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For my birthday this year, Ian took me to the most fabulous dinner at minibar in DC. I've always wanted to eat there but it's super hard to get reservations. There are only 6 seats at the minibar and you have to call one month ahead at exactly 10 am to even have a chance of getting a spot and of course, Ian got it! 

He totally surprised me because I told him I wanted to do something low key with just him and thought we were going to this neighborhood Italian joint that I love, but instead of driving there, we were headed downtown. I was so excited when I figured out we were going to the minibar! 

The minibar is known for mixing cooking and science together and using crazy techniques like using liquid nitrogen to turn food into beautiful, surprising, interesting, flavorful, and delightful dishes. They make everything in front of you and tell you how they make it, what's in it and how to eat it. It's an experience I think everyone should try.  It is amazing!

I only managed to get a few pictures of the 27 course meal we had because I wasn't sure if we could take pictures in the beginning. Unfortunately, I missed getting pictures of the most beautiful dishes, including a big drop of olive oil encased in sugar that was so delicate and fragile. It looked like a shiny green teardrop falling in the air. Not only was it beautiful to look at but also delicious! Out of 27 courses, there was only one dish we both didn’t like, the sea urchin (which tasted like rotten sea water) and another dish Ian didn’t like because he doesn’t like blue cheese, but I thought it was really tasty.


My favorite dishes were the cotton candy eel, dragon's breath popcorn (when you ate it, smoke came out of your mouth and nose like a dragon), deconstructed guacamole and the zucchini in textures (deconstructed zucchini).
This is us waiting to go up to the minibar (which is located within another restaurant, Cafe Atlantico). 

These were our wonderful chefs for the night.
The first picture is deconstructed clam chowder that tasted exactly like regular chowder except not heavy and creamy. The deconstructed chowder allowed you to taste the pure flavors of all of the main ingredients - clams, bacon, cream, potato but when they all mixed in your mouth you got the taste of real chowder. So good.... 


Next picture is an egg made out of parmesan cheese (the white part) and the yolk is the yolk of a quail egg. It was served with breading that looked like hash browns and when it was all eaten together it was like having Sunday brunch. 
This is their version of a Philly cheesesteak. I have to admit, it wasn't as good as a real one but it was still delicious. Ian had  a Philly cheesemushroom.
The first picture is frozen yogurt with honey but the yogurt was like tiny frozen shavings that melted in your mouth. The second picture is made out of mango and the last picture is cotton candy with some special powder on it that makes it fizz when you put it in you mouth. So fun!
I had to take a picture of the sea urchin we ate since it will probably be the last time I ever eat it.


Our bill was delivered to us inside an egg and had to be cracked open. This is a picture of the eggshells.  


This is us after our fantastic meal, all stuffed and happy :)
 


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