docsconz

Tony, our palates may inded differ, although sweetness in food is something I tend to shy away from. I also tend to shy away from commercially processed foods living as I do in prime farm country and eating mostly local farm-raised foods. I never mind spending more for a better product. back to sweetness, I don't mind some balanced sweetness, but in this sense, I believe my palate is more "European". As I said in an earlier post, taste and preference is clearly subjective with no right or wrong. By no means am I questioning whether or not you liked the flavors or even should have. I simply have never picked up any chemical off-flavors in the food there. You did. Prior to your posting and U.E.'s response I never heard anyone else mention it either. I am simply surprised.

I have never been to Robertos so I have no idea of what they do or don't excel in besides what has been presented here. Many restaurants present much more than they are good at preparing. It is useful to have discussions like this to inform subsequent diners of relative dos and don'ts at these places. Nevertheless, I am surprised that a restaurant like this wouldn't be good at whatever they had on the menu. I much prefer to go places where I can order anything from the menu and be pleased.

Nor is it El Bulli. WD-50 is a totally unique restaurant that mixes very creative and IMO delicious food with a strong NYC vibe. It clearly is not for everyone nor is it meant to be. Even so, like Oakapple, I too am surprised by the server's comments. You had the experience that you did. It is always unfortunate when one is disappointed with a restaurant that one hs beeen looking forward to for a long time. Sometimes things get off on the wrong foot and they snowball. I have had that experience elsewhere, most notably at Pierre Gagnaire, a restaurant I know you have favored in the past. I can fully appreciate that. Perhaps the aesthetic and ambiance of WD-50 is one that wouldn't suit you under any circumstances. I can appreciate that as well. The principle issue I chose to address though was your claim of tasting "chemicals" in the food. I didn't taste the very dish that you did, but your statement is so far outside of my own exprience there that I felt the need to add a dissenting voice. I also have to wonder what could have been so "offensive" about the other elements of your duck dish? Not work for you - sure, but "offensive"? That is a pretty strong statement.

What pictures?

I am sorry that Tony Higgins and Ulterior Epicure did not enjoy their experiences at WD-50. While we have agreed on some, U.E. and I have disagreed on a number of other restaurants including WD-50. Perhaps their palates are much more sensitive than mine, but having dined there on a number of occasions I have never noticed anything tasting remotely "chemical" in any dish and I have had the dishes specifically mentioned. What I have noticed are clean, delicious flavors. This is neither a right nor wrong issue as it is clearly a matter of subjective taste and opinion. While I was surprised by a number of the points raised, I was particularly surprised by this one, however.

Thanks, Chef. Was your menu different than what I had? Ifso, what ws different? Do you recall whether the "Guacomole" had a tomato sorbet within the avocado wrapper?

I'm not sure that the "Guacomole" didn't have the sorbet in it, although I don't specifically remember a cold textural contrast within. Regardless, I loved that dish as it captured the essence of guacomole with a unique and beautiful presentation.

Sorry, John, for taking so long to get back to you - I didn't notice your question. All three preparations contained oysters. P & J, by the way, is the purveyor. A friend of mine who saw this thought it said PB & J! ← Thanks, george. That's what I thought, but I was a little confused.

Thanks, Eliot. There are two seatings per evening one at 6 and the other at 8:30. all six of us were at the regular bar downstairs waiting a few minutes until they were ready to seat us. I imagine that they would probably wait a short amount of time to seat everyone together if some were late. This is the closest experience I have had to El Bulli outside of El Bulli at least as far as the food style and ambiance. That is not to say, however, that it is a clone of El Bulli. Clearly the debt is large, but it is still its own unique restaurant. I would certainly recommend it to someone who would like to get a sense of what El Bulli is about. I think if someone likes Minibar they will likely enjoy El Bulli and vice versa. I didn't get to Citronelle unfortunately on this very brief trip. That remains one of my great meals, however.

