![\"Infinite](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792182129_938_image.webp\")
\nPhotograph: Oveck ReyesInfinite Table <\/p>\n
Have you ever watched a food documentary and wished you could try it all for yourself? Welp, The Infinite Table says you can.<\/p>\n
While these nonfiction films have a lot of influence on our own travel bucket lists\u2014it can\u2019t just be me, right?\u2014this immersive experience takes that side effect up about 10 notches. Held inside a specially constructed theater within ArtXNYC (409 W 14th St), dinner guests will find themselves at a long shared table on a group trip they forgot to pack for. This month, the experience is \u201cOaxaca: tierra y tiempo,\u201d which explores the people and foodways of Oaxaca, Mexico. From the sights to the smells and, of course, the bites, here\u2019s\u00a0my thoughts on The Infinite Table.<\/p>\n
The experience:<\/p>\n
First of all, you\u2019re sitting in the center of the documentary\u2014a collection of interviews with five Oaxacan chefs and merchants who each specialize in a different local staple. Thanks to the powers of 360-degree video, diners are plopped in front of the fountain at Plaza de la Constituci\u00f3n, seated at Gudelia Melgar Cruz\u2019s\u00a0memelas stand and buried among the pi\u00f1as at Alexis Canales Angeles\u2019s palenque. But before all that, you\u2019ve got to hop on the flight.<\/p>\n
The experience kicks off with a classic airline announcement, setting the scene and transporting guests to Oaxaca. Then, you have a little bit of a \u201cwalk\u201d (er, a look) around to get your bearings. There are spiced peanuts on the table and servers come around to take your drink order\u2014a choice between cocktails, beer or agua fresca.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nPhotograph: Oveck ReyesInfinite Table
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The interviews start, timed\u00a0to lead each course, and\u00a0you\u00a0hear from the native purveyors themselves before the dish appears in front of you for tasting. Naturally, the very first person we heard from was Angeles of Pasi\u00f3n Ancestral, an ancestral mezcal maker based in Santa Catarina Minas. We listened to those working at the palenque, watched them process the drink from pi\u00f1a to bottle, and then had a taste for ourselves alongside a snack of chapulines\u2014crispy, crunchy grasshoppers.<\/p>\n
Oh, and remember Smell-O-Vision? That\u2019s real now. The Infinite Table team worked with Robertet fragrance and flavor house as its official \u201cscent partner\u201d to make the smells of the city\u2019s cuisine come to life. It sounds a bit kitchy, and I\u2019ll admit that was my initial thought. But as I sat there at the table, watching a woman mull her own masa on the metate, then getting hit in the nostrils with the scent of freshly ground corn, I was fully bought in. It was incredible.<\/p>\n
The food:<\/p>\n
Our first course was a memela, made to mimic the one from Cruz\u2019s cart,\u00a0Memelas San Agust\u00edn. It was fragrant and pinched up at the sides just as she had mentioned in the interview. Topped with the browned pork lard, beans and\u00a0a salad of avocado, tomato, meat and cilantro, this was a welcoming first bite\u2014and a nostalgic one for someone (me) who has been to Oaxaca before.<\/p>\n
Next up was a familial corn stew recipe from Deyanira Aquino Pineda of of Restaurante La Teca, that goes back generations. Similar to\u00a0a hearty pozole, this\u00a0guisado\u00a0featured with chunks of soft pork shoulder for you to find with each scoop, served with the Zapotec crispy tortillas totopos istme\u00f1os.<\/p>\n
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\nPhotograph: Courtesy of Oveck ReyesThe Infinite Table
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Carina Santiago’s\u00a0mole negro, which she makes at her restaurant\u00a0Tierra Antigua,\u00a0served as the meal\u2019s centerpiece. Much like the other documentary subjects, Santiago\u2019s is a recipe that\u2019s been passed through her family and, thanks to The Infinite Table founder Peter J. Kim, found its way to a kitchen in Meatpacking. It was served on top of juicy chicken thighs with soft corn tortillas and rice on the side.<\/p>\n
Lastly, the meal closed with a warm chocolate drink from Flor Heras of Rito Chocolater\u00eda, and pan de yema\u2014though, there wasn\u2019t a clear explanation of the dish as a whole, so those unfamiliar were confused about how to eat it (rip and dip the bread into the bev).<\/p>\n
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\nPhotograph: Courtesy of Oveck ReyesThe Infinite Table
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Overall, the two-hour endeavor was fun, exciting and a totally non-gimmicky way to get even just a small morsel of a city and culture outside the one you\u2019re currently living in. Sure, nothing will replace being there in the flesh, but for when you\u2019re unable to book the flight, it\u2019s the best replacement I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n