I admit it.

I am stunned. Shocked. Amazed.

I went to Minibar with Andrew to humor him. For his birthday. I thought it was really ridiculous.

But you know what?

It was the most amazing food experience of my life. Really.

Okay. Sit yourself down. And get ready to be amazed.

This is how the place described:

minibar by jose andres is a six seat restaurant within a restaurant located on the second floor of Cafe Atlantico, 405 8th Street NW. The innovative tasting menu features 30-35 of Jose and Katsuya’s most imaginative creations. This is food that owes as much to art and science as it does to gastronomy, food that is as much about the brain and eye as it is about the tongue and stomach, food that forces the diner to rethink food and its presentation.

So last night was the night. We scooted out of here early, jumped on the metro and comfortably arrived at the restaurant 15 minutes before the start time of 6:00 pm.

Still scoffing a little, we went in and were seated, along with 4 other people at the bar. It was beautiful decorated and looked a little like a sushi bar. We were told the “rules” — each dish would be arranged on the shelf above in front of us. We were to listen to the instructions of how to eat it and what it was and then bring it down in front of us. Then, it would be cleared and we would be given our next dish.

We ordered lovely flights of wine – Andrew and I both chose white flights, but different ones. They were delicious. We got to know Marty and Fran, who were seated next to Andrew. I had no one on my other side. Marty and Fran know nice food. We had restaurants in common and they were very pleasant company. They even knew the little out-of-the-way Spanish restaurant that we go to in Annapolis.

This is what we ate:

SNACKS
“mojito” / passion fruit whiskey sour / pork rinds with maple syrup / salmon roe cone / beet tumbleweed / saffron yogurt meringue / olive oil bon-bon / ferran adria “olives” / cotton candy foie gras

FLAVORS & TEXTURES
salmon-pineapple “ravioli” with crispy quinoa / deconstructed glass of white wine / corn on the cob / “ajo blanco” / organized caesar salad / conch fritter / oyster with wheatgrass and apples / zucchini in textures / hot & cold foie gras soup / “guacamole” / feta “linguine” / egg 147 degrees with caviar chowder / breaded cigala with lemon / philly cheese steak

SWEET END
japanese baby peaches with yogurt / apples with red wine “fredy girardet” / pina colada / saffron gumdrop in edible wrapper / fruit cocktail injection / maracuya marshmallows / chocolate covered corn nuts / halls lollipop

We took lots of pictures. Blogger is having a picture problem. Or I am. But, I can’t get them to show up here. SO, I’m posting them here. Hopefully, I can find a better solution later

Now its my turn (Andrew that is).

Yes, dear readers, I have been invited to add my thoughts for this first dually authored blog. Please be gentle……

I have a reputation as a fairly intelligent person. And one area of knowledge where I had some expertise, or so I thought, was food. I like to cook, and thought I knew something.

Well, I am here to tell you that after last night, I am now convinced that I know nothing, nada, bupkis.

Last night was one of the most eye opening experiences with food I ever had. Imagine a place where all of your preconceived notions about appearance, taste, textures, and flavor combinations are discarded and replaced with something completely different. A place where chemistry and science have as much important as the finest ingredients. That bizarre combination would begin to describe the meal we had last night.

A little background: Jose Andres is the chef, and he was trained by Ferran Adria who originated many of the techniques used last night. Take the time to read about these two – you’ll enjoy it. Andres came to Washington, DC in 1993, and been one of the driving forces behind several successful DC restaurants. We have eaten at Jaleo, and enjoyed it, and I had heard of Chef Adria, so I have been anxious to try Minibar.

I won’t bore you with a description of every dish, but I want to point out a few:

• Imagine a kumquat sized, green ovoid that just explodes in your mouth with a delicious, carbonated mojito inside.
• Or two other ovoids, one green & one black, that dissolve to taste like some of the finest olives you ever had.
• Or a skewer with freshly made cotton candy and fois gras in the center.
• Almond ice cream on a swirl of garlic oil and balsamic vinegar
• A New England Clam Chowder, made of a foamed rich bacony base, with a perfect raw clam balanced on top

My mouth is watering just remembering.

The food was beautiful and so very different, and artfully prepared by Michael & Melanie.

There are very few restaurants in this country serving food like this – WD50 in NYC, and Alinea in Chicago come to mind.

Do yourself a favor, and try one of these once. It won’t be cheap, but it will change how you think about food forever.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.