Jaleo (Penn Quarter)
Sunday, July 11, 2010 at 09:36AM I think it's safe to say that Mark and I have a bit of a joint crush on Jose Andres, or at least his restaurants. Hell, I think it's safe to say that all of Washington has a soft spot for the Spanish-born chef, who calls the D.C. area home. Since we've recently toured through all of Andres' other restaurants (Zaytinya, Cafe Atlantico, Oyamel and even Minibar) we thought it was long overdo to get back to our Andres roots at Jaleo (When was the last time you were there?). Jaleo was actually the very first restaurant in D.C. that Mark ever went to when he visited three or four years ago before moving here, and it was Jaleo's gazpacho that started me on the journey to culinary awareness.
We visited Chef Andres' flagship restaurant with friends and fellow foodies Laetitia (of French Twist D.C.) and Kim (of DC-Wrapped Dates) when the Spaniards were fresh off a victory over the Germans in the race for the World Cup, and Jose Andres was fresh off a promise of removing octopus from the menu for the psychic sea-dweller's bold prediction of a Spanish win (boy, that octopus really went out on a limb, picking the 2nd-ranked team in the world to make the final game!). While I think Mark and I prefer Chef Andres' other restaurants, the food ranged from solid to great, and everyone enjoyed the meal very much.
Despite being 17 years old, the restaurant still feels fresh and modern, with huge glass window surrounding the dining area, bright and colorful decor (as befits a place called Jaleo, which means "cheering" or "commotion" in Spanish), and lively bar scene. Our server was friendly and completely competent, and while there were some lapses in service, generally it was fine.
After walking a few muggy blocks to the restaurant from the Food Blogger Happy Hour at The Passenger, we needed something to wet our whistles and went with a pitcher of the Jaleo classic sangria (below, left). To whet our appetites, we were presented with a basket of fresh bread and oil w/ roasted garlic (below, right), which smartly (given the long train of dishes to come) no one really touched.
We'll get the least successful dish out of the way first. The patatas bravas (below), with fried fingerling potatoes, spicy tomato sauce, and aioli is a staple of Spanish cuisine, and one of Mark's favorite dishes at tapas restaurants. It was competently executed, but fairly dull, disappointing Mark severely (although that didn't stop him from continuing to snack on them throughout the meal).
This little plate of chistorra envuelta en patata frita, chorizo wrapped in a crispy potato (below), was not at all what I was expecting. It tasted like a gourmet version of junk food (in a mostly good way), and I especially liked the subtle spiciness of the sausage.
The butifarra casera con 'mongetes', or homemade grilled pork sausage with sautéed white beans (below), was a very simple, straightforward dish. It was clear that the sausage was of the very best quality, with the perfect balance of fat, but I couldn't help but wish it was a little saltier and more seasoned. But overall, it was the kind of dish that wisely lets the quality of the ingredients shine.
The manzanas con hinojo y queso Manchego, sliced apples and fennel salad with Manchego cheese, walnuts and sherry dressing (below), was one of the surprise hits of the night. It was absolutely the most ideal of summer dishes, with the refreshing crisp tartness of the apple, the mellowed licorish of the fennel, the saltiness of the cheese, and the tanginess from the vinaigrette. I only wish that the cheese had not been cut into batons - I feel like the dish could have benefitted from having the cheese distributed more thoroughly throughout the dish, in smaller measures, though Mark disagreed.
Another home run was the erizos de mar con pipirrana, or sea urchin with diced peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers (below). Laetitia and I really enjoyed these spoonfuls, which, though tiny, were very refreshing and contained a surprising variety of textures and flavors - the creamy oceaness (a word I just made up) of the sea urchin, the crunchy bite of the peppers and cucumbers, and the tartness of the tomatoes.
Ignoring Kim's specific instructions to order "more meat," I selected one of the vegetarian options, the garbanzos con espinacas 'que bien cocinas Tichi,' a Moorish stew of chickpeas and spinach, topped with an organic fried egg (below). Despite the lack of meat, this was a hearty, rich dish, particularly after the egg had been broken and the yolk distributed throughout the other ingredients. Again, I would have liked the dish to be more heavily seasoned, but I still really enjoyed it.
I was pleased to have another seafood lover at the table, as Laetitia ordered the trucha a la Navarra, seared trout wrapped in Serrano ham (below). The trout was a little fishier than I would have preferred, but that fishiness was undercut by the salty, meaty, crisp ham, and the arugula topping.
Kim opted for the decadent-sounding arroz de pato, rice with duck confit, paper-thin slices of duck breast and foie gras cream (below). It wasn't as rich as the description led me to believe it would be, and the rice wasn't as tender as I would have liked, but it was a solid dish, and I could see myself eating a full-sized portion of this, and could probably be pretty happy drinking the rich foie gras cream from a cup.
Described as something "you will want to eat every day" on the menu, we had to order the datiles con tocino, fried bacon-wrapped dates (below). I mean, of course it was good, it was fried, and had bacon! I totally could see myself eating this every day. I will say that I prefer my version of this dish - as much as I love frying things, you kind of lose the fantastic, delicate flavors of the dates.
Making up for my vegetarian option, we doubled up on our meat with the chorizo casero tradicional, or homemade traditional chorizo with potato purée (below). Again, like the butifarra casera con 'mongetes', this is a very simple dish that relies upon the quality of the ingredients. This was slightly more successful than that dish, as chorizo is naturally more flavorful and salty. The potato purée was decent enough, though I can't remember anything else about it (which I guess says something).
We gave pork a rest with the lomo de buey, or grilled hanger steak with piquillo peppers (below). I really loved the way this was cooked - the hanger steak was juicy and well-paired with the subtley sweet peppers.
Finally, we made it to the dessert menu. Already being stuffed, we decided to split three desserts four ways, starting with the pastel vasco con helado de leche merengada, a Basque cake with semolina cream, cinnamon-vanilla sauce and ice milk (below). Neither Laetitia nor I loved the cake, finding it to be a little dry and too...cakey for our liking. The ice milk was delicious, though - not sweet at all, and a little spicy.
Next on the sweets parade was the espuma de evellanas y chocolate, a chocolate and hazelnut mousse tort (below). I found this to be way too thick and rich for my liking, but if you are a fan of chocolate, this is the dessert for you.
The winner of the last course, however, was the flan al estilo tradicional de mamá Marisa con espuma de crema Catalana, a Spanish custard with an 'espuma' of Catalan cream and oranges (below). It was just perfect (for me), silky, not too sweet, tangy, and creamy.
Honestly, given the company, I probably would have loved the meal regardless. While I maintain that Jose Andres has exceeded Jaleo with his other restaurants, if you are looking for straightforward Spanish tapas in the city, I certainly have not had better.
D.C., Small Plates, Spanish, Tapas in Reviews: On The Town
Reader Comments (5)
The garbanzos con garbanzos is one of my favorites from there. Smitten Kitchen has an excellent make-at-home version... http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/spinach-and-chickpeas/
Hee... garbanzos con espinacas, I mean. :-)
Thanks, Steph - I already recreated the fennel/apple/Manchego salad at home, maybe the garbanzos will be my next experiment!
Glad to have shared this meal with you guys. I always overlook Jaleo in favour of Chef Jose Andres' other restaurants as well...
Laetitia-
Hope this is only the first of many meals we can share with you, so much fun! I do love me some Oyamel and Zaytinya, but Jaleo is always good in a pinch.