Opinionated About Dining

Palena

A Chef Who Would Make Everything In House If He Could

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Mini-Bar - Dinner As Delicious Theater

Of all the modern dining experiences I've come across, by far the quirkiest is Jose Andres' Mini-Bar. Located on the second floor of his Cafe Atlantico in Washington D.C., the Mini-Bar is literally that - a small copper counter where six diners get to enjoy a thirty-two course meal over a two and a half hour period. Adding to the experience is the open kitchen and the proximity to the chefs. The food is prepared right in front of your eyes, and each time they hand you a dish from across the counter, the chefs explain the different facets of each dish including how it was made or what the purpose of the dish might be.

The Mini-Bar offers two seatings, Mondays through Fridays, one at 6:00pm and one at 8:30pm. We visited on a Wednesday evening and had reserved two seats for the earlier seating. When we arrived we found that our fellow diners had already been seated and they were waiting for us to begin. Since people who are dining at Mini-Bar are treated as a "table for six", the chefs can't begin the service until everyone is present. We sipped on glasses of cava while waiting for the festivities to begin, then one of the chefs asked for our attention and he explained how the meal was going to work. He explained how the food would be prepared, and how they would hand us the food. Then just like that we were on our way. Six eager diners with three talented chefs perforrming a culinary ballet right in front of their eyes.