Latino -> Cafe Atlantico -> Washington, DC

We came here with my folks for a celebration. We decide to get two vegetarian tasting menus and two regular tasting menus.

	Faux Syrah, Syrah (Hangar One Straight Vodka, blackberry purée, black pepper and smoke infusion) – Tasted like a syrah with the dry aftertaste. Liked how the blackberry emulated that dry grape taste.
	Aqua Fresca (Pineapple and Watermelon) – Simple straight forward mixed juice taste
	Mate- Chai (Yerba Mate , chai the ultimate blend for tea lovers, served with a vanilla bean syrup ) – A very mild sweet chai. Heavy on the vanilla taste. Tea is a bit muted.
	Quiet Evening (Caffeine free herbal infusion with chamomile & peppermint) – What one would expect for a chamomile and peppermint.
	Malanga Chips – See previous review (Link Below)
	Canteloupe and Tomato Skewers – Spelling is as is on the menu.  Interesting blend of a sweet cantaloupe and a mildly sweet tomato. I was expecting the cantaloupe to be too overpowering but it worked.
	Potato & Vanilla Mousse with American Caviar – (The Vegetarian one had this without caviar) The caviar was the one that made the soup. The slightly salty caviar blended well with the mild vanilla potato filling.
	Tomato Soup – Very earthy flavors, a bit of basil, wife really enjoyed it but it wasn’t anything exotic.
	Mango-Anchovy Ravioli – The anchovy wasn’t that strong and the slight saltiness mixed in well with the sweet
	Conch Fritters with a Liquid Center – See previous review (Link Below)
	Hot & Cold Foie Gras and Corn Soup – Some how I expected more from this, The foie gras was very very faint. There was no however mistaking the sweet corn taste.
	Tuna Ceviche with Coconut – This was the wife’s and my dad’s favorite. The tuna was cut well and wrapped around a thin layer of coconut. The naturally oiled tuna went well with the coconut.
	Oyster with Mango-Lime Oil – One one expect this to be more of a hit yet nobody at the table thought much of it. The mango-lime oil was too mild for it to have any impact on the oyster.
	Jicama-Avocado Ravioli – See previous review (Link Below)
	Grilled Skirt Steak “Carne Asada” – A finely grilled piece of steak. Very tender and soft.
	Mushrooms with Egg 63 – I thought this was the best dish of the day. The 63 comes form the temperature at which the egg was poached. Mixed with the grilled mushrooms made for a creamy and tasty treat.
	Pineapple-Unagi with Avocado Sauce – I expected more of an eel taste to this. However all I was able to taste was the pineapple. A real disappointment as I love eel. The spicy guacamole type sauce added a bit of a bunch to the dish.
	Coconut Rice, Crispy Rice & Ginger – Very mild coconut flavoring. A bit like porridge. Not a favorite of anyone at the table.
	Huitlacoche & Wild Mushroom Quesadilla – Simple quesadilla, liked how there was a mild layer of cheese so the quesadilla wasn’t overpowered by the dairy. The mushrooms were grilled perfectly as well.
	Cauliflower-Quinoa “Cous-Cous” –  Loved the textures on this dish. You had the crunchy quinoa mixed in with some soft quinoa all culminating in a strong cauliflower taste.
	Pork Belly Confit with Passion Fruit Oil – We’ve had better pork belly. Wished the belly was a bit more on the crisp side.
	Fried egg with Mashed Black Beans & Pork – Not a fan as the black beans were a bit flavorless and really didn’t go that well with the fried egg.
	Fried Egg with Veracruz sauce – A good strong olive taste mixed with onions and peppers to give a soft omelet fee;l.
	Pineapple Shavings with Plantain Powder and Tamarind Oil – Mom’s favorite dish. The pineapples were crisp and sweet. Wife also liked the textures to this as well.
	French Toast – The French Toast was good, very light and airy and cinnamon taste. My gripe is come on where was the creativity? You’re going to follow up a meal full of different flavors and innovations with this. What’s even more heartbreaking is that we’ve had desserts here and they were great.

Overview: A disappointment when comparing it to Minibar. The were a lot more misses in the Latino Dim Sum than at Minibar. Though there is a substantial monetary difference though.

Previous Review:
/2008/11/29/latino-cafe-atlantico-washington-dc/

 

Latino -> Cafe Atlantico -> Washington, DC

We originally came here with my parents to have the Latino dim sum only to find out that they canceled the Saturday courses and made it a Sunday only affair. Update your webpage!

