Jaleo

Yo he visitado Washington DC con mi hermana durante el festival de los cerezos en flor. Mi hermana y yo fuimos a Jaleo por la cena.


Jaleo is one of the many restaurants owned by José Andrés in the DC area. He's known for his PBS cooking show, "Made in Spain." Jaleo in Penn Quarter is his first restaurant and it is still bien popular.

We arrived a bit early for our reservation. While waiting for our table, we shared of carafe of the white sangria, made with cava, strawberries and mint. After we were seated, we ordered a variety of the tapas to share.


Gambas al ajilloThe very, very famous tapa of shrimp sautéed with garlic & guindilla pepperGambas al ajillo is one of the classic Spanish tapas. It was probably my favorite dish of the night. The tender shrimp were cooked in garlic, wine and olive oil. I had to ask for more bread so I could finish the sauce from the dish.

Buñuelos de bacalao
Fried salt cod fritters and honey alioli
These were little nuggets of crispy fried salt cod and potato goodness. I liked them dipped in the regular garlic aioli that had come with the rossejat.

‘Rossejat’
Traditional fried pasta, paella style, with monkfish and shrimp, cooked in a seafood broth
Although I wanted the paella as well, it was far too large for two people. The rossejat was a simplified type of paella with bits of monkfish and shrimp. It came with a side of garlicky aioli, which was stirred into the noodles before eating. This dish reminded my sister of the fried rice noodles that our mother made for when we were growing up.

Pimientos del piquillo rellenos de queso
Piquillo peppers filled with goat cheese
We had to get at least one vegetable dish, albeit one that's stuffed with cheese and cooked in olive oil. The sweet roasted peppers contrasted nicely with the goat cheese.

Chistorra envuelta en patata frita
Slightly spicy chorizo wrapped in a crispy potato
Sausage wrapped in a potato chip, then deep fried. It's like pigs in a blanket, but a whole lot better.



Rabo de toro con naranjas
Braised boneless oxtail served with oranges, potato puree and PX red wine sauce
I love slow braised meats. These oxtails were braised, shredded, then formed into a disc shaped. The orange segments balanced the richness of the oxtails and sauce.


Flan al estilo tradicional de mamá Marisa con espuma de crema CatalanaA classic Spanish custard with ‘espuma’ of Catalan cream and orangesWe went for the classic Spanish dessert: flan. The flan was very rich and creamy. Considering that the chef once cooked at El Bulli, there had to be foam somewhere in the meal. I had the dessert with a café cortado and I was done for the night.

The service was pretty good, especially considering how busy the restaurant was that night. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable. Dinner for two, including wine and dessert, was about $100.

Jaleo
480 7th St., NW
Washington, DC 20004

Hank's Oyster Bar

It was unseasonably warm in DC. I didn't get to see much of the city. Certainly there as been a lot of changes since the last time I went to DC.

Under new management
I was in DC for a quick trip. One of my friends suggested Hank's Oyster Bar as a place to try. She said that they served the world's best mac & cheese. The topic of what is the world's best mac & cheese will have to be discussed in another post. However, I do feel that I make a very good mac & cheese, which makes me a good judge of that dish.

Things are just a bit different in DC. The concierge at the hotel said that it would be a long walk to the restaurant and there was a bit of a hill. Where I come from, hills look like this or this. It was a 15 minute walk and the route was completely flat.

Fried oysters, Old Bay seasoned fries, coleslaw and tartar sauceI was too late for the $1 oyster happy hour. Instead, I had the fried oyster dinner.

Mac & CheesyThere seemed to be some smoked gouda and cheddar in the sauce. Is it the world's best mac & cheese? Well, I thought it was very good. But I am still very happy with my version.

Hank's Oyster Bar
1624 Q Street NW
Washington DC