The opportunity to dine at e by Jose Andres. Now that is a Christmas present!!
The 'golden ticket' arrived in December and the excitement built until it was SHOWTIME! Located in a room inside of Jaleo at the Cosmo hotel, Jose Andres's 8 seat restaurant experience was one of our culinary highlights. Truly a unique and fun dining experience - the perfectly timed molecular gastronomy was inventive, exciting, and delicious. The cuisine was based in traditional Spanish cooking and used the more modern techniques to display the flavors. A highlight was talking to and questioning the chefs as they prepared each course right in front of us!
Below is the picture diary of a terrific meal and evening:
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| Pre-dinner picture in front of the Chandelier Bar at the Cosmo |
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| Our Golden Tickets! |
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| Our chefs for the evening preparing the opening cocktail. |
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| Opening cocktail: Rebujito - sherry with compressed thyme mousse. Flavorful and incredibly aromatic |
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| Truffle Cotton Candy and Idiazabal "Macaron" Unbelievable truffled cotton candy in a mold of Jose's hand! The Macaron was the best game-day snack I could imagine |
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| Apple "Brazo de Gitano" Served on a bed of cold rocks, the outer cup would melt quickly so this was eaten in one bite. Cold apple cup, salty, crunchy caviar! |
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| Seta Surprise Terrific combination of textures and flavors - blue cheese mousse, hazelnut dash, and an airy meringue skin |
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| Jen's dish: Barquillo Clams with encapsulated clam juice |
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| Nik's dish: Oliva Sferica Ferran Adria Made famous at el bulli - awesome. no other words |
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| Almejas al Natural |
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| Bocata de Bacalao Nik's had confit red peppers Quite a contrast in texture and a fun way to show off a traditional dish |
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| Crispy Chicken Skin in Escabeche with thyme air Otherwordly: homey, crunchy, downright yummy |
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| Cava Sangria Truly a burst of flavors |
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| Artichoke "puree' with Vanilla One of my top courses of the evening. Interesting texture on the artichoke puree, vanilla was a perfect compliment |
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| Lobster with Citrus and Jasmine Jen - brilliant bites of flavor |
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| Chickpea Stew with Iberico Ham The spheres of delicate 'chick peas' played with the stew of liquified Iberico Ham and dots of chili and parsely oil. Licked the plate |
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| Turbot with Bone Marrow Jen ate one of the entire deep-fried bone marrow nuggets. Not her favorite part of the evening. |
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| Nik's: Zuccini in Textures Highlight of the Night for me! Zucchini juice gelee, candied zuccini seeds, roasted zuccini custard. I'm not a zucchini fan normally and this was off the charts good |
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| Secreto of Iberico Pork with Squid This was good, but I more remember the 2000 White Rioja paired with this. What minerality and depth!
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| And the HUGE lobe of foie served with a Clementine puree. Decadent and outstanding |
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| Torta Pascualete with Cotton Candy Let the desserts begin! The cheese course featured candied hazelnuts and sweetness provided by a compressed cotton candy sphere that 'melted' into the dish. |
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| Plating the next course! Pretty amazing to watch the chef work right in front of our table of 7! |
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| Pan con Chocolate The picture doesn't do this course justice: A river of freeze-dried chocolate over a saffron custard and olive oil at the bottom. One of the top desserts I have ever had |
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| Arroz con Leche |
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| Flan with flowers and ice |
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| 25 second Bizcocho (foreground) Cocoa Paper with Dried Strawberrys Great way to end - the cake was airy with a mousse filling The Paper had an interesting (in a good way) texture and flavor |
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| Jen with her menu! |
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| The cocktail finale: Gin and Tonic The flavors of gin with a compressed ice cube |
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| Post-meal |
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| Our Team - terrific service throughout the evening |
