José Andrés is a celebrity chef with a lot of cache behind his name, though predictably, his name is about all that you see of him at é by José Andrés. Located in a tiny backroom off his larger branded restaurant Jaleo in the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, é offers a set tasting menu of well over a dozen courses prepared in unique ways.
The food itself was, on average, quite spectacular, with the imaginative plating taking center stage.
Permeating everything though was a vibe of extreme artificiality, with the "chefs" seeming like mere marionettes whose every movement was dictated by a distant corporate office. For instance, one of the main guys preparing the food told us that the dishes are not created by them, but rather developed by a nameless general manager. That's Vegas I suppose - all glitz and glam up front, but nobody sees how the sausage is made behind the scenes.
I don't mean to be overly negative - it was indeed a memorable and delicious (if wildly expensive) experience!
é by José Andrés
ebyjoseandres.com
3708 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV
RV Trip 2018 - Part 1: Kabuto Edomae Sushi
RV Trip 2018 - Part 2: Misc. Dining
RV Trip 2018 - Part 3: Camping Food
RV Trip 2018 - Part 4: Oak & Ivy
RV Trip 2018 - Part 6: Emeril's Delmonico Steakhouse
Branches Of The Desert
Kalamata Olive Cracker, Piquillo Pepper Emulsion, Edible Flowers
The evening's activities begin at a communal waiting table at Jaleo, the large restaurant that services é. While we waited for all the other diners to show (one couple was late), we were offered drinks and this initial snack, the first of many surprises throughout the night.
Once everyone showed, we were led into the tiny backroom that serves as é's dining room. We sat along a u-shaped counter with all the action visible in front of us. At each of our places was a mold of José Andrés' hand, offering us a hot towel with a bundle of aromatic herbs.
Morning Dew
White Sangria, Cava, Gin
This spherized cocktail popped in the diner's mouth, flooding it with a lovely, refreshing mix of wine and spirits.
Raventos i Blanc - 'De Nit' Brut Rosé
2015, Conca del Rui Annoia
Cheese
Spanish Pizza - San Simon Cheese, White Truffle, Dried Tomato, Micro Basil
Stone - Idiazabal Cheese, Rosemary Oil, Crunchy Ibérico Fat & Cocoa Butter Shell
Rose - Manchego Cheese, Beet, Walnut-Raisin Cracker
This trio of cheese courses was one explosion of flavor after another, each presented in a delightfully novel manner.
Wonderbread
Apple Meringue, Foie Gras, Black Truffle
The first of many dishes to include foie gras, this was a particularly fun little sandwich - the "bread" was in fact baked apple meringue.
Pan Con Tomate
Air Bread, Tomato Water & Olive Oil Espuma, Jamón Ibérico
Another little "explosion" bite, with the creamy espuma bursting out from the shell as you bit into it. The Ibérico ham was unbelievably rich, melting in the mouth.
Emilio Lustau - Don Nuño Olaroso
NV Jerez
Uni & Lardo
Fried Uni Rice Cracker, Hokkaido Uni, Ibérico Lardo
Wonderfully salty and crunchy, this next course paired velvety sea urchin with the unctuousness of Ibérico fat.
Priorat Natur - Vermut
NV Priorat
El Vermut
Mussels, Liquid Olives, Orange
This was more of a workhorse dish. Though not as flashy or luxurious as some of the other courses, the flavors balanced very nicely and added up to a very delicious few bites.
Edible Sangria
Sangria Slushie, Compressed Melon, Sour Cherry Pearls, Mint
A bit more theatrical here, with the entire counter engulfed in liquid nitrogen, as the chef prepared the ingredients in this frozen sangria.
Txomin Etxaniz - Hondarrabi Zuri
2016, Getariako Txakolina
Esparrogos Escabeche
Asparagus, Lemon Pith Purée, Egg Yolk Pearls, Osetra Caviar, Escabeche Foam
This was one of the absolute standouts of the evening - the relatively humble asparagus was transformed with the addition of caviar, while the creamy purée, bright lemon notes, and salty egg yolk all combined to a fantastic contrast of flavors and textures.
Txangurro a la Donastiarra
Dungeness Crab, Spanish Sofrito, Toasted Bread Crumbs, "Vial Of Poison" Crab Broth
The crab was delicious and the overall dish was fun to mix together, though I thought their insistence on calling the crab broth a "vial of poison" was idiotic.
Belondrade y Lurton - Verdejo
2016, Rueda
Foie Royal
Foie Gras Mousse, Almond Milk, Apple, Black Truffle, Nasturtium
Another foie gras course and another impossibly delicious hit.
Platija
Fluke, Basil, Squid Ink Crust & Sauce
A nice break from the richer dishes we had been eating. I can't remember exactly what everything on the plate was, but I do recall enjoying this one, even if it wasn't as over-the-top as many other parts of the meal.
Fricando
Braised Beef Cheek, Liquid Gnocchi, Chanterelles
The break from richness didn't last long - this beef cheek was so melty and wobbly that you could cut it with a spoon. The "gnocchi" (actually potato spheres with liquid potato) only added to the extreme savoriness.
"Empenada"
Cotton Candy, Foie Gras, Corn Nuts
The final dish containing foie gras - the empenada "shells" were in fact molded cotton candy with a foie gras and corn nut filling. Wow.
Menjar Blanc
Cryovac Almond Milk, Caramel, Fruit
This may look like a piece of light sponge cake, but it actually had the texture of ice cream. A nice, light start to desert.
Intxaursaltsa
Walnut Cream & Praline, Dehydrated Raspberries, Fresh Raspberries
This was the only dish the whole evening that just didn't work for me. It was mostly flavorless, and all the work they did dehydrating things and molding them into different forms didn't add up to anything interesting flavor-wise.
Catalan Egg
Candied Yolk, Vanilla Custard, Orange, Dark Caramel
This deconstructed flan closed out the main desert courses. It was quite good, with all the components of flan represented flavor-wise and visually.
Rom Cremat
A few pics up you can see the mustachioed sommelier preparing this fun burnt rum cocktail.
Mignardises
Cherry Bomb - Chocolate Shell, Liquid Cherry, Ginger, Merlot
Turrón Tart - Almond Custard, 24k Marcona Almond
More Things...
I don't have notes on what each of these four additional mignardises were, so you'll have to use your imagination. All I can tell you is that the first bite on the left was "cooked" in liquid nitrogen, causing each diner to exhale a breath of vapor as they chewed it.
Gin & Tonic
The restaurant is "known" for its Gin & Tonics (even having an entire sub-menu of them), so we were happy to receive one to close out the meal. The from-scratch approach allowed the aromatics to really shine, cleansing the palette of all the heavy food we ate.
After 8
Dark Chocolate, Mint
The final bite took the form of a mint bouquet with a few individual chocolate mint leaves, which we were advised to pick out using the provided tweezers.
Our souvenir menus and "golden tickets" (which were mailed to us after making our reservation). All in all a very fun, memorable, and delicious evening!