During a very brief trip to DC my wife and I had the pleasure of meeting Busboy and his charming bride for lunch at Vidalia. It was a place that he had been wanting to get back to having heard some recent positive reports. We had an extremely enjoyable lunch. There were any number of items on the menu that appealed and what we ordered proved excellent both in terms of presentation and taste. Entrance sign. Flowers behind glass next to the stairs on the way down into the restaurant. Pine Roasted Blue Foot Mushrooms These came with ricotta-potato dumplings, sweet pea puree and shaved pecorino. They were rather tasty although I couldn't really notice anything particularly "piney" about them. This was my appetizer although we did a fair amount of cross-tasting. Sea Salt Roasted Heirloom Beets with Cara cara oranges, arugula, bruleed hudson valley camembert, country ham, spiced pecans and cumin scented orange vinaigrette. I didn't taste this, although my wife and Busboy's wife both had this and seemed to enjoy it. Pig in a Blanket crispy tete de cochon with cheddar-rosemary biscuit, quail's egg sunny-side-up and red-eye gravy. I had a taste of this. It was very good. The flavor had subtle curry-like components in it to me. Roasted Vidalia Onion stuffed with wild mushroom ragout, field greens, chive oil and balsamic reduction. I did not taste this. Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with red pepper remoulade, vidalia onion-cucumber slaw and kennebeck potato chips. The crab cakes were light, full of crab and delicious. Sauteed Softshell Crab with fried green tomato, arugula and romesco sauce. The crab was well prepared. The dish was simple and delicious. This was my main course. hicken Fried Steak I'll let Busboy comment on this aas it was his main. The restaurant has a very good wine-by-the-glass programas well. Charentais Melon Sampler with preserved charentais melon, cara cara orange panna cotta, candied orange zest, nevarro verjus-melon consomme and melon sorbet. This was a subtle and refreshing dessert. The panna cotta was particularly subtle with respect to orange flavor. Vidalia's Lemon Chess Pie buttery crust filled with rich lemon custard garnished with raspberries and sweet cream. This had nice tartness and was not overly sweet. Our meal was quite satisfactory. It was one of those times meeting new people that the time seemed to fly and there was ever more to talk about.

Please explain. ← If I'm not mistaken, Breadline supplies the bread at Citronelle, among other places in town. Correct? ← I was at a cooking demonstration at Citronelle and at one point Michel went off on a mock rant (and I will not phoneticize his words, but mentally add a French accent to get the proper effect) that went some thing like this: "This stupid bread! People come up to me all the time and don't say anything about he meal, they say 'I love your bread.' IT IS THE ONLY THING WE DO NOT MAKE IN THE RESTAURANT!" I felt a little guilty at that point for thingking of the bread as one of the highlights of my meals there...and then I went out anb bought a couple of loaves. Oh, well. Next time there will be room for a cheese course. ← Hah, that is one of the few things that I don't particularly remember from my incredible meal there. I think I consciously made an effort to stay away from the bread. It is a good thing I did too

We finished with "The Sweet End", as they referred to the final grouping of courses. Pina Colada This layered drink was every bit as delicious and refreshing as its earlier counterparts. Apples with Red Wine "Fredy Girardet" Nice. Mignardises Saffron Gumdrop We were instructed to eat this wrapper and all. This was my favorite of this compilation. Maracuya Marshmallow "Maracuya" is I believe a Spanish word for passion fruit. Passion fruit has come to be one of my favorite fruit flavors. Chocolate Covered Corn Nuts These are always a treat. I remember having brought back similar ones from Cacao Sampaka in Barcelona. Fruit Salad Similar in execution to the Lobster Americaine. Nice. Halls Lollipop One better have finished one's wine before this! The overall experience was one of pleasure, comradery and fun. The food all excelled in conception, execution and delight attained. The staff was professional and friendly. We had a marvellous evening.

There wasn't anything served to us that was less than really good, but I agree the "reconstructions" were uniformly superb. I too particularly enjoyed the guacomole. This had all the components of a regular guacomole including tomato, chile, baby cilantro leaves, onion, chive flowers and even Fritos. I don't recall a sorbet being a component of this dish though.

Please explain.

