The Whisky Carts At Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak At The Americana | Tasting Table LA

Tableside service is a lost art. It's dinner theatre, and at Bourbon Steak, Michael Mina's new steakhouse at The Americana, the show takes liquid form.

Sleek dark-wood carts rove the dining room, inviting you to order the Japanese Whisky Ceremony ($17 to $28) or the Tableside Bourbon Flight ($30).

The Japanese Whisky Ceremony offers the pour of your choice from one of the biggest Japanese whisky collections in America and comes served "tornado-style" in a giant Bordeaux glass with big ice spheres sloshing around.

Top, clockwise: Strawberry garnish for whisky flight | The staff | Pouring | The drink cart
Opt for the flight and you'll be served tiny drams of three different bourbon whiskies, each paired with a different garnish. On a recent visit, the bourbon selections were presented in escalating order of intensity: Hudson Four Grain, paired with tangerine; Colonel E.H. Taylor, paired with smoky-cinnamon cassia; and the bolder 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, which matched beautifully with dried coffee beans from boutique roaster Lamill.

Tableside, each garnish is heated with a handheld torch until smoldering, then covered with a tumbler so the glass can absorb the aromatics without overwhelming the natural flavor of the spirit. The whiskey is poured into the glass and you're ready to rock(s).

The bottles in the flight rotate regularly, so each time it's a novel experience.

Unlike real dinner theatre, though, you won't need to fake the applause at the end.