REPOSTING: In Honor of Jose Andres - Cafe Atlantico!

CAFÉ ATLANTICO & Molecular Gastronomy!

Molecular Gastronomy: “ the application or study of scientific principles and practices in cooking and food preparation; a discipline practiced by both scientists and food professionals that studies the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking…”.

So…how often does one order absolutely everything off the left side of a menu? Call it a first for my dining party when we enjoyed a fabulous meal at Café Atlantico in Washington, D.C. As if that was not enough, we also ordered one entrée, all five sweet treats off the dessert menu, a magnum of wine, another bottle of wine and each enjoyed a special aged rum aperitif! We were a gaggle of gluttonous fools taking pleasure in everything that passed our lips!

In October hubby and I along with dear friends from Los Angeles, Peter & Joan, had a delightful dining experience at the haute Nuevo Latino style cuisine of Café Atlantico in Washington, D.C. Located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, Café Atlantico is a hip three story restaurant and home to world famous chef Jose Andre’s “minibar by Jose Andres" where small plates of indescribable goodness are served. To get a coveted restaurant reservation for minibar one must set their alarm clock to phone 30 days in advance at 10:00 a.m. east coast time. Well, on a rare occasion, hubby over-slept and we missed our reservation opportunity but ended up in the main restaurant at Café Atlantico instead.
Jose Andres is an executive chef, restaurateur, business man, father, husband, food scientist and a master of molecular gastronomy with hands on experience in world famous kitchens (protege to Ferran Adria of world famous El Bulli in Spain and various Michelin star restaurants) since the age of fifteen. In addition to overseeing seven restaurants offering “avant-garde and classic Spanish cooking” he also teaches a course on culinary physics at Harvard University and has been the recipient of many culinary awards as well as a semi-finalist for the prestigious James Beard Foundation award for outstanding chefs.

Never have I walked into a restaurant and ordered everything on the appetizer menu - 14 items…along with an entrée, every dessert (5 total) and copious wine and liquor (does this make me a lush?). My dining team decided the only way to truly experience Jose Andres in all his culinary glory was to “taste” everything on his appetizer menu, and then some.

Oy vay…where to begin?! How about with the Fried Oysters and Uni or the Dominican Conch Fritters or Shrimp & Grapefruit w/Chayote Spaghetti? For starters the Tuna Ceviche was spectacular. Small cubes of tender sashimi grade tuna folded into creamy coconut milk and topped with firm, ripe avocado slices was visually appealing and very refreshing. I was surprised to see my hubby eat his portion since he does not care too much for coconut milk…need I say more?

The Foie Gras Soup blended with wild mushrooms and poured table side was a first for me. Not that I have never dined on foie gras in the past just never served as a warm, rich, creamy soup…OMG! A chilled carrot soup with passion fruit and fresh herbs was served along side the warm soup and it was a cool accompaniment.

Once our server realized our passion and excitement for anything epicurean she alerted the famous minibar and the wonderful staff continued to send over several samples (little taste “gifts”) of their molecular gastronomic creations. Most praiseworthy was the ultra thin Cheese Empanadas. Gladly breaking the rule of polite society, I promptly shoved the small wafer thin morsel in my pie whole and was immediately pleased with the flavor sensation – a rich cheese taste emanated through the ultra thin empanada and disappeared instantly on my tongue. Enjoyably the cheesy aftertaste lingered in my mouth for several seconds. WOW!

There were many other items worth mention such as the Grilled Octopus and Watermelon Salad but I will leave you with a description of out main entrée. Cobia is a dense white fish which was thickly sliced and plated in overlapping layers sashimi style and floated in a broth of chicken jus! Who in their right mind puts fish chunks and chicken jus together? Creative Jose Andres does…and he does a mighty fine job of it too! The accoutrements of summer melon, fresh lime, passion fruit and green almonds plated with the fish were unimaginable combinations but truly glorious eaten as one.

Although Café Atlantico is known for their molecular artistic cocktails such as the Magic Mojito and Old Man and the Sea we selected from their extensive yet reasonable wine list a magnum of red and bottle of white wine and topped it all off with a special aged rum suggested by the sommelier to accompany our rum infused dessert. As for all the desserts we ordered I do not recall what they were (I was slightly inebriated) but I do recall they were utterly fabulous!

I have had the benefit and joy of experiencing many world class restaurants in my life (Joel Robuchon, Taillevent, Louix XV, etc.) but my conclusion is Jose Andres’ Café Atlantico is outstanding in its own right with their many combinations of ingredients and use of molecular gastronomy in melding flavors extracted through a scientific approach! I look forward to one day dining at the six other restaurants Andreas owns and operates and I am certain I will experience a bon vivant’s delight all over again!

Cheers!

