é by Jose Andres (Las Vegas, NV)

é by Jose Andres
The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas
3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Dining date: 3/26/11

é is Jose Andres’ single-table, eight-person restaurant within a restaurant (Jaleo), serving a 19-course menu similar in format to that of the Saam Room at the Bazaar and Minibar. The menu is strictly product-driven and showcases Andres’ flair for molecular gastronomy.

It’s been on my (and my parents’) radar since word first broke in December – my father’s been wanting to try the Saam Room for a while and hasn’t had the chance; knowing that we’d be in LV, this was a perfect opportunity to try some of Andres’ cuisine.

I’ve never been congratulated by a restaurant for managing to get a reservation. So when the first words I got from é confirming my reservation were “Congratulations, you’ve made it!” I found it a little weird. The email even referred to the meal as a “show,” something I’d typically find off-putting. However, knowing Andres’ flair for the dramatic, I was definitely intrigued. Tickets (literally) to the show are $250 inclusive of alcohol, tax and gratuity.

The eight seats at the counter circle where the food is prepared, granting the opportunity to see how everything comes together, as well as inviting dialogue about each plate.

Frozen Sangria with Grilled Strawberries

We started off with this “cocktail” of sorts – sangria frozen with liquid nitrogen. Cool, fruity, refreshing…it was a nice way to start off. The grill really brought out the sweetness of the strawberries, which I thought were very good.

Spanish “Clavel”

An unusual presentation here – this was a mold of Jose Andres’ hand. Since he wasn’t able to serve us in person, he thought this was the next best thing. A clavel means a carnation (the flower), so it made sense when I saw the flower-looking creation in the hand. A little bit sweet, a little bit floral, and very crispy.

Beet Jewelry

Designed to look like rings, the natural crimson color of the beet was perfect topped with some gold dust. It was a really crispy, subtly sweet and a little salty. Kind of like a rolled up potato chip, but beets.

Caramelized Pork Rinds

I thought these were really well-executed, having a texture kind of like puffed rice. Perfectly crispy with a hint of sweetness.

Membrillo and La Serena Cone

Membrillo is a quince paste, here topped with a sheep’s milk cheese in this cone. The cheese was slightly bitter and contrasted well with the sweetness of the quince.

Apple “Brazo de Gitano”

Brazo de Gitano is a Spanish dessert consisting of rolled layers of sponge cake and cream. Andres’ interpretation was a really light, dried meringue rolled around a bleu cheese cream. It reminded me of a French macaron – the meringue had the chewy, yielding texture of a macaron shell. A little bit of sweetness from the apple went well with the cheese.

Jose’s Combination: Jose’s Taco and Artichoke with Caviar

This is actually my third time having Jose’s rendition of the taco (American Wine & Food Festival and Saam Room were the others). It’s so simple – just jamon iberico and caviar. The salty sea flavor of the caviar works so well with the rich ham. The artichoke-caviar combo was a new one for me. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the ham, but it was still good.

Bocata de “Calamares”

This next dish was inspired by one of Andres’ childhood favorites – a fried squid sandwich. No squid here; instead fried uni (what!) was combined with cucumber, aioli and scallions. I thought this was delicious. The uni was the focal flavor, with a nice crunch from fresh cucumber.

Ajo Blanco

Ajoblanco is a cold Spanish soup with bread and almonds as key ingredients. Here, a deconstructed version – we were advised to try each component separately then mix and taste. This was my first time having this type of soup, and I found it to be refreshing, with an almond milk type of consistency.

Santa Barbara Spot Prawns with Roses

The spot prawns were perfectly cooked – sweet, juicy…so good. The rose foam was very subtle and wasn’t quite strong enough to add much in flavor.

Smoky Oysters in Escabeche

The oysters were encapsulated in a spherification of their own juice and were accompanied with onions and a sweet foam. The dish wasn’t quite as smoky as I thought it would be, but the oysters were a nice burst of flavor, while the onions complemented them well.

Catch of the Day (Turbot)

Turbot here was topped with citrus juice pearls (kind of like tapioca balls) and accompanied by fermented black garlic. I’ve never had this garlic before – it tasted like raw garlic, though much more subtle. The fish was nicely cooked, and the citrus was key in adding some acidity.

Whole Lobe of Foie Gras Baked in Salt

Impressive presentation! I often see whole fish cooked in this way, but not foie gras. A whole lobe was cooked encrusted in salt, then topped with sea salt and some type of melon and juice. The foie gras was fantastic – melt-in-mouth tender, rich and buttery. I liked the sweetness of the fruits as well to pair.

Secreto of Iberico Pork

One of the best pieces of pork I have ever had. The pork here was so well-marbled, it really resembled a sort of toro or wagyu beef. Add to it some black truffles, and this was quite a delicious dish.

Orange Pith Puree La Serena

This dish had the return of the La Serena cheese, served over orange puree. The creamy, salty cheese worked well with the fresh, vibrant orange flavor.

Frozen Apricot Coulant

This was an interesting one – I liked the apricot, along with caramel flavors. Upon breaking the shell, an apricot liquid poured out, mixing with the tangy yogurt.

Apples & Red Wine “Fredy Giradet”

Here we had vanilla ice cream in tandem with apples and red wine spherifications. I thought the flavors really meshed here – the creamy and sweet vanilla ice cream was balanced well with apples and red wine flavors.

25 Second Bizcocho

This would be the last dish, looking like a miniature version of the Matterhorn. Light and airy, kind of like a sweet sponge cake.

Chocolates

We finished with a duo of chocolates: a saffron milk chocolate and an aerated dark chocolate. Both were good, but I especially liked the complexity of the saffron chocolate.

Lobster Paella

Seeing the impressive wood-burning paella pit in the restaurant, we had to try it. Graciously, the restaurant obliged and included a taste of this dish at the end. The rice was cooked very well – al dente with a rich saffron-infused flavor. Generous chunks of lobster were spread throughout, but I found them to be borderline overcooked. Still, a very solid rendition of the dish.

Spanish wines were poured throughout the meal and included 1+1=3 Cava Brut NV, Gutierrez Colosia “Sangre y Trabajadero” Oloroso El Puerto de Santa Maria, Estrella Damm Inedit (Ferran Adria’s beer), Lopez de Heredia “Viña Gravonia” Crianza Blanco Rioja, Guimaro and one other.

In all, I thought this was an excellent meal. I preferred this meal over my two visits to the Saam Room; in terms of the food, the playfulness and excitement was still there, but I thought the food tasted much better at é.

The setting was much more intimate and personal. Being able to see how each dish was put together and to get the story behind each dish was integral to the ‘show.’ Service was top-notch and very accommodating – truly, the goal was to make this as complete and enjoyable of an experience as possible.