Restaurant review: Minibar by José Andrés

We dined at Minibar the other night, which is most accurately described as “better food through chemistry.” Seriously, dining at Minibar is a gastronomical experience (rather than simply dining) and a seriously impressive (and delicious) look at molecular gastronomy in cooking.

We started off with a series of appetizers, which included:

Yogurt carnation (not pictured)

Pineapple shortbread

pineapple shortbread

pineapple shortbread

Green Almonds

green almonds

green almonds

Parmesan Cupcakes

parmesan cupcakes

parmesan cupcakes

Pizza Jose’s Way

pizza Jose's way

pizza Jose’s way

This plethora of appetizers was then followed by Liquid Olive

liquid olive

liquid olive

And then a Rubber Ducky with foie gras ice cream inside (which earned not only the favorite vote from some of the diners but universally the best serving dish):

rubber ducky

rubber ducky

We then were served a palate cleanser called a Yuzujito (sherry, yuzu, cucumber, and phosphate).

yuzujito

yuzujito

Next came a burger (a way too simple name for the deliciousness it contained):

"burger"

“burger”

Then Asparagus con Mayonesa

asparagus con mayonesa

asparagus con mayonesa

Followed by Fusilli al Pesto (the fusilli is clear and then filled)

fusilli al pesto

fusilli al pesto

And then Smoked Oysters in Escabeche

smoked oysters in escabeche

smoked oysters in escabeche

smoked oysters, cont.

smoked oysters, cont.

In case that wasn’t enough food, it was followed by Fabes con Almejas

fabes con almejas

fabes con almejas

A Lobster in Sequence (the first one was Lobster Knuckle on Chicken Skin, which got a few votes for favorite dish)

lobster on chicken skin

lobster on chicken skin

Completed by Lobster Tail, Peanut Butter, and Honey

lobster tail

lobster tail

Next up was Ham and Peas (the “roll” is a molecular version of Spanish Iberico ham)

ham & peas

ham & peas

Then Squab and Oysters

squab & oysters

squab & oysters

And the final entrée of Thai Rabbit.

thai rabbit

thai rabbit

But, wait, we’re not finished—there’s still dessert:

Bonne Bouche Cheese Puff (I’m told it was delicious)

cheese puff

cheese puff

Strawberries and Cream

strawberries & cream

strawberries & cream

This is not Carrot Cake (but it sure tasted like one!)

"carrot cake"

“carrot cake”

Piña Colada Tablet

pina colada tablet

pina colada tablet

Caterpillar (but not real ones!)

caterpillar

caterpillar

Doughnuts (a universal favorite and filled with ice cream!)

doughnuts

doughnuts

Éclair

eclair

eclair

And the T Rex is serving White Chocolate Asparagus, Liquid Bourbon Peanut, and a Cherry Bomb

Tony the T rex

Tony the T rex

The dinner also came with paired wines, which included:

2014 Dr. Herman Ürziger Würtzgarten Riesling from Kabinett Mosel, Germany

2013 Nigl Grüner Veltliner from Freiheit, Austria

2012 Didier Dagueneau Silex, Pouilly Fumé

2013 Shafer Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch from Napa Valley

2011 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, also from Napa Valley

2001 Domaine de la Grange des Pères Vin de Pays de L’Hérault from Languedoc, France

2013 Lucy Rosé from the Santa Lucia Highlands, U.S.

20101 Kracher Auslese Muskat Ottonel from Burgenland, Austria

1985 Dow’s Port, Portugal

We finally (after about 3 hours) rolled out of the restaurant, wondering if the food coma was permanent. Minibar isn’t somewhere I could eat every day (I’d weigh 200+ pounds if I did), but it is an incredibly fabulous dining experience. I highly recommend it!

Minibar by José Andrés is located at 855 E St, NW, Washington, DC (www.minibarbyjoseandres.com).

Minibar, Take 2

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

hot & cold pisco sour

Parmesan canelé,

Parmesan canele

Parmesan canele

Pineapple shortbread (yum!), and

pineapple shortbread

pineapple shortbread

A pizza margarita.

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)

pressed flowers (served in a book)

Almond tart with blue cheese,

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)

rubber ducky (with foie gras ice cream)

Beef tendon churro, and

beef tendon churro

beef tendon churro

A Waldorf salad.

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

late night chicken shawarma

thai basil iced tea

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

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

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

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

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

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

sea cucumber with bone marrow

roast squab with oysters & seaweed

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

bonne bouche cheese puff

mango floating island

mango floating island

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

after eight

after eight

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

raspberry bon bons, lemon-mallows and boozy bears

raspberry bon bons, lemon-mallows and boozy bears

Thai pocky sticks,

thai pocky sticks

thai pocky sticks

and Doughnuts (Kristy Kreme flavored ice cream inside).

doughnuts

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.

minibar by Jose Andres

We visited minibar by Jose Andres with some friends this past Saturday night.  It was the first time we had been to the new space, which is spare and minimalist with high ceilings and lightly painted wood.  (It’s located at 855 E Street, NW, Washington, DC.)

The food definitely catered to the “foodie” crowd and was innovative, fussy, and delicious.  Here are the evening’s dishes:

We started out with a series of amuse-bouches (I would say a series of appetizers, but the entire dinner is made up of appetizer-sized dishes).  The introductory dishes were pineapple short bread,

pineapple shortbread

pineapple shortbread

pizza margarita (the crust is made out of potatoes),

pizza margarita

pizza margarita

a parmesan canele,

parmesan canele

parmesan canele

pressed flowers (they were edible), and

pressed flowers

pressed flowers

almond tart with blue cheese, which was good, even though I don’t like blue cheese and which was served on rocks that had been bathed in liquid nitrogen (to prolong the life of the almond shell).

almond tart with blue cheese

almond tart with blue cheese

One of the cutest dishes we were served was the rubber ducky (the inside was filled with foie gras ice cream):

rubber ducky

rubber ducky

One of the most interesting dishes was the beef tendon churro (once was enough for me):

beef tendon churro

beef tendon churro

The Waldorf salad was an extremely creative rendition of a traditional Waldorf salad:

"waldorf salad"

“waldorf salad”

The late night chicken shawarma was amazing and even more amazing was the side of yogurt accompanying the shawarma

chicken shawarma

chicken shawarma

The Vietnamese pig ear was excellent—spicy and full of texture:

Vietnamese pig ear

Vietnamese pig ear

The Iberico sea urchin would be good, I suppose, if you like sea urchin.  The texture wasn’t my cup of tea, but the flavors were excellent.

sea urchin

sea urchin

The shabu shabu included coconut shrimp ravioli in an extremely flavorful broth:

"shabu shabu"

“shabu shabu”

The most straightforward dish (and quite delicious!) was the beech mushroom papillot with truffles:

beech mushrooms with truffles

beech mushrooms with truffles

The smoked oysters with escabeche was a myriad of flavors and textures:

smoked oysters

smoked oysters

The fabes con almejas (white beans and clams) were clams with essence of white beans.  The dish was delicious!

white beans & clams

white beans & clams

The espardenyes (sea cucumber) with bone marrow proved to be a surprise.  I loathe sea cucumber, but the chef had prepared it in such a way that the texture no longer resembled the gelatinous, slug-like creature that it is (unlike Chinese restaurants).  It was actually quite tasty, and, combined with the bone marrow, was amazing.

sea cucumber & bone marrow

sea cucumber & bone marrow

Next up was a squab liver mousse bite:

squab liver mousse

squab liver mousse

To prepare us for the roast squab with oysters and seaweed.

roast squab

roast squab

You have to like goat cheese to like the bonne bouche cheese puff, but I’m told it was quite yummy for those who do like goat cheese.

goat cheese puff

goat cheese puff

The bloody beets and yogurt course were beets with a little hisbiscus juice covered with frozen yogurt snow.  Yum!  (And I’m not that fond of beets.)

beets with yogurt snow

beets with yogurt snow

The mango floating island was refreshing and palate-cleansing.

mango floating island

mango floating island

And the assortment of desserts included a raspberry bon bon, Thai pocky stick, lemon-mallow (lemon marshmallow covered in white chocolate), a bluberry coolant, a boozy bear (a gummy bear filled with muscat), and doughnuts, made with Krispy Kreme doughnut ice cream, reformed to look like a Krispy Kreme doughnut and covered with chocolate and sprinkles.  (No photo of the doughnuts, unfortunately, as we had to eat them quickly before they melted.)

assorted desserts

assorted desserts

We were impressed by the skill of the chefs, and the meal was delicious and innovative.  But it definitely isn’t for the steak-and-potatoes type of diner.  Still, if you are an adventurous eater or are looking for new food experiences, it’s definitely a worthwhile visit.

 

(Disclaimer:  we are investors in ThinkFood Group, the parent company of minibar.)