Jaleo

[houkah]

Espinacas a la Catalana

Spinach sautéed with pine nuts, raisins & apples

Since I wind up cooking spinach a lot, I was very pleased to have this.  The pine nuts are toasted, then sauteed with raisins and apples and tossed with the spinach.  The raisins, in particular, retain a lot of heat and it seems to keep the spinach warm for a very long time and feels like a more substantial side dish than most spinach preparations, rich without being heavy.  I thought this might be of moorish influence, but am not sure (maybe I related all use of fruit and nuts in spanish cooking to the Moors).  In any case, I will be stealing this recipe for my own use at home.

As strange as it may seem this is actually my favorite dish at Jaleo. I haven't tried everything there, but i've had a decent sampling of dishes. This is the only one that sticks out in my mind based on taste. Don't get me wrong, i like a lot of the dishes, but this one i love.

[Anonymouze]

Hubby and I ate at Jaleo about 2 weeks ago and it was great! (Bethesda) our bellman Mr Emanuel Christian from the Hyatt Regency suggested it. God bless that man he knows many great restaurants in that woodmont area.

We also liked Delhi Dahba (although they didn't have poori!!!!!) It seems most Indian restaurants down here just don't make it. Also there is a Chinese/Japanese restaurant near Jaleo and one or so doors down from Delhi Dahba it's a MUST go... superb presentation and great food... yes, I forgot the name! (OOPS!)

[JennyUptown]

Raku?

I have dined at the downtown Jaleo twice in the last two weeks. Everything but the service was better during the first visit, but I think my letdown on visit #2 was in my ordering: I didn't break any new ground, ordering things I'd had before and liked. The special Iberian pork is a must order, in my opinion.

[Anonymouze]

Yes, Raku - thank you! It was delicious and all perfectly served food!

Where is Crystal City?!

Please go to Jaleo in Bethesda if anyone who reads this forum has not been there... it is very good and close to the "Red line". (Just walk downhill then east 2 or 3 blocks it's not far at all and I'm not a big walker at all.)

[Varmint]

I still think this is one of the best restaurants for kids anywhere. I have 4 children ages 5, 7, 11 and 12, and here's what they ate this past Friday:

Salt cod fritters

Fried calamari with aioli

Braised oxtail with mashed potatoes

Mussels steamed with tomato

Pork sausage with white beans

Steak with onions and some sauce

Cheese bread

Garlic Shrimp

Now, my children are starting to get a bit more adventurous, but they easily found things they were willing to try. And that's the beauty of any tapas restaurant, but especially Jaleo. The portions are plenty big for kids, but they're good enough sizes for the adults, too. And then they got to sample a couple of Steve Klc's desserts. My son had the fruit soup with berries and cheese ice cream and loved it. The basque cake and flan were also big hits. We ate and drank like crazy (I love vacationing in towns where you don't drive). In the end, it was expensive for a casual dinner for 7 people (we had a family friend with us), but it was well worth it. Plus, there's nothing like a glass of ice cold sangria after a long day walking all over the place!

[docsconz]

I still think this is one of the best restaurants for kids anywhere.  I have 4 children ages 5, 7, 11 and 12, and here's what they ate this past Friday:

Salt cod fritters

Fried calamari with aioli

Braised oxtail with mashed potatoes

Mussels steamed with tomato

Pork sausage with white beans

Steak with onions and some sauce

Cheese bread

Garlic Shrimp

Now, my children are starting to get a bit more adventurous, but they easily found things they were willing to try.  And that's the beauty of any tapas restaurant, but especially Jaleo.  The portions are plenty big for kids, but they're good enough sizes for the adults, too.  And then they got to sample a couple of Steve Klc's desserts.  My son had the fruit soup with berries and cheese ice cream and loved it.  The basque cake and flan were also big hits.  We ate and drank like crazy (I love vacationing in towns where you don't drive).  In the end, it was expensive for a casual dinner for 7 people (we had a family friend with us), but it was well worth it.  Plus, there's nothing like a glass of ice cold sangria after a long day walking all over the place!

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I'll second Jaleo as being a great restaurant for kids, for the reasons you mentioned as well as the fact that the parents can really enjoy their meal as well. There is no need for the parents to dumb down their meal to get one that the kids will enjoy too.

