Mitte: Eat Art

On Friday, some friends and I went to this fancy restaurant with a tasting menu. It's in Chueca--one of the best places to go out on the weekend, and we had wine beforehand and then a most delicious meal.

I love tasting menus. Or rather, I really love the idea of tasting menus. I like that the servings are tiny; it forces me to focus on what I'm eating and really be in the moment to fully enjoy the experience. I've had some tasting menus that have been not that great (my Aunt J will never let me live down the octopus in Valencia), but for the most part, they're all very good and very creative. I can't even remember what all was in each dish, but I'm going to try to give you a taste of it with each photo.

First course: The waiter told us it was a hot dog. I guess the crust tasted just as buttery and flaky as that of a pig-in-a-blanket, but the filling and the topping was salty and onion-y, perhaps a black olive or black bean spread in the center with something like an ali-oli on top? 

Second course: gnocchi. Though you wouldn't know it by the smoke filled fish-bowl that they served it in. The gnocchi definitely had an amazing salty, smoky flavor, and it just MELTED in your mouth. 

Look at how cool all that smoke is wafting out of the container!!!

Third course: Some sort of fish in a butter sauce, with ginger caviar on top. The only thing wrong with this dish was the sauce--it was a little bland, maybe they put too much flour in the roux? The ginger caviar was excellent though. 

Fourth course: Iberian lizard. (Just kidding! It's pork.) The funny thing about this dish is that the cut of meat is called "lagarto", which sounds like lizard in Spanish. It's actually a bit of rib meat slow-cooked to perfection and served with thinly shaved celery and orange, along with a chestnut mash and sauce. 

Fifth course: 1st dessert. Violet-flavored mascarpone with pop rocks, covering a small scoop of lavender (or violet, I honestly couldn't tell) ice-cream and a graham cracker bottom. 

Sixth course: 2nd dessert. A super-sweet digestif. I honestly can't remember the flavor, but it was something tropical and very sweet. I clearly finished all of mine. 

Seventh course: 3rd dessert: Olives served over ground chocolate. Actually, they were olive-shaped chocolates served over chocolate. 

In all, Mitte was delicious, and I would totally go back. I think M² and I should go when he comes to visit.