Call it whatever you like, but the style of cuisine at MiniBar by Jose Andres is anything but your usual fare.  If you are lucky enough to get one of the six seats at the cozy bar for one of their two nightly servings, sit back and enjoy.  Andres opened his pet project inside his restaurant Café Atlantico about six years ago and the hot spot has been turning out great cuisine ever since.  The focus of MiniBar is taking traditional dishes and ideas about cooking and turning them on their head.  Eel and cotton candy?  Boneless chicken wing?  Olive oil “Bon-bon”?  These are just some of the dishes that the crew at MiniBar serves up each night. 

Some call the movement of deconstructing food and presenting it in unique ways molecular gastronomy, some call it New Wave, the guys at MiniBar call it Avante-Garde but I simply call it inspiring.  Andres took his cue from fellow Spaniard, friend and leader of the new wave cooking movement, Ferran Adria.  Adria works from his half lab/half award winning restaurant, El Bulli in Roses, Spain six months a year.  He spends the rest of the year experimenting with new recipes and spreading the gospel of his style of cooking.  I say “lab” because Adria truly does experiment with all types of foods, chemicals and methods of cooking to create his menu.  After one season on his menu, he democratically shares his ideas with the world – and MiniBar is reaping the benefits. 

Andres and his chefs spend time with Adria at his lab every year to learn from the best and take back recipes for their American customers.  To be sure, the chefs at MiniBar do plenty of their own hard work, also developing their own styles and techniques to wow their guests.   “Wow” is the best way to describe your experience, going through 27+ dishes and trying familiar meals, prepared in ways you never could imagine.  The idea is to break down each taste and flavor in a dish, present those flavors in a new way and then allow the eater to reconstruct these pieces on their plates as a finished product.  I will not say that you will be amazed or blown away by every bite…but at least you’ll certainly be entertained.

That is really what it comes down to anyways, right?  A meal should be more than just some carbs and protein to fill your stomach; it should entertain the mind as well as fill the belly.  This does lead to a large price tag at MiniBar, but for a grand culinary trip, it is worth the price.  Beyond the food, the cozy atmosphere of the bar makes this a meal to arrive at hungry with a book of questions, as dialogue with the chefs is encouraged and appreciated –  sort of like a cooking class with some enthusiastic instructors. 

Your experience begins with a variety of drink options, including a Champagne flight, a reasonably priced way to savor each flavor and enjoy the night.  Then, bring on the meal(s)…snuggle up close to the bar and you will see a variety of cooking tools that you’ll probably never use at home, as well as a plain old toaster, some skillets, an array of fresh ingredients and a cotton candy machine!  Two chefs man the area and control it completely on their own for the two hour affair.  Small plates are accompanied by a simple explanation of what each dish is and how it was prepared.  Their take on “Bagels and Lox” is a perfect example of something I did not love, but still appreciated.  Salmon roe, wrapped in a pastry cone with cream cheese, all the essential favorites of the deli classic, though the roe was a bit too briny for my taste.  

The olive oil “bon-bon” was a unique treat; pop them in your mouth and the outer shell melts away to expose the wonderful olive oil taste.  The MiniBar take on the Mojito is especially interesting; a green olive looking piece, slurp it up from the spoon and the flavors literally explode in your mouth with the traditional sense of a Mojito drink.  The boneless chicken wing was a favorite amongst my fellow diners, a typical looking wing with all the trappings of the popular bar food…missing the bone.  The menu continues with a variety of flair, including a steamed brioche with caviar and piece of eel wrapped in cotton candy.  The last of the small “munchies” is the ever popular “Dragon’s Breath Popcorn”, a small piece of caramelized popcorn, sprinkled with curry and dipped in liquid nitrogen, turning it into a chilled, smoky bit of delight.  The chefs instruct you to watch your fellow diners as you eat this to notice the smoke coming from their mouth and nose, hence the name (certainly a fun way to conclude the beginning of your eating experience). 

The next segment of the meal includes more substantial pieces with a variety of meats and fish to please the palate.  My favorite dish without question was the baby corn with Huitlacoche; a special treat considering the amount of prep work that goes into collecting and cleaning the baby corn…this is not your typical canned baby corn that you find in the supermarket!  A clever take on the traditional New England clam chowder fell a bit short for me and the parmesan “egg” was not quite as bursting with parmesan cheese flavor as I would have liked.  The MiniBar version of the Philly cheesesteak is a fine way to end the savory dishes.  A crispy bread shell pumped with aged Vermont White Cheddar, topped with meat cooked in front of you with a hand-held torch. The desserts were also full of creativity, mixing peaches and soy sauce in a Thai-inspired desert, as well as other chocolate surprises… but you should check  out the rest for yourself.

Minibar is a dining experience –  not just a meal.  Learning about all of these different techniques and flavors while enjoying them is quite unique and should definitely be  tried at least once.  One may not be blown away by each of the 27 dishes, but reflecting on the entire evening will surely leave you smiling.  Go with an open mind, try everything and ask lots of questions; you will be amazed by some of the answers.

Insider tips:  There has been serious talk that the format of MiniBar will be changing in the coming year.  Confirmed by the chef’s there, Andres will either be expanding the Bar to take up the entire floor that it currently shares with Café Atlantico, or possibly even take over the entire restaurant space.  I was assured the unique and cozy atmosphere will remain, but I think there is nothing like the original, so try and visit MiniBar soon if you are in the DC area.   When making reservations, you must call exactly one month in advance, beginning at 10 am…that’s the only way to get in, so be ready.  If you want to learn more about Jose Andres be sure to check out his series, “Made In Spain”, on your local PBS station. 

MiniBar by Jose Andres
 405 8th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
(202) 393-0812