[lperry]

Resurrecting the thread - We ate with some friends at the DC Jaleo Saturday night. I'm going to try to remember everything.

Red sangria (very nice), and a lovely 2001 Bodegas Riojanas Vina Albina reserva rioja. Just perfect with the tapas. All in all we ordered:

Patatas bravas (I think there were at least three orders over the course of the evening)

One of the seasonal tapas - asparagus with lemon dressing and manchego

Mushrooms in garlic and herbs

Homemade chorizo with garlic mashed potato (the sausage lovers at the table pronounced this the best they had ever eaten)

Seared tuna with sesame seeds

A seasonal beef dish - I can't remember the name

And then - the vegetable paella. Oh my. Just wonderful. So much saffron it clung in threads to the dishes when we were finished. Silky eggplant, roasted peppers, cauliflower, zucchini....

A lovely meal, great service, and wonderful atmosphere.

-L

[PBHokie]

For some reason I am rarely impressed with many of the highly regarded “landmark” restaurants in the DC area, Jaleo being no different. I’m not saying they’re bad, but they often fall below my expectations which arguably are too high to begin with.

My mom was in town this weekend and we decided to stop in Jaleo since I have wanted to try the place for some time. The atmosphere was very nice and service was also very good but the food left a little to be desired. I guess when I go to a place like Jaleo I expect everything on the menu to be very good. Perhaps this is a misguided expectation and I suppose Jaleo faired pretty well with seven of our nine dishes falling, at least, into the “good” category. However, the two that were not so good put a damper on the whole meal.

All said and done, dessert was the real high point of the meal. The fruit soup w/ fresh cheese ice cream was very good but more ice cream would have been a real plus given the size of the dish and the richness of the sauce. Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Torte was also very, very good. To my surprise the next best dish was the grilled quail; surprising because I was expecting to like it the least. I ordered it to try something a little different. It was cooked just right and very flavorful. Crab stuffed baby tomatoes were also very good as were the bacon wrapped figs. Mom seemed to enjoy the Manzanas, apple and fennel salad, but I didn’t try it. The Ensaladilla rusa was good but was very salty. I suppose that should be expected for a dish that includes conserved tune and roe but it was a distraction from the dish. The fisherman’s soup was okay but I was expecting, perhaps mistakenly, something heartier. The flavor was quite good but just not very satisfying. Vieiras con mojo picón, or seared scallops with pepper sauce was not good. I’ve never seen scallops this small. They were no wider than a dime. So small, in fact, that their flavor was completely masked by the sauce. I had high hopes for this one which may have tinted my view of the meal as a whole.

Again, not terrible. I would go again, if for no other reason that to give the place another shot. I want to like it but I just…didn’t.

[Busboy]

For some reason I am rarely impressed with many of the highly regarded “landmark” restaurants in the DC area, Jaleo being no different.  I’m not saying they’re bad, but they often fall below my expectations which arguably are too high to begin with.

My mom was in town this weekend and we decided to stop in Jaleo since I have wanted to try the place for some time.  The atmosphere was very nice and service was also very good but the food left a little to be desired.  I guess when I go to a place like Jaleo I expect everything on the menu to be very good.  Perhaps this is a misguided expectation and I suppose Jaleo faired pretty well with seven of our nine dishes falling, at least, into the “good” category.  However, the two that were not so good put a damper on the whole meal.

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In which Jaleo did you dine?

[Anonymouze]

For some reason I am rarely impressed with many of the highly regarded “landmark” restaurants in the DC area, Jaleo being no different.  I’m not saying they’re bad, but they often fall below my expectations which arguably are too high to begin with.

The atmosphere was very nice and service was also very good but the food left a little to be desired.  I guess when I go to a place like Jaleo I expect everything on the menu to be very good.  Perhaps this is a misguided expectation and I suppose Jaleo faired pretty well with seven of our nine dishes falling, at least, into the “good” category.  However, the two that were not so good put a damper on the whole meal.

All said and done, dessert was the real high point of the meal.   To my surprise the next best dish was the grilled quail; surprising because I was expecting to like it the least. 

