Three blocks away and 30 years of dreams separate the first restaurant that José Andrés opened in Washington, Jaleo, from the last one, The Bazaar, inaugurated this week.
The new location is the most desired by the most successful Spanish chef in the United States and has many stories behind it.
It is in the place where he always wanted to have a restaurant, a desire that was delayed by his confrontation with the former US president, Donald Trump.
The time has come.
"It's an American dream come true," says the Asturian chef.
Although for Jose Andrés (Mieres, 53 years old) the opening of the restaurant is "a moment of tremendous celebration", he has been caught dedicated to helping the thousands of victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria with his other great project, World Central Kitchen .
The cook had traveled to Dubai for the opening of Jaleo at the Atlantis The Royal hotel.
From there he went to Lebanon, Istanbul and Greece but, after the earthquakes, he mobilized his team and reached the most affected area to provide support to the victims through food.
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The Bazaar is in the spectacular and luxurious atrium of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, on the mythical Pennsylvania Avenue, in a historic building, the Old Post Office, built at the end of the 19th century and which has a tower of almost 100 meters, the third construction highest in the capital of the United States.
José Andrés has frequently recalled that he talked to his client and later his friend, New York Democratic Senator Patrick Moynihan, who died in March 2003, about the idea of opening a restaurant there.
At that time it was a somewhat neglected building and far from the current luxury.
The Asturian chef was about to fulfill his dream a few years ago, when it was not the Waldorf Astoria, but the Trump hotel, but the then candidate for the Republican primaries for the 2016 presidential elections crossed his path.
The chef and businessman voluntarily canceled his dream project in 2015 in protest of statements by Trump in which he referred disparagingly to Mexican immigrants: "They bring drugs, crime, they are rapists and I suppose some are good people."
Trump's hotel company sued José Andrés for breaking the agreement and demanded 10 million dollars (about 9.3 million euros at current exchange rates).
He countered with another demand for $7.5 million for expenses, lost profits and interest.
The cook claimed that Trump's words scared off potential customers and employees at what purported to be a Latino restaurant.
In the end, both parties signed peace in 2017 with an agreement whose terms have never been disclosed.
View from the outside of The Bazaar restaurant, by chef José Andrés, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington. REY LOPEZ
With the transfer of the concession for the building from Trump's company to the Miami investment firm CGI Merchant Group, which reached an agreement with Hilton to manage it under the Waldorf Astoria brand, the chef resumed his plans, which were completed this week .
"It's been 30 years since I first came to Washington, and having The Bazaar open in this beautiful and historic building, which has always held a special place for me, is an American dream come true," he wrote in a statement. message sent by your press service.
The new location is close to its Jaleo, China Chilcano, Oyamel, Zaytinya and Minibar restaurants.
"This is my neighborhood, I've been here for 30 years, more than half my life," he told EL PAÍS last November, when the National Portrait Museum in Washington, in the same area, hung on its walls the painting
José Andrés and the Clay Pot that Feeds the World
,
within the
Portrait of a Nation series,
with which the Smithsonian Institute museum recognizes personalities from the political, cultural, social and sports life of the United States.
Although with a somewhat different gastronomic offer, The Bazaar is a concept that has already triumphed in Miami (Florida), from where the group has brought reinforcements to launch the new business.
The restaurant serves breakfast, tapas at lunchtime and dinner, as well as a cocktail bar.
It has two floors, although the upper one is reserved for dinners.
The new restaurant's menu mixes the chef's Spanish roots with American dishes, including nods to the country's history.
Today a dream of 30 years came to life, @Bazaarbyjose now open on Pennsylvania Ave at the Old Post Office @WaldorfAstoria DC!
Proud and grateful for my entire @joseandresgroup team today in DC, especially while I am on the ground in Turkey, for this moment https://t.co/eZzd1cec6J pic.twitter.com/6NfbJMkN36
– José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) February 9, 2023
At breakfast it is possible to find manchego ratatouille (16 dollars), French toast (15), patatas bravas with fried egg (18) and Iberian ham with farm eggs (20), but also Maryland-style eggs with blue crab (26). and different types of delicate waffles (12-15).
In the lunchtime tapas there are mussels (14), bravas (12), croquettes (15-18) and chicken wings (14), but the star is the Cinco Jotas acorn-fed Iberian ham (yes, at the prohibitive price of about 1,400 dollars per kilo).
The dinner combines traditional and modern tapas with dishes such as Senator Moynihan's botifarra ($24), in tribute to his friend, or Eisenhower beef cheek stew ($25), in memory of the president's favorite dish when he was in office .
The Louie Crab Cone ($10), the Philly Cheesesteak ($13), and the Newberg Norwegian Lobster ($28) represent classic American dishes.
Local ingredients such as Maryland blue crab, Rappahannock oysters and Chesapeake Bay produce share the menu with ham, sausages, escalivada (16) and piquillo peppers (14).
The decoration has been carried out by the Spanish studio Lázaro Rosa-Violán, who has managed to integrate it harmoniously into the architecture of the impressive atrium of the old post office.
The place is spectacular, especially on the top floor.
It features abundant plants, tables (some of them long, just the way José Andrés likes them) with black marble tops, and custom gold-gloss light fixtures finished in hammered brass.
There are armchairs, chairs, stools and sofas in different colors and personalized floral fabrics inspired by Salvador Dalí.
Downstairs, there are a few tables that overlook the atrium and a wet bar with a gleaming aqua-green quartzite countertop and finishes like textured glass, handcrafted tiles, and fringe-trimmed fabrics.
At the entrance, white marble, a golden orb, a wide staircase and the name of the restaurant and the chef welcome you.
José Andrés's dream has come true with golden letters.