Minibar and Barmini: Part 2

Have I left you hungry for more after the first part of my Minibar recap? I hope so, because there's plenty more to discuss. Let's get right to it.

• Broccoli and Cheddar Gnocchi
• These "gnocchi" were filled with broccoli and cheese purees barely encased in a gel. They completely melted in my mouth, and I couldn't get enough of the cheddar sauce. I could have kept eating this one all night.
• Montana Trout Rack and Lemon Yolks
• Such a fun preparation! Looked like rack of lamb. The lemon yolks and brown butter sauce were phenomenal. 
• Pesto Fusilli
• These pasta were a true labor of love. The chef used a corkscrew as a mold and individually twisted each shell off the mold, then used a syringe to fill the pasta with incredibly fresh pesto. The egg yolks were perfectly runny. This dish replaced the snail caviar that the other diners ate.

• Kumquat Ceviche
• This was a miss for both me and Dan. It was a weird mix of fruit, fish, and ice. 
• Thai Eggplant
• We were right back on track with this dish. When I ate the peanut air and berries together, it tasted like a yummy PB&J sandwich. But then when I ate it all together with the eggplant, it tasted like an authentic Thai dish. So good!
• Mojito Surprise
• YUM! The lime was a shooter filled with a jelly sparkling mojito! Such a fun surprise. Everyone at the table was sad there wasn't more of this one.

• Gorgonzola Dolce
• This freeze-dried piece of Gorgonzola with apple is an acquired taste, but I loved it. 
• Fried Donut
• The chef individually fried each ice cream-filled donut and served it to us immediately. It tasted like being at the state fair!
• Minibar
• Shocking, but I didn't actually love this tiny chocolate bar. It was too much raspberry for me. This dish replaced the bacon chocolate (served on a ceramic pig!).

• Chalk
• We were given a box and told to take it next door to Barmini for the rest of our meal. There we played games of tic-tac-toe with our coconut, banana, raspberry and beet meringue chalk. I love playing with my food.
• Dragon's Breath
• This was so fun! The chef had a bowl of liquid nitrogen and froze individual mango tarts. He instructed us to eat them quickly, with our mouths closed, and then blow out through our noses. Watch Dan follow the instructions and look like a dragon here.

Let me take a second to tell you about Barmini. The bar is tiny but adorable. Everywhere you look there is something interesting to see. Even the bathroom is so weird and fun!

Dan got a drink while we waited for the next, and final course. Their drink menu is as whimsical (and  as long) and their food menu. Choosing one was difficult, but Dan settled one that came in a fun copper pineapple.

• Dinosaur Dessert Platter
• Our final "official" course was this adorable platter. It included:
• Liquid Bourbon Peanut--delicious and boozy! Loved this!
• Key Lime Bon Bon--not very memorable.
• Coriander Abanico--the crunchy shell was good, but I didn't love it.
• White Chocolate Shiso Leaf--interesting. Never had anything like it.
• Cotton Candy
• They brought out this Pina Colada flavored cotton candy in honor of Dan's birthday! So yummy!
• Golden Egg
• We paid for our meal in advance, but the bill for the wine and drink came encased in this delicious chocolate egg, along with the cutest Lego chef. 

It's this kind of attention to detail--having our own check inside a sealed chocolate egg--that made this experience so special. I loved absolutely everything about this meal. Even the courses that weren't hits flavor-wise were still so interesting and worthy of discussion. I can honestly say this was one of the best, and most memorable meals of my life. I would HIGHLY recommend Minibar to anyone who loves food and whimsy as much as we do.  

Read Part 1 of this dinner here.