Great $Price$ Point
Vast Wine Selection; Wine & Beer
Closed Mondays Lunch & Dinner

SAPPHIRE LAGUNA

Well known to locals as the old Pottery Shack building in charming Laguna Beach is “Sapphire Laguna” restaurant. Executive Chef Azmin Ghahreman (formerly of the St. Regis and Four Seasons) has been offering cosmopolitan dishes since 2007. Sapphire’s indoor/outdoor dining areas - enchanting outdoor fire pit, warm dining room ambiance, global cuisine and Chef inspired signature cocktails lure loyal locals and tourist alike.

When Chef Azmin is not overseeing kitchen prep and creating new menu items, he chivalrously spends time helping the children of our community by creating alternative healthy, low-fat meals for our local school cafeteria lunches. Kudos to Chef Azmin for his commitment and energy serving the progenies of Laguna Beach and surrounding areas!

I have dined at Sapphire on a handful of occasions for lunch and dinner sampling many different dishes and my favorite on the menu is the “Hawaiian Style Steamed Barramundi”. Barramundi is a dense Hawaiian fish and my fillet was moist-tender and melted in my mouth. The fish was served with a mixture of fresh ginger, shitake mushrooms, cilantro, green onions and shoyu – soy based sauce and was very well prepared.

A big hit on the menu are the “Home-Fried Potato Chips” which are lightly sprinkled with sage-rosemary sea salt and for a mere $4.75 should be ordered by every potato chip aficionado before every meal - they are pure potato chip perfection! There is nothing better than fresh and warm, thinly sliced potato chips!

My last dining experience at Sapphire invoked the global cuisine gods who bestowed upon me the desire to order “outside of the box” for a Laguna Beach restaurant. From the Global Cuisine menu I ordered three items to see for myself what this “global cuisine” fuss was all about. With seven different small plates to choose from, I decided on the “Tak-Koji Tacos”, “Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Skewers” and the “San Francisco Rickshaw Pork and Shrimp Dumplings”.

The Skewers were so-so with the shrimp in need of a little more gusto and the Pork and Shrimp Dumplings were pretty average with subtle flavor (guys, periodically I drive to Little Saigon in Westminster for some serious authentic Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine where dumplings are perfected hence, a tough standard to live up to). Alas, I did click my heels with joy when I tasted the Korean style Tak-Koji Tacos with tender grilled chicken meat that had been marinating in a spiced marinade sauce and served with freshly chopped cilantro and a lime sour cream. The accompanying Crunchy Sesame Slaw was slightly sweet and refreshing creating a nice balance with the savory spiced chicken in my tacos.

During one afternoon repast my dining partner and I shared the “Lunch Box” which offers a handful of “surprise” samplings. For the most part everything I tasted was good with a couple of minor exceptions. The “Southern Fried Chicken Salad” left no noticeable impression on my taste buds with an over-dressing of Buttermilk Ranch making a very soggy salad. Although, the "Crazy Cobb Salad" with fresh seafood and smoked pork was crisp and yummy! We also concurred that the “Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps” were rather “dull” but we thoroughly enjoyed the “Sesame Crusted Ahi Salad” with lightly seared Ahi and Enoki mushrooms and we agreed that the “Sautéed Jumbo Shrimp in Rosemary-Garlic Milk” was delicious ultimately leaving us totally satiated!

Chef Azmin does a wonderful job of offering many international dishes such as the “Greek Octopus Salad”, “Hong Kong Style Salt/Pepper Shrimp” and “Tiradito of Kampachi” to mention a few. Although I have yet to taste the various items on the menu, I am sure I will find more than one of them to satisfy my finicky palate.

Sapphire has a well stocked bar for those who just want to hang out, order a couple of small plates and whet their whistle. I have savored a couple of the chef inspired “Signature Cocktails” and the “Lychee Martini” with lychee puree was delightful. My dining partner ordered the “Pure Passion Martini” which was dressed with a cayenne sugared rim and mixed up with fresh passion fruit puree and vanilla vodka. One sip told me I should stick to my “lighter” Lychee Martini since her cocktail was a bit thick and sweet for my taste buds. I was informed by Chris the bartender that the “Adult Lemonade”, a refreshing libation made up of homemade lemonade, vodka and St. Germaine was also available for those desiring a lighter specialty tipple.

In addition to a full bar Sapphire has approximately 900 bottles of wine, 37 wines by the glass (rather impressive) and the gourmet food shop “Sapphire Pantry” which is conveniently located next door! In addition to a varied cheese and wine selection, the Pantry offers various “to go” items including sweet and savory for your beach picnic needs. During one trip to the Pantry I was thrilled to find “Boquerones” (Spanish white anchovies) in stock…these tender marinated plump white anchovies are pretty difficult to find and I am happy to know I can purchase them within a ten minute drive from my home!

Cheers!


Open Daily for Lunch and Dinner
Sunday for Brunch
Reservations recommended on a beautiful Laguna day!
Good $Price$ Point