	Mango Aguas Frescas – My dad liked it. Simple fresh squeeze mango juice
	Magic Mojito (cotton candy deconstruction of the classic mojito) – I wish I took a before picture, this comes out with a cotton candy in the glass, and they poor the liquor in. Very cool for affects. The mojito itself had a nice strong flavor and perfect combination of basil and lime.
	Dominican Lemonade (Cranberry, lemon, lime, pineapple-orange, grape fruit) – As the wife states, there is a superb complexity of flavors in the drink that somehow equivocates out harmonically.
	Mint-Limeade (Fresh Lime, mint, sour mix) – My mother liked the really strong mint taste in this lime drink.
	Conch Fritters and Jicama Avocado Ravioli – The conch fritters were fried perfectly with a nice liquid center with conch bits. Combined with the avocado ravioli they made a perfect match.
	Smoked Salmon (arugula, mango, pineapple, hard boiled egg, caviar, toast point) – The smoked salmon came on top of a bed of arugula salad. The slight salty salmon went well with the salad. Also neat were the four salmon raviolis. Each one had a different topping. caviar, onion, egg and sweet relish. Each minute topping gave the taster a different experience. The toast was rather oily and not that great.
	Roasted Lamb (fennel, pineapple, fresh herbs) – The lamb was the second best dish. The lamb had that mild lamb taste which was offset by the sweet pineapple. You wouldn’t have though the two went together but it did. It would be perfect for a summer sandwich.
	Café Eggs ‘Benedicto’ (pork belly pupusa, egg 63, avocado hollandaise, frisee) – Once the egg got cracked, it looked like a fancy corn beef hash with egg mix. The pupusa was very bland. Overall the whole dish was very bland.
	“Medio Día” (café’s version of the classic Cubano sandwich confit pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and yellow mustard) – This was a huge disappointment. It’s a glorified ham and cheese panini. Melanga Chips (taro) – Very thin and light tasting. The taro flavoring only really comes through if you stuff a couple at once in your mouth. Very nice deviation from potato chips
	“Piña Colada” (coconut, rum and pineapple; the components of the classical tropical cocktail in textures) – Very cool dessert. They have frozen coconut ice cream, pineapple jelly, pineapple juice and rum, and whip cream. Mixed together it gives a pina colada.
	Warm White Chocolate Mousse (white chocolate hazelnut ice cream, muscovado streusel, coffee gelée) – another excellent dessert, the white chocolate mousse was not too sweet. The coffee gelatin and the muscovado mixed well. The layers in terms of creamy white chocolate, the crunchy muscovado, the slippery jelly. The wonderful thing is despite all the chocolate, it wasn’t too decadent.

Decor: The decor is very minimalist. We were seated upstairs next to the minibar. There are three large paintings and that’s about it with the white walls. The service was admirable, we had a trainee and things were going smoothly. No issues.

Overall Assessment: ($$, 5/10) – The desserts were very well done. The drinks again were very well done. Depending on what one got, the food was either nice or mediocre. We are still a little miff that they didn’t change the online menu to let one know that the Latino dim sum was a Sunday only affair. The cost fro a brunch meal was rather high.

Website: http://www.cafeatlantico.com/
Location: 405 8th St NW, 20004
Reservation: OpenTable
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Tues – Thurs; 1130 – 1430, 1700 – 2200 Fri – Sat;1130 – 1430, 1700 – 2300, Sun; 1130 – 1430, 1700 – 2200

 

Latin American -> Julias Empanadas -> Washington, DC

Had some meetings nearby and decide to have some lunch with the wife.

	Jamaican Style (Ground and chopped beef, onion, potato, curry, and other spices.) – I loved this one, the strong curry with just a good amount of spiciness. The curry was fragrant and went well with the slightly sweet crust.
	Chorizo (Spanish sausage with rice and black beans) – Not a fan. Tasted like a burrito encased in crust due to the black bean and rice mixture. Also the chorizo had a slight vinegary taste that was distracting. Somehow the picture for the inside came out undecipherable.
	Salteñas (Chicken, potato, green peas, hard boiled egg, raisins, green olives and onion.) – Wife of course liked the egg that was in the empanada. The olives and potatoes were a good mixture. The chicken was soft and done well.

Decor: Really no thrills, you walk in, no seating. Tiny area with the empanadas on display. They were still warm and good despite a slight walk back to the office. Staff was friendly and helpful. Warning, they only take cash.

Overall Assessment: ($, 8/10) – The wife and I agreed , it’s the crispy and flavorful crust on these things that does it. The crust is thin as well with lots of filling which we can appreciate. Also at $3.50 a pop, they are very worthy investment. Very fast service as well.

Website: http://www.juliasempanadas.com/
Location: 1221 Connecticut Ave NW, 20036
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: 202.861.8828
Hours: Sun – Thurs; 1000 – 2000, Fri – Sat; 1000 – 0400

 

Latino -> Minibar at Cafe Atlantico -> Washington, DC

Wife had booked this for a special occasion.

