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😍 5/5 - [Updated to include pictures]El Cielo is a high-end
By 👻 @Vincent L., 01/03/2023 3:00 am
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[Updated to include pictures]El Cielo is a high-end restaurant brand founded by Colombian chef Juan Manuel Barrientos. This Washington branch has one Michelin star. There are also locations in Medellin, Bogota, and Miami.Here in DC, you'll find a 20-point menu that's not just about tastings, but also "sensory experiences." As for the food and drink, it showcases how Colombian and Latin American cuisine can be world-class yet also welcome global influences and ingredients.The menu starts with several small amuse bouches: an intense shot of passionfruit mistela (a Spanish holiday liqueur), then a plate-cleansing bite of soursop and champagne sorbet, and an interesting canape-like take on an aborrajado (normally fried plantains stuffed with cheese).The bites got larger from this point on: a truffle buñuelo packing an amazingly powerful umami punch to it, a "crab empanada" where you stuff a crab-shaped shell with a pineapple ahi salsa or a meaty tomato onion coconut salsa, another powerful bite of tapioca and foie gras, and a "potato cone" adorably presented in a bird-shaped jar.Next came the first significant "sensory experience." You first wash your hands with "exfoliating" coffee and sugar - complete with a water rinse poured into your hands and a large bowl to catch the residue. Next, your hands get doused with liquid chocolate, which you lick off. Had I known about this "chocotherapy," I would have taken my sweet time enjoying all the chocolate, which in my case was rinsed off far too soon in order to move things along.All this was a unique twist that drew nervous laughter from me - and squeals of absolute surprise and delight from tables that were served after me. And in most tasting menus I've enjoyed, this would have been *the* highlight, but there were even more surprises in store.Next came three larger courses that were rolled out so quickly that they piled up on my table. A "tree of life" made of - if I remember correctly, irresistibly sweet yucca and cheese bread, accompanied by cilantro cream and caramelized butter - was a ginormous, beautifully photographable sight. Just as I started spreading some butter onto my first bite, I dropped it on the table after being ambushed with two other courses at once: an absolutely delicious and savory corn soup with multiple ingredients that I was too flummoxed to hear (but which still offered a nice mélange of temperatures and textures), and a lobster ceviche roll with sharp, spicy, and citrusy flavors to it.At this point I asked if the pacing was going to be so fast for the rest of the meal. The staffers got the hint and noted that things would come more slowly, especially since the courses would be getting larger. So I was able to savor and enjoy, at an appropriate pace, a black bass tamal with a delightfully savory sauce that paired beautifully with Argentinian malbec. A course of quail, wild onion, and rice, plus a rack of lamb, paired well with tempranillo, which I'd recommend finishing before sinking your teeth into the palate-cleansing "popsicle" that followed.After this came a succession of desserts. The cholao, a Colombian fruit salad with passionfruit, yuzu, and blackberry, was so intensely sweet that I started hyperventilating in a good way, as incredibly sharp jolts of sweetness shot through my senses. I had to close my eyes, bury my face in my hands, and take deep breaths to recover. Note that I've spent the last 3 months losing 30 pounds on a low-salt and low-sugar diet, so all the flavors throughout the meal were incredibly intense for me - whereas they might not be as sharp for you if you eat out all the time.This was followed by a small greenish marbly rock which was actually a chocolatey bite called the "Colombian Emerald." Then came a beautifully presented "yellow butterfly" with an edible Michelin star, followed by a "coffee field" that you absolutely need to take videos of because it theatrically elevates a normal coffee service into a sea of smoke that washes over your table. A most dazzling second "sensory experience" - but not the last.To finish, I was presented with rose petals treated with some type of cream, all of which I was encouraged to crush in my hands, and then close my eyes and inhale. While not edible, this felt like an aromatherapy course that cleansed my senses and felt like a mini-spa treatment to end the entire experience.And gosh, what an experience it was. The only nits I had were the fast-paced rollout of the early and middle courses; the need to alert diners to experiences that might be worth savoring slowly or at least capturing on photo or video; and possibly typing out the ingredients in greater detail or explaning them slowly, because there was sooooo much that went into every course - even the deceivingly tiny ones.Still, service was mostly refined, and this was an "experience" to remember in so many ways. An excellent occasion for my 10,400th Yelptime review and 2,100th of 2022!
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