakable sapor of liver while the Cornbread with an egg baked inside was by itself a destination sort of dish with bits of bacon adding sharp pockets of salinity to the supple crumb sitting in cast-iron with a rim of caramelized cheese.
www.central-provisions.com