Again, not terrible.  I would go again, if for no other reason that to give the place another shot.  I want to like it but I just…didn’t.

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We went here Saturday as well and hubby and I ordered 8 dishes to share most were not memorable (Jaleo Cry City) we liked the Bethesda one far better when we went 2 years back. The Risotto was over-cooked (I like a bit harder than al-dente, but hubby does NOT) the quail was virtually tasteless, the cute little chorizo's in slivered potato chip were a distraction but 2 were over-cooked alot of the food was over or underseasoned, I love salt so hubby was bothered more than me. We got bread you could break your teeth on so I asked our waitress for anything but not end pieces next time she refilled our basket. There was no butter with the bread, there was olive oil on the table but no herbs/cracked pepper for it.... The waitress while efficient was not "smiley/bubbly" by any means and I usually tip 20-25% but I did a 15% being overall disappointed with the food, the service etc. The atmosphere was nice and the inside was nicely laid out. But we won't be returning.

We only had ONE worse experience this month and that was at JR Stockyards in McLean and we won't even get INTO how horribly wrong that was - just take my word at don't bother going there... the service sucked the food for a table of 5 was right for 3 out of the 5 people 2 of us had to get things fixed and changed more than once... my meat was over-done and I asked for medium rare bordering on rare! It was "crispy" lol! The only highlight after the maitre d' laughed about it (which peeved me off even more) was that eventually the offered to remove my aunt's grossly undercooked then cooked too many times...meat off the bill.

On the flipside Ruth Chris has a$89. summer special til August well worth it!

Edited June 24, 2008 by Anonymouze (log)

[hjshorter]

There was no butter with the bread, there was olive oil on the table but no herbs/cracked pepper for it....

For what it's worth, this is exactly how we were served bread in Spain, everywhere we went. Might be an authenticity issue.

Did you really stiff the waitress 5% because you didn't like the food (which is not the servers fault), and for delivering good service but not being "smiley?"

Edited June 24, 2008 by hjshorter (log)

[PBHokie]

For some reason I am rarely impressed with many of the highly regarded “landmark” restaurants in the DC area, Jaleo being no different.  I’m not saying they’re bad, but they often fall below my expectations which arguably are too high to begin with.

My mom was in town this weekend and we decided to stop in Jaleo since I have wanted to try the place for some time.  The atmosphere was very nice and service was also very good but the food left a little to be desired.  I guess when I go to a place like Jaleo I expect everything on the menu to be very good.  Perhaps this is a misguided expectation and I suppose Jaleo faired pretty well with seven of our nine dishes falling, at least, into the “good” category.  However, the two that were not so good put a damper on the whole meal.

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In which Jaleo did you dine?

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I was in Bethesda.

I thought maybe I was being a little hasty but I've been to a few other lesser known places since then and it's still sub-par in my mind. So far, I'm still of the opinion that many restaurants end up becoming the victim of their own success.

[Anonymouze]

There was no butter with the bread, there was olive oil on the table but no herbs/cracked pepper for it....

For what it's worth, this is exactly how we were served bread in Spain, everywhere we went. Might be an authenticity issue.

Did you really stiff the waitress 5% because you didn't like the food (which is not the servers fault), and for delivering good service but not being "smiley?"

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I said : I did a 15% being overall disappointed with the food, the service etc.

She was inattentive if I need be more precise. I like having my soda filled while I'm eating, fresh soft bread (not stale hard bread), well paced meal and if you mention that the bread is very hard... having to clear our own plates. Anyhow, when I was a young "server" I would apologize even if it wasn't my fault and then find something better or offer another item if something was wrong with the food.

If my service was very good I give 20%, stellar (keeping glasses filled, asking about every 10 min throughout the meal if we need anything) etc.. 25% if they do everything that might be needed without asking, like dropping by with either bread, extra napkins, refilling beverages, smiling, asking if we need anything else if something looks low or our plates are empty and not letting our plates sit empty in front of us for over 15 minutes...

I guess I'm a dining snob.

[hjshorter]

To each her own. If a server asked me if I needed anything every ten minutes I would ask for the manager.

[squids]

To each her own.  If a server asked me if I needed anything every ten minutes I would ask for the manager.

