Young & Hungry » minibar

Last Night’s Leftovers: Foamy Latte Fight Club Edition

Chris Shott — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:30:07 +0000

Enter the shadowy world of D.C. baristas and their foamy monthly "fight club." Dolcezza, Filter, Peregrine, Chinatown Coffee Company—they're all involved. [Borderstan]

Asylum, R.I.P. [Prince of Petworth]

José Andrés ranks No. 41 among the "50 Most Powerful People in Washington." His restaurant Minibar, you'll recall, ranks No. 1 in our book. [GQ]

Former Galileo III chef Roberto Donna has skipped town for Scottsdale, Ariz., carrying more than a little baggage. [WaPo]

Sommelier smackdown! Professional oenophiles Theo Rutherford of Fiola, Brent Kroll of Adour and Eli Benchimol of Chef Geoff's, among others, will compete in a "race of the taste" at the International Wine & Food Festival next month. [NBC Washington]

Is your server drunk right now? [Grub Street]

Pricey New Year’s Eve Dinner at Minibar Attracts a Whopping Two Bidders

Chris Shott — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:57:21 +0000

You'll recall that José Andrés' avant-garde eatery Minibar—ranked No. 1 on City Paper's list of D.C.'s 44 Most Powerful Restaurants because "booking a reservation is harder than rescheduling a flight during a hurricane"—was auctioning off all six of its seats on New Year's Eve to the highest bidder. Advertised as "a rare opportunity to sidestep the usual reservation process and enjoy one of the most amazing meals of your life," the contest established the minimum bid at a stiff $2,012. Now, before you go doing the math (that's $353.33 per seat, for starters), note that the final auction price also covers tax and gratuity. (Alcohol is extra.) To sweeten the deal, the restaurant stated that any funds raised beyond the initial $2,012 would benefit the D.C. Central Kitchen.

How did the bidding turn out, you ask? Well, it seems that "one of the most innovative and effective charitable organizations anywhere" is suddenly flush with an extra $25. The auction, which ended Dec. 9, attracted just two bidders, with the winner bidding $2,037.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Watch José Andrés Make Shark Fin Soup Out Of Jell-O

Chris Shott — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:00:07 +0000

CBS Sunday Morning takes a look at the history of Jell-O and all the artistic things that can be done with the stuff nowadays. Naturally, the segment ends with a trip to D.C.'s Minibar, where chef José Andrés makes, among other things, shark fin soup (minus the shark) out of gelatin. Check out the clip below.

Screen shot via CBS News

José Andrés Will Keep Slinging Pricey PB&Js, Crummy ‘Catsups’ Until July 2012

Chris Shott — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:05:16 +0000

The supposedly temporary America Eats Tavern isn't shutting its doors any time soon. While the National Archives exhibit that inspired the pop-up eatery will finish up in January, restaurateur José Andrés tells WaPo critic Tom Sietsema that he intends to keep the makeshift house of watery "catsups" and $8 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches open until July 4, 2012: "'The reason is simple,' says Andres. 'I don't have to rush' plans to install his expansion of Minibar in the three-story space once occupied by Cafe Atlantico."

Photo by Chris Shott

Watch Out, Vince Gray! José Andrés Wants To Be Mayor

Chris Shott — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:24:21 +0000

The Wall Street Journal spends some time with "the Tasmanian devil" of the D.C. culinary scene, José Andrés, and finds "a man fighting hunger who himself can consume enough for four; a cook without a high-school diploma who lectures on food at Harvard; a swollen-hearted crusader who works to stretch scraps into meals for D.C.'s homeless on one block, then serves 30-course feasts to VIPs on the next. His plans for the future grow faster than I can type."

One of those possible plans: "Maybe one day I'd like to be in politics," the Minibar mogul says during the interview. "I'd love to be a mayor."

Just imagine: a mayor who consorts with coconuts, not cronies.

Is Molecular Gastronomy Ruining Fine Dining?

Chris Shott — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:50:26 +0000

HuffPo is foaming at the mouth about the pitfalls of molecular gastronomy, the über-artistic deconstructive and recreative take on food practiced at places like José Andrés' Minibar and R.J. Cooper's Rogue 24 (read Y&H's review here): "Because of its great influence on food critics and patrons of top restaurants, molecular gastronomy, whatever its artistic merits, discards the capitalist, hospitable, popular traditions that have long made fine dining (in D.C. and elsewhere) the most culturally relevant of the arts."

The author argues that the genre too often puts "art above service" and can be a chore for the diner to experience: "Minibar (where I enjoyed most of my meal) left me with a sore back after sitting more than two hours on a backless bar stool." As a trend, he concludes, molecular gastronomy "threatens to detach 'fine dining' from popular food culture. And that's not good for D.C."

What do you think?

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

José Andrés On The Fuzzy Future of Minibar

Chris Shott — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:14:33 +0000

"One of the things we are really [talking about], back and forth, is, ‘Jose, exactly what do you want Minibar to become?’ What am I willing to give? How many hours am I willing to do? How many days am I going to open a year? What’s the creative team? How am I going to keep up the many hotels around the world and the restaurants around Washington but keep the Minibar ‘Minibar’?”—Chef José Andrés talking to Y&H alum Tim Carman in the Washington Post about the future of his acclaimed six-seat eatery Minibar.

Photo by Brooke Hatfield

Minibar Is Back On Sept. 1! (And, Yes, You’re Too Late To Book A Seat)

Chris Shott — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:40:16 +0000

Minibar, ranked No. 1 on City Paper's list of "D.C.'s 44 Most Powerful Restaurants" (because "booking a reservation is harder than rescheduling a flight during a hurricane"), resumes service beginning Thursday, Sept. 1. Chef José Andrés' six-seat avant-garde "restaurant within a restaurant" has been on hiatus since July as the eatery that once housed it, Cafe Atlantico, was converted into the pop-up concept America Eats Tavern. Eater DC notes that "the restaurant has already had a waitlist going for the month of September just in case it reopened, so don't expect to get in any sooner than October 1 unless you're already on the list."

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Jaleo Chef Paul Yeck Takes Over at José Andrés’ America Eats Tavern

Chris Shott — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:53:32 +0000

The Feast reports that Paul Yeck, head chef at Jaleo in Bethesda, will replace the recently departed Richard Brandenburg as head chef at José Andrés' hugely hyped pop-up restaurant America Eats Tavern. (Read Young & Hungry's review of the temporary restaurant here.)

According to the report, Yeck, a three-year veteran of Andrés' Think Food Group, with prior stints at Cafe Atlantico and Minibar, will begin his new duties in September.

Photo by Chris Shott

America’s Toughest Reservations: D.C.’s Minibar Ranks No. 5

Chris Shott — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:56:55 +0000

Bon Appetit has published its list of the "11 toughest restaurant reservations in the U.S.A." Landing in the fifth spot: José Andrés' tiny avant-garde tasting-menu restaurant Minibar. No surprise there. We ranked the place No. 1 on our list of D.C.'s 44 Most Powerful Restaurants in part because "booking a reservation is harder than rescheduling a flight during a hurricane." Bon Ap explains its own reasoning thusly:

This diminutive spot from chef Jose Andrés serves just 12 diners every night. The James Beard Foundation awarded this year's Outstanding Chef Award to Andrés, who has studied under Ferran Adria at the world-famous El Bulli restaurant near Roses, Spain.

According to the reservationist: "Minibar is open Tuesday through Saturday and we have two seatings of six guests each—one at 6 p.m. and one at 8:30 p.m. We take reservations one month in advance; we have two phone lines that begin ringing at 10 minutes to 10 a.m. to get a reservation one month from now, and they ring straight through to about 10:30 a.m. Most people know that by 10:30 a.m., the 12 slots will be filled."

Photo by Darrow Montgomery