...back to the task at hand. The next flight of courses were somewhat more substantial and were delivered under the header "Flavors and Textures" Minibar Olives These were very similar to"olives" I had at El Bulli last summer and were the one dish that I could directly compare. Flavorwise they were comparable, although I thought the presentation was better at El Bulli although that may have been as much a function of the novelty of having the dish for the first time as anything else. Michael Turner doing more prep work. Salmon Pineapple "Ravioli" with Crispy Quimoa This dish, one of the classics and truly delectable had the the thinnest shaving of pineapple enveloping the salmon and providing just the right amount of pineapple flavor to enhance and not overpower the salmon. The quinoa provided excellent textural contrast. Deconstructed Glass of White Wine Taken from this post, Schneier describes the construction of this dish perfectly: It was fun tasting each component and guessing what they were much like going through an exercise of identifying the flavor components in an actual glass of wine. Preparation of a new dish, the Ajo Blanco. Because this was new, it required more intense concentration during the final production. michael told me that this was one of the most complex dishes that they make. Ajo Blanco This dish, a new one that premiered that very evening, is a study in garlic with various temperature and textural components involved. The grape-like items are actually preserved garlic cloves. The red is a tomato powder. My first taste of this dish left me underwhelmed, however, subsequent tastes awakened my palate to the dish's inherent delights. My initial reticence was quickly overcome by delight. The dish is a winner. Slicing the lobster tail. Zucchini in Textures This subtly flavored but delicious dish was all about the textural contrasts of zucchini. Michael and Timothy in the kitchen. More lobster prep Lobster Americaine Another Minibar classic and deservedly so, this is fun to eat and unctuously delicious. It is with plates like this that even I question the tasting menu format I could easily have gone for a few more of these temptresses. Feta "Linguine" Another lovely dish, the noodles are made from feta cheese with a process very fifferent than some other novel noodle preparations such as Wylie Dufresne's shrimp noodles. Once again, this was delicious. Prep for the Organized Caesar Salad. Organized Caesar Salad We were instructed to eat the roll with the quail egg first to be followed by the other roll along with the dressing. I love a good Caesar salad. This was a good albeit untraditional Caesar salad. Michaerl prepping uni. Conch Fritter The liquid center of this fritter was made by freezing a conch chowder, encoating then frying the frozen balls. These actually have to cool down a bit between frying and service. This too is a Minibar classic. Cotton Candy Foie Gras What else need I say? Egg 147* with Caviar Uruguayan caviar atop a closely temperature controlled quail egg, this dish also had a little bit of a sweet element that came from banana and another fruit, perhaps passion fruit. Chef Michael and I had a bit of a discussion as to whether this constituted sous vide cooking. He said the egg was not cooked sous vide because it wasn't "vacuum-packed" as it was cooked in the shell. I claimed that the vacuum packing was natural and therreby was cooked sous vide. This was the only dish that had anything resembling sous vide cookery that we were served. West Coast Sea Urchin with Pomegranite Air I love sea urchin. This dish did not disappoint. "Guacomole" Looking more like a fancy sushi roll, this was one excellent guac. Corn on the Cob Another classic, the purity of top-notch corn flavor along with textural complexity makes this dish a winner. Hot & Cold Foie Gras Soup Everything one could hope for regarding richness and flavor with foie gras, this dish may have been my favorite of the evening. Prepping oysters and grapes. Oyster with "Champagne" Grapes The fizzy grapes and oyster provided a nice combination. The dish reminded me conceptually of one I had at Moto, the "champagne and Opah", last year. Japanese baby Peaches with Yogurt Refreshing. New- New England Clam Chowder As good as any I have ever had. Breaded Cigala This crustacaean is always a treat when prepared well. This was prepared well. Chef Franks lights up the night. Philly Cheese Steak Fun. Watermelon Air This light as an angel course provided the perfect segue into the desserts. More to come later.

As a brief aside here are a few photos I took in 2004 at Bolets Petras in the Boqueria in Barcelona. It was an honor and a treat to meet and dine with the man behind these while at Minibar.