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ditto. And murphy's law, they always come by when you have a mouthful of food! That would get really annoying every 10 minutes, not to mention the interruption in conversation when not eating.

[docsconz]

At the end of this month, people in DC and the surrounding area will be in for a treat as Rafael Vidal, paella-master from the Valencia region of Spain will be around to make paellas and help celebrate Jaleo's paella festival. My visit to his restaurant, Levante, can be found here.

The press release for this extended event:

Celebrate Spain’s Most Famous Culinary Tradition During Jaleo’s Sixth Annual Paella Festival

With  Special Guest Paella Master Rafael Vidal

Washington, DC, (August , 2008)- From September 29th through October 12th, José Andrés and Jaleo will celebrate the sixth annual Paella Festival with a two-week event honoring one of Spain’s most popular culinary traditions. Jaleo is pleased to welcome special guest Rafael Vidal from Restaurante Levante. During the Paella Festival, guests can enjoy daily happy hour and paella specials based on Chef Vidal’s recipes. Priced from $30-45.00, these special paellas will be available for both lunch and dinner service at all three Jaleo locations. Jaleo starts the festivities with a giant paella at the Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market on Sunday, September 28 and a kickoff party at Jaleo Bethesda on October 1st.

Rafael Vidal is the third generation of his family to head the kitchen at Restaurante Levante located in the town of Benissano, in Valencia, Spain. The family is the true guardian of the paella making tradition with over 30 years experience turning out authentic and excellent versions at their restaurant. A renowned expert on the rice dishes of the Valencia region, Vidal was invited to cook at the 2006 Worlds of Flavors conference at the Culinary Institute of America. The recipient of many honors, Restaurante Levante is listed in numerous gastronomical guides (Michelin, Gourmetour, CAMPSA) and counts the King of Spain among its customers.

Some of the featured specials that Jaleo will offer include Arroz con pollo, conejo y alcachofa, rice with chicken, rabbit and artichokes; Fideua, the traditional Valencian “paella” of angel hair pasta with Norway lobster, shrimp and squid and Paella Valenciana, the traditional paella of rabbit and chicken with garrofo.

For a refreshing libation, Jaleo will serve Agua de Valencia or “Water of Valencia.” This traditional cocktail is sure to quench the thirst as it combines cava, orange juice, vodka and gin and is priced at $7.50. (A complete menu of the rotating specials is below.)

Chef Vidal will oversee the preparation of Jaleo’s famous giant paella at the Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market on Sunday, September 28th at 11:00 a.m. Free samples of paella will be given to the public.

On Wednesday, October 1, the public is invited to attend a kickoff party at Jaleo Bethesda. Samples of Chef Vidal’s paellas will be offered at the bar from 5-7 pm. Guests should RSVP to Jaleo Bethesda at bethesda@jaleo.com.

While in Washington, Vidal will share his paella making knowledge with two diverse groups of culinary students. Vidal will pay a visit to DC Central Kitchen, one of the leading hunger fighting nonprofits in the country, and teach a class for the students enrolled in the Culinary Job Training program. The Culinary Job Training program seeks to address the root causes of hunger by preparing unemployed and homeless adults for careers in the foodservice industry. Chef Vidal also will demonstrate how to prepare several of his delicious paella dishes to the students of L’Academie de Cuisine’s Professional Culinary Arts program.

Under the direction of Chef José Andrés, Jaleo is an award-winning tapas bar with three locations in the Washington metro area. Jaleo is located at 480 7th Street NW in Washington, DC, (202) 628-7949; at 7271 Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland, (301) 913-0003 and at 2250-A Crystal Drive in Arlington, Virginia, (703) 413-8181. For more information please visit the website, www.jaleo.com.

Paella Festival Menu 2008

Arroz a banda

A banda means rice apart or to the side. With squid and monkfish

Arroz con acelgas

Rice with Swiss chard

Arroz con pollo, conejo y alcachofa

Rice with chicken, rabbit and artichokes

Fideua

Traditional Valencian “paella” of angel hair pasta with Norway lobster, shrimp and squid

Paella de bacalao

Rice with saltcod

Paella de verduras

Rice with seasonal vegetables

Paella de marisco

Seafood rice with shrimp, squid, mussels, monkfish and