	Nitro Sangria – Frozen Sangria with very airy feel due to the nitrogen infused into it. The frozen watermelon was a great finisher with the watermelon flavor soaked with the sangria taste.
	Parmesan “Pringles” – The chips were thin and very crisp. The Parmesan chip was robust and full of flavor and the mellow yogurt side was a perfect pairing. Some some traces of oil could be seen but not too bad.
	Beet “Tumbleweed” – Texture was like a beef jerky. The strips had a nice sweet beet flavoring to it along with some hints of spices.
	Olive Oil “Bon-Bon” – Candied shell with pure olive oil in the shell. Once the shell was broken, the mild olive oil disperses creating a mixture of sweet and mild olive. Great on the texture contrast with the hard shell and the silky liquid oil.
	“Mojito” – The wife and I determined this had the best wow factor. The mojito mixture is wrapped in a seaweed wrapper. Once you move it into your mouth, the bubble bursts and the fizzy basil and lime swirls around creating a surreal rush on one’s taste buds.
	“Bagels & Lox” – Wife not a fan of the strong salmon roe taste. The crispy cone didn’t have that hearty bagel taste but the concept was novel. The cream cheese had chives embedded giving one a creamy and very intense flavor.
	“Dragon’s Breath” – Very neat with the popcorn dipped in liquid nitrogen. You are told to eat and breath through your nose, giving a sense of smoke coming out one’s nostrils. the popcorn itself was crunchy and had a sweet caramel taste.
	Steamed Broiche Bun with Caviar – A nice take on the steamed buns in Asia. The bread was soft and very light, The caviar was mild and added a bit of saltiness which went well with the sweet and creamy center filling.
	“Boneless Chicken Wing” – The chicken I thought was a bit dried. The coconut curry sauce that the chicken was cooked in was very good though. Also I thought after the presentation of the above entrees, this was a disappointing in creativity.
	Blue Cheese and Almond – Wife and I agreed that this was our least favorite of the night, but that might be because we both aren’t huge fans of blue cheese. The blue cheese was mild and the soft almond tart shell went well together but it just wasn’t our thing.
	Cotton Candy Eel – Very innovative. The eel was cooked and placed on top of cucumber and a lettuce leaf and then twirled in cotton candy. The sweet cotton candy went with the sweet eel. The lettuce leaf and cucumber added a sense of crispiness to the dish.
	Green Almonds and Pedro Ximenez “Raisins” – This was the wife’s favorite dish of the night. I liked how the almonds had an onion type texture instead of the normal hardened crunchy exterior. The raisins almond were mixed together in the almond based paste which blended everything together both in taste and in texture.
	Zucchini in Textures – Very interesting. The zucchini seeds were encased in a zucchini gelatin and on the bottom was a zucchini caramel paste. We were told it takes them an hour to hand picked the seeds every day. That’s crazy. The different presentations of the zucchini made for an interesting dish.
	“Caesar Salad” – Caesar salad done in a sushi presentation style. The lettuce, cheese and anchovy wrapped up. The mini croutons as a side garnish, The quail egg was nice touch.
	Parmesan “Egg” With Migas – I think we are still scratching our head on how they do this one. The egg is all man-made we are told. The thing looks like a poached egg. The yolk and white however is made of Parmesan. The migas side is a nice touch, giving a fried egg look.
	Sea Urchin “Ceviche” With Hibiscus – We loved the glassware this was sered in. Very elegant. The urchin was on the bottom and the foam was a bit sweet.
	“Corn on the Cob” – The wife being a huge fan of corn of course loved this dish. The simple cream corn paste, the pieces of popcorn sprinkled on top and the baby corn grilled give the all sorts of textures and tastes to the corn genre.
	“Guacamole” – While the presentation, the taste was so so. The avocado skin was injected with a semi frozen tomato paste. The sprinkled tortilla chips was a nice effect. I think some onions would have made this guacamole better.
	Salmon-Pineapple “Ravioli” with Crispy Quinoa – Considering how the wife hates salmon, and she loved the salmon here, I would say this was a good dish. The salmon was mild in terms of the taste. The pineapple was sweet and help with suppressing the fishy taste. The crunchy quinoa seeds add some pop to the fish.
	Smoked Oysters with Apples and Juniper – The apples really do the dish justice. The sweet apple ties in the smokey oyster taste with the addition of crunchiness as well. The oyster was not too slimy and it went down smoothly.
	“New” New England Clam Chowder – When we talked with the chefs, they claimed this was the most difficult to make. There definitely is a lot of different parts. The raw clams were done perfectly. The celery emulsion and the potato puree went well together. The cream puffed with air. And mixed together, it tasted like a fancy clam chowder. I liked how the chowder didn’t have that powdery feel nor the stringy clams in bad chowder.
	Breaded Cigala with Sea Salad – I thought this was the best dish of the night. The cigala was so naturally sweet, and cooked almost perfectly, The thin layer of crunchy bread was a perfect contrast to the succulent and tender cigala.
	“Philly Cheesesteak” – The wife and I both determined this was the best beef we ever had. Very thinly cut, and full of flavor. The beef practically melted in your mouth. The cheese puff pastry was ok. The cheese was a white Vermont white cheddar. A little too intense for the dish. Wife liked how it was presented to look like a lobster tail.
	Kumquats & Pumpkin Seed Oil – Very pretty with the burgundy and yellow contrast. The pumpkin was mild. The kumquat was intense. I saw the chef inject the kumquat with some sort of liquid . Whatever it was added a ruch of tartness and sourness.
	Frozen Yogurt and Honey – I love how this dish looked like one was doing lines. The yogurt was very fine powder and dissolve upon contact in one’s mouth. And the yogurt was mild and didn’t have a strong taste. The honey made for a sweetness and gooeiness. One wonders how they got the powder so fine.
	Thai Dessert – The peanut shell and the peanut sauce was great. The sourness was perfect as well. However the tiny pepper on the bottom right added the kick and oomph to the dish.
	White Chocolate, Black Olive and Mango Box – The best of the three, the mango candy and the creamy chocolate was a perfect match. Saffron Gumdrop with Edible Wrapper – This was nice though we’ve had so many variations this wasn’t anything special. The gumdrop was very soft and the saffron was mild. Chocolate Covered Corn Nuts – Real disappointing. The chocolate was strong and bitter but the corn nuts were too hard.
	Mont Marcal (Brut Rose Cava, Spain 05) – We did not order all the glasses separately, they have something at Minibar known as a flight which is five glasses throughout the dinner. We picked the Luscious and Sexy flight. Great start with the mild sweet taste.
	Dr. Loosen (Reisling Germany 06) – One of the better reisling we’ve had. Went well well with the seafood dishes we had.
	Catena (Chardonnay, Argentina 06) – I forgot to take a picture of this. But very smooth and no acidic, went well with the egg and corn dish.
	Susana Balbo ‘Crios’ (Cabernet Sauvignon, Argentina 06) – Nice and smooth red, but minimum sulfite taste.
	Errazuriz (Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Chile 05) – Great dessert wine, though it was lacking in flavor. Felt like it was straight sweet wine.