In going back over this thread it has been interesting to get a sense of the evolution of this restaurant. A number of the plates we were served are classics here, while many are newer. To those for whom this might be repetitious, I apologize, but I will include photos and brief discussion on each dish we were served. The entrance to Cafe Atlantico and Minibar and a photo of the Minibar kitchen from the street below. We arrived a few minutes before our 8:30PM reservation and were treated to a glass of sparkling wine as we had to wait a few minutes before being shown to the Minibar. We were then escorted upstairs to a small area in the front right corner of the main dining area of Cafe Atlantico by our friendly and quite knowledgable server Timothy Anne Burnside. Throughout the course of the evening Timothy, who has been at Minibar since its inception, did a wonderful job making us comfortable and keeping things moving. Our dining companions for the evening at the 6 seat bar also were escorted upstairs with us. In an intimate setting like this, the potential for these people to ultimately effect the quality of our evening and vice versa is quite high. Speaking for ourselves, this proved to be rather serendipitous. Our companions turned out to be Ruben Garcia, who spent five years working as a pastry chef with Albert Adria at El Bulli and now works for Jose Andres, his lovely wife, Andrea and two guests from Catalunya, Llorenc Petras and his wife. Sr. Petras is the proprietor of Bolets Petras, the foremost purveyor of mushrooms and edible insects at the fabulous Boqueria Market in Barcelona, a very impressive stall that I am personally familiar with. Sr. Petras was in Washington as part of Mushroom Festival 2006 at Jaleo. My wife and I having an affinity for all things Catalan along with FC Barcelona's impending participation in the finals of the Champion's League soccer match made for too much to discuss over too brief an evening. Minibar is set up much like a small sushi bar with stool seating, a dining counter in this case made of copper and a refrigerated glass mise en place compartment between us and the small kitchen. The plates are presented on top of the glass in unison for all six diners. The work of the Minibar Kitchen Team that consisted of Michael Turner, Edgar Steele and Melanie Franks was expert, seemless and very friendly as they were happy to discuss the food, Minibar and anything else. The lighting was excellent for non-flash photography. Mise en place and prep work photos. From L to R in the bottom photo are Melanie Franks, Edgar Steele and Michael Turner. Shortly after we sat down, the courses started to arrive. The initial flight were smaller bites labeled as "Snacks" "Mojito" This refreshing treat was a fizzy encapsulated cocktail on a spoon. Beet Tumbleweed This was light, airy and flavorful. I just loved the presentation. Pork Rinds with Maple Syrup These were crunchy and delicious. They were served simultaneously with the Beet Tumbleweed. Passion Fruit Whiskey Sour Another delicious cocktail, this was a bit more substantial than the Mojito. This was a nice twist on the classic cocktail. Olive Oil "Bon Bon" Simple but beautiful presentation and pure flavor made for a nice touch. Popcorn Envelope This was small, fragile but simply delicious. Salmon Roe Cone This has been described as a "bagel with salmon and cream cheese for adults." The description fits. Saffron Yogurt Meringue Another dish that was light, airy and ethereally delicious. This completes the "Snack" portion of the meal. I will return with the next flight of courses in a little bit.

One interesting aspect of this whole experience is that other tables at the restaurant that night appeared to have different service experiences to your own. It is very unfortunate that you had this experience there. I have had disappointing service in other restaurants at which the food was at a distinctly high level. As much as the service did not match the level of the food and adversely effected my overall experience, it was only bad in a relative sense in that the quality of the service did not match the quality of the food.. Your specific experience as you described it was in some ways worse than mine in that they caused apparently greater aggravation at a time when you are paying to avoid aggravation.

Thanks for filling in the details. It certainly sounds like the service was not up to their usual standards for your meal.

