We went to minibar by Jose Andres last night (the 9:00 pm seating).  As an aside, we are way too old for a weekday 9:00 pm seating as the dinner lasted past midnight, and we didn’t get home until after 1:00 am (the horror!).  But I digress.

We had gone to minibar in September, and while we liked it, we weren’t wowed by it.  For some reason, this time, we were wowed by it.  It still is more a performance art meal than a normal restaurant meal, but, this time, the performance art was extremely impressive.

Here are the dishes, followed by the classic wine pairing and the equally attractive non-alcoholic alternative.

We started out with a series of appetizers.  The first group consisted of a hot and cold pisco sour,

hot & cold pisco sour

Parmesan canelé,

Parmesan canele

Pineapple shortbread (yum!), and

pineapple shortbread

A pizza margarita.

pizza margarita

The wine served with this was a 2011 Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Quarzit Nahe from Germany.  (The equally attractive non-alcoholic alternative was a Cucumber Sour with Floral Cloud consisting of chamomile, hibiscus, and orange blossom water.)

The next group of appetizers consisted of pressed flowers (served between the pages of a book),

pressed flowers (served in a book)

Almond tart with blue cheese,

almond tart with blue cheese

Rubber ducky (meringue with foie gras ice cream),

rubber ducky (with foie gras ice cream)

Beef tendon churro, and

beef tendon churro

A Waldorf salad.

Waldorf salad

The wine was a Raventós I Blanc Rosé de Nit from Spain, and the non-alcoholic drink was a golden delicious gastic.

The first real dish was a Late Night Chicken Shawarma  served with a Thai Basil iced tea, consisting of Aperol, ginger, lime and Thai basil (the non-alcoholic version had orange juice instead of Aperol).

late night chicken shawarma

thai basil iced tea

Then came a Vietnamese Pig Ear, served with a pipette of chili oil, one of my favorite dishes.  It was served with a 2011 Morgadio Albariño Rías Baixias from Spain (and a Calpico Horchata).

Vietnamese pig ear with chili oil pipette

Next came an Ibérico Sea Urchin (sea urchin served in an Ibérico ham jelled broth).

sea urchin with Iberico ham broth

A seafood course followed—the coconut cuttlefish dish, served with a Hakutsuru Sho-une Soaring Cloud Junmai Daiginjo Hyogo Prefecture, Japan (it’s a sake).

coconut cuttlefish

The next course was another one of my favorite dishes, the Beech Mushroom Papillot with Black Truffle.  The accompanying wine was a 2010 François Mikulski Chardonnay from Bourgogne, France and the non-alcoholic drink was a Truffle Parmesan made of parmesan water and truffle honey.

beech mushroom papillot with black truffle

Another favorite dish was the Fabes con Almejas (white beans and clam stew).  It was served with a 2010 Monasterio de Corias “Seis Octavos” from Cangas, Spain.

white bean and clam stew

Espardenyes (sea cucumber) with Bone Marrow and Roast Squab with Oysters and Seaweed were served with a 2010 Cristom Pinot Noir Mt. Jeffferson Cuvée from the Willamette Valley in Oregon and a Kimchi Lemonade (house-made kimchi and lemon).

sea cucumber with bone marrow

roast squab with oysters & seaweed

Dessert was a Bonne Bouche Cheese Puff and a Mango Floating Island.  Dessert wines were a 2007 Grand Enclos du Château de Cérons from Cérons Bordeaux, France and a Lustau “East India Solera” sherry from Jerez, Spain.  Also served with the desserts was a Pomegranate Ale (pomegranate, Mexican coke and angostura bitters) and a Derby (grapefruit and honey).

bonne bouche cheese puff

mango floating island

The second dessert was an After Eight (mint meringue with molten chocolate inside):

after eight

The petit fours course consisted of Raspberry Bon Bons, Lemon-Mallows, Boozy Bears,

raspberry bon bons, lemon-mallows and boozy bears

Thai pocky sticks,

thai pocky sticks

and Doughnuts (Kristy Kreme flavored ice cream inside).

doughnuts

The after-dinner drink was an Averna Amaro Siciliana from Caltanissetta, Italy and a Chai Soda (chai tea and fever tree soda water).

Minibar deserves the accolades it has received over the years for its “better dining through chemistry” innovation.  It is located at 855 E St, NW in Washington, DC.