This post is long overdue and I would say, don't read any further if you're hungry already!! :)
It's been a busy few weeks/month with studying and Bow Wow training resuming, so I know this 3rd/last "Trifecta" post should have come in March sometime instead of end of April...but then again our reservation for this wasn't until first week of April anyways LOL
Hope everyone's been well and happy!!
We had been waiting for this treat for a LONG time and after a few random phone calls here and there, we got our reservation (as close to my birthday as possible) and anxiously waited for the date to come:
Cafe Atlantico minibar is one of the "originals" of tasting menu places in Washington D.C., actually, I think Jose Andres is considered the "grandfather" of tasting menu/multicourse meal experiences in the D.C. area...We had heard so much about minibar and we knew we HAD to try it out before we left D.C. (which is happening sooner than we thought...)
Waiting at the bar downstairs for our seats at minibar (hurry up 5:30pm guests, Petah and Cory are HUNGRY!!!)
"Pisco Sour"--except our version was the non-alcoholic passion fruit one which was AMAZING, tasted very similar to one we had at Vidalia's "24"...hmmmm
BTW, non-alcoholic drinkers do not despair, I have to say I LOVED the mocktails selection at Cafe Atlantico, Peter had an amazing fruit punch and I had a lime-ade, yes, basically a mojito with no rum but lots of sugar :)
Beet Tumbleweed--this was surprisingly very tasty and I think we've grown to enjoy beets more and more
Behind the counter at minibar--capturing the chefs in action :)
There were about 3-5 people at any given time behind the counter at minibar and while the space/kitchen was very tight, they managed to whip amazing and extraordinary bites from back there!
Ta-da!!! The finished product:
Fresh Buratta with Tomato Caviar Cone--everyone knows how much I LOVE caviar roe eggs and there was creme fraiche (seems to be yet another favorite at tasting menus we've had lately...no complaints here though!)
"Ferrero Rocher"--this was filled with mushrooms and creme I think if I recall correctly, one bite and all the yumminess oozed out :)
"Mojito"--drink inter-course, except we got some non-alcoholic version to spray into our mouths...pretty innovative and yummy I may add!!
Peter having fun with the spray :)
Yes, we are silly, even when we shouldn't be hehe
White Asparagus Tempera--we don't even like asparagus usually but this was sooo yummy, very light batter and amazing seasoning!
YES! Top it off with some caviar!!! weeee
Steamed Bun with Caviar--and foam which I LOVE...the bun was so soft and tasted fresh out of the oven!
Tomato Crisp with Anchovy Caviar--this was sooo delicate of a tomato crisp we were instructed to carefully pick it up with the white piece of paper underneath it and gently scoop it into our mouths...despite it being so thin and papery thin in texture, there was an OOMPH of taste!
Cotton Candy Eel--this almost looked like white hair all around the eel but it looked so artistically cool and tasted even better, cos who doesn't like eel right? hehe
Dragon's Breath Popcorn--whipped right out of some liquid nitrogen...it was an exhilarating bite of hot and cold at the same time
The popcorn after it had cooled...
Zucchini in Textures--who knew zucchini seeds in a light soup could taste this refreshing and yummy, LOVED the simplicity and deliciousness of this bowl of soup!
Smoked Oyster with Green Apple--it has foam, Cory likes...and Cory liked this very much even though it was oyster...I think I'm coming around LOL
Guacamole--while this didn't taste JUST LIKE guacamole, it was still very interesting and did take them a great deal of time to put together.
side note--the table behind us (not part of minibar, just regular tables) ordered guacamole and it looked very yummy--freshly made table side i think :)
Sweet Peas Catalan Style--the little peas were taken out of its pods and made in this light gelatan, tasted very much like split pea soup deconstructed!! LOVED it!
Organic Carrots with Coconut--Peter had to agree that the coconut and creme sauce in this dish was simply over the top and amazing, and the carrots still had shape but tasted almost like it was a mix between solid and pureed states...YUMMMYYYY
"Sun-dried" Tomato Salad--I am not usually a fan of tomatos...especially not the seed and juicy part in the center but I licked this dish up, altogether it was just amazing...
Charcoal Salmon Toro with Black Garlic--cooked to perfection, not too well-done and not too raw (though salmon can never be too raw hehe, unless i guess you gave me a life fish still squirming around)...the black garlic was different, don't know how to place it...you also can't go wrong with "toro" the belly fat area of the fishy!
"Tzatziki"--I forget what this was...but I remember we could eat the flowers :)
Oh wait I just Googled it and it's some yogurt dip...I remember now! I was surprised Peter even liked it cos he usually hates anything "mediterranean, lebanese, etc" cuisine LOL
New England Clam Chowder--another deconstructed soup dish but this time I thought it fell a bit short especially when following all the other tremendously well thought out bites we had so far in the evening, the clams were a bit too clammy tasting--too fishy and the texture of the soup was just too goopy thick even for chowder...
Un-named Dish--can't recall the name of this dish and it's not on our list but it had a nicely soft poached egg and it was delicious, that's all I can say LOL
Cigala with Tiger Nut Horchata--we've been seeing langostine/cigala show up in many of our tasting menus...not sure why this instead of say, "lobster"? But the texture was nice, tasted a tad more fishy though I think
Philly Cheesesteak--YUMMMMM, made with kobe beef I think, at this point though I was already stuffed beyond stuffed
A short note before dessert pix:
By now, I am full though not exploding and ready to die like some other tastings where the portions resembled more "kid sized meals/large appetizers" than actual "tasting bites" LOL--no complaints from Peter on those big portions though!
The desserts I would have to say were very underwhelming and I was sad at the end of the meal just cos of the desserts...I guess everyone else liked it though, including Peter, maybe I just have an odd dessert tastebud that's hard to please...
Kumquats & Pumpkin Seeds--blehhh...I didn't find it yummy and a tad too sweet...
Thai Dessert--I had such high hopes for this as I usually love all thai desserts but this one was just lots of peanuts shavings and some weird cream...no mango or thai custard as I had secretly hoped...
Mango Box--it's like a crystallized mango box exterior that's crunchy, reminded me of the peanut brittle texture which gets stuck in your teeth and is super hard to get out LOL
"S'Mores"--soooo sad cos this was a bitter dark chocolate AND there wasn't a marshmallow inside, sometimes, I guess innovative cuisine can fall short especially when you love a particular dish and don't want it enhanced/changed at all...
All in all, we were super happy to have gone to minibar and Peter LOVED it way more than I did (probably cos he loved all the desserts and left a very happy camper while I was still wishing for ONE dessert I could get excited about)...
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