An evening at the Minibar is as much a performance as it is a meal. Housed on the second floor of Cafe Atlantico, Minibar by Jose Andres has a tiny, lightly appointed open kitchen — although it does sport a cotton-candy machine and an immersion circulator, a contraption that keeps food at a constant temperature.
Facing the kitchen is a bar counter with just enough room for six stools, where guests sample 28 bite-sized, super-avant-garde dishes, including beet tumbleweed and man-made eggs, prepared right in front of them, all on a prix-fixe menu.
“I call it theater,” says Katsuya Fukushima, head chef at Cafe Atlantico and Minibar and co-conspirator with Mr. Andres, a culinary envelope-pusher and an owner of the two restaurants.
“We want it to be a nonstop flow that keeps the customer’s attention,” Mr. Fukushima says.
It does.
Customers’ eyes are as tickled as their taste buds as two chefs devote every second of the two-hour seating to preparing and serving, often synchronizing their movements into a carefully choreographed performance.
“It’s very visual,” Mr. Fukushima says, adding that some dishes, such as the “dragon breath” popcorn, also appeal to the sense of touch.
As soon as the popcorn is ingested, a cloud of smoke comes out of the mouth. No, this is not the kind of food to be replicated at home — as if one could. The popcorn is coated with liquid nitrogen.
“This kind of cooking is very technical,” Mr. Fukushima says. “It keeps you sharp.”
He is right.
The popcorn: The chefs take all the moisture out of the popcorn. Then they add caramel, and in the last step, they dip the popcorn in liquid nitrogen. When it hits the warmth of the mouth, it evaporates and creates the “smoke” that looks like, well, dragon breath.
“It’s fun because we actually make adults laugh when they see the smoke,” Mr. Fukushima says.
Another bizarre creation is the Parmesan egg. This is no ordinary egg. It’s a man-made egg consisting of seaweed, salt, Parmesan powder, water and a raw quail yolk. The seaweed and salt help create a membrane that holds together the Parmesan powder and water, thus creating the egg white. The raw quail yolk is dropped into the man-made egg white.
The technique used in making the egg white is called spherification.
The hope and goal are to enhance flavors and textures simultaneously while creating something visually stimulating.
“Flavor is always our main focus. … If it doesn’t taste good, people don’t care how [good] it looks,” Mr. Fukushima says.
Take the beet tumbleweed. The preparation includes shredding beets very finely, using a Japanese spiral shredder, then boiling, patting dry and frying. The flavor is intense.
“When it’s bite-sized, it has to have more umpf to it,” Mr. Fukushima says.
The presentation is lovely. The tiny red tumbleweed balances on an upside-down steel-wire egg holder.
Another plus for Minibar: There is no worry about bad service, for the chefs do all the serving and a designated waiter takes care of drink orders.
Needless to say, Minibar, which fires on all cylinders, is not a well-kept secret. Many people come for special occasions; others are frequent guests. It is always booked, and an expansion is planned for next year.
Whichever category you belong to, though, the reservation ordeal is the same: You can call at 10 a.m. today to make a reservation for exactly a month from now, June 2. Provided no one beats you to the dial.
RESTAURANT: Minibar, 405 Eighth St. NW; www.cafeatlantico.com/miniBar/miniBar.htm, 202/393-0812
HOURS: 6 and 8:30 p.m. seatings daily; reservations can be made one month in advance
PRICES: $120 per person
CREDIT CARDS: Major cards accepted
PARKING: Limited street parking
ACCESS: Wheelchair accessible
METRO: Archives (Green and Yellow lines); Gallery Place (Red Line)
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