Decor: The bar is great setting with the chefs being accommodating with answering questions and you get to see the show. The wait staff is knowledgeable and helpful as well. The bar was comfortable though one minor complaint was that it was difficult for the staff to take away the plates since they have to reach over your back. From when we first walked in to when we left we were treated very well.

Overall Assessment: ($$$$$, 10/10) – The eclectic and innovative dishes were fun to watch and it was great being able to talk with the chefs and get to know what was going on. It is a bit expensive but as the wife denotes, you are getting dinner and a show. The dishes were not only presented well, it also tasted magnificent. The quality of ingredients was high and everything was done well. We would recommend going with a flight of wine since for the amount and quality of the wines, it was a teal. And the wines paired well with the progression of dishes and were brought out at opportune times. Do be prepare to go through a hassle for reservations. Wife had to constantly hit redial and wait on the line and fill out forms and such. But in her opinion and mine, well worth it. Also we recommend going with the six seating since we noticed the food was on ice for both the six and 830 seating.

Website: http://www.cafeatlantico.com/miniBar/miniBar.htm
Location: 405 8th Street NW, 20004
Reservation: 202.393.0812 (Call one month ahead at 1000)
Takeout: No
Hours: Tues – Sat; 1800, 2030 (2 Seatings)

 

Latino -> Merkado -> Washington, DC

Wife went out with her co-workers for Restaurant week. Co-worker choose this place.

• Quick Fried Calamari w/ Mango-Ginger-Jalapeno Sauce – Problem was that she had great calamari last night. This was so-so. Sauce was not that spicy at all.
• Mixed Greens, Seasonal Fruit, Mango Vinaigrette – Amazingly good, the vinagrette stole the show. The greens were fresh as well
• Latin Cobb, Chicken, Guacamole Ranch – So so, it didn’t stand it. Blue cheese and greens in the salad. Not sure what is so latin about it.
• Mango Key Lime Pie – It sounds good. Rich but not in a good way. Way overfilling
• Sweet Tea – It didn’t taste home made, no wow factor

Decor: Nice, had latin murals on the wall. Very colorful, but not tacky. Waiter was nice, got the order wrong but was nice about it.

Overall Assessment: ($$, 4/10) Hit or miss on the dishes. Didn’t think it was appropriate for a business lunch. Wife would go if someone took but wouldn’t seek it out.

Website: http://www.merkadodc.com
Location: 1443, P St NW, 20005
Reservation: OpenTable
Takeout: 202.299.0018
Hours: Mon – Tues; 1600 – 2230, Wed – Thurs; 1200 – 2230, Fri; 1200 – 0000, Sat; 1100 – 0000, Sun; 1100 – 2200