Dim-sum brunch at Cafe Atlantico a tasty challenge

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Cafe Atlantico in Washington's Penn Quarter serves incredible culinary creations, especially at its weekend brunches and the Minibar restaurant on the third floor.

How about hot-and-cold foie-gras-and-corn soup or duck confit with passion-fruit oil? Executive chef Jose Andres, with his team, is a master of these and other scrumptious dishes, which match traditional ingredients with new cooking techniques and unexpected combinations.

On Saturdays and Sundays, Cafe Atlantico chef Katsuya Fukushima presents 32 of Team Andres' exciting and unpredictable creations as part of the Nuevo Latino Dim Sum Brunch, a unique midday dining experience in Washington. Most of the dishes are exquisite; a few are not so successful.

More important, ordering the full tasting menu's 32 courses definitely is too much of a good thing.

"Yes, you really should just take a bite of each thing if you're having the tasting menu," our waiter said as we began the 25th or so course. We could have used those words of wisdom a little earlier in the day. The service on the whole is attentive, knowledgeable and speedy, if not particularly friendly.

We arrived at 11:30 a.m. and promptly ordered coffee and drinks. Drinks include refreshing, slightly sweetened nonalcoholic limeades and mint limeades from the selection of aguas frescas as well as an assortment of alcoholic offerings, including a very tasty Bloody Mary. True to form, Mr. Andres would never let the Bloody Mary arrive with the traditional celery stalk. Instead, celery and a pinch of salt are whipped into a foam that covers the top like the frothed milk of a cappuccino.

The culinary creativity continues as the small, but larger-than-bite-size, dishes start arriving. The potato-and-vanilla mousse with American caviar served in a small glass is not just a cute, innovative idea, but very tasty; flavors and textures -- the popping of the fish eggs and the smoothness of the mousse -- blend nicely.

Another excellent seafood dish is the scallops with orange oil. The consistency of the lightly pan-seared scallops is perfect -- done, but not chewy. This, like most dishes, arrives artfully displayed on a small white plate. This is a refined brunch experience, complete with white linen and a full-service bar.

The red snapper with avocado puree offers a strange, unexpected combination, but it really works, as do the oysters with flavorful yet mild mango-lime oil.

The tasting menu is heavy on seafood, with 12 options. Most are deliciously creative, but others simply don't work. The tuna ceviche with coconut was slimy, and the coconut rice, crispy rice and squid was unexpected. The coconut rice is rich and creamy, and the palate wants something sweet (orange? brown sugar and cinnamon?) to follow. Instead, a fishy squid flavor lingers.