I was very fortunate to be able to make a very quick trip to DC with my wife to visit Minibar, one of the restaurants in this country that I hadn't yet been to that was at the top of my list to try. The genesis of this visit was to visit chef Matthew Secich at The Oval Room (He went there from what had until then been my favorite local restaurant), dine at Minibar and make a return visit to Citronelle. Chef Secich left DC towards the end of April and since my wife was unable to get away for more than one night (I must admit I have a much easier time leaving the kids behind for a little bit:smile: ), we decided to limit the visit to just Minibar, as much as I would have loved to return to Citronelle and try other places as well. Minibar Tuesday, May 16th, 2006 If there is a restaurant in the U.S. that is more fun than Minibar, I haven't been there. This restaurant with only six seats is wonderful, edible, interactive theater. While the setting and ambiance is markedly different than El Bulli, the food clearly owes an acknowledged debt to the great Spanish restaurant. Nevertheless the experience at both is wonderful, but markedly different. While hardly formal, El Bulli is a more traditionally western sit at the table meal. Minibar is not formal either, but it's ambiance and style also owes a great deal to the influence of Japanese sushi bars. Indeed it is something of a fusion of modern Spanish and Japanese cuisine. In upcoming posts I hope to demonstrate with the help of a few photos I took, something of what makes this restaurant so special.

This is at least an explanation of why you were disatisfied with the service there. That goes back to my point about the style of service and how it may not be for everyone. I remain curious about what caused such a strong reaction from U.E. Because the reaction was so strongly stated it begs for explanation. ← I want to apologize for having made such an inflamatory remark without qualification - knowing that (robert40 was correct) I would be too imminently busy to elaborate on my statement. As I feared, my statement resulted in the unmentionable hitting the eGullet fan. Other than being extremely occupied with the move-back-home, I also decided that it would only be fair to air out my grievances with the restaurant before posting about it here on a public forum. Regardless of the service I received, I owed at least that much in the way of courtesy to TFL and its staff. I also admit being a bit cautious about posting too much about my experience lest I become too transparent on eGullet (ie. my real person, btw, if any TFL staff are reading and can identify me by what I post, I ask that you respect my privacy). But, I did "set myself up" in my earlier posting, so I will follow-through with an explanation. ...more later... very sorry about this disjointed and rather dodgy post. I promise I will elaborate when I have more time. u.e. ← I very much appreciate the time factor involved in putting together posts after such an extensive trip as well as the need to maintain a life outside of this realm and also appreciate your addressing your statement at least this much. That you would address the issues with the restaurant before airing them here is worthy of appreciation as well, however, the fact remains that a very provocative statement was made and remains essentially unclarified. Style issues aside, TFL has a very strong reputation for very professional service. My own experience supports that. Based on your statement that the problem was not one of style and given my own experience at the restaurant I can only conclude that whatever the problem may have been, it was likely unique to your specific experience. I will be very surprised and curious indeed should the issue be of a more systemic nature.

This is at least an explanation of why you were disatisfied with the service there. That goes back to my point about the style of service and how it may not be for everyone. I remain curious about what caused such a strong reaction from U.E. Because the reaction was so strongly stated it begs for explanation.

I can certainly understand being disappointed with the service there or anywhere else. The service at TFL is of a unique style and certainly may not appeal to everyone and as with anywhere else there can be gaps in the service for any number of reasons. I am just very curious as to what made U.E. make such a strong statement about it.

OK, I'm sure that your experience was not a good one. But I would think that the above sentence is in context to the level of service expected vs. the level received. It could not have the been the "bar none, the worst" judging all restauraunts on a standad scale....could it? I must say that my personal experience was one of the best I've ever had. I can't wait to hear the details! ← ... well... yes, and no. For a restaurant of that caliber, the service we received was definitely unacceptable. However, on a "standard scale," I was perhaps exaggerating just a bit - but not much... the service we received was truly one of the most memorably bad experiences of any restaurant - fast food, chain, upscale, what have you... u.e. ← It is not fair to make a statement like this and not elaborate on exactly what you mean. Given the level of service I personally received there I have a hard time believing this. Of course TFL is a human institution and anything is possible. I can understand how some people may not prefer the style of service, but I am very curious of your explanation.

Life evolves. I certainly hope that this simply is an evolution and that they remain collaborators. They have been an outstanding team and have each managed to blur the sweet/savory line just a little more. I am confidant that both have what it takes to remain at the tops of their respective games. I wish both continued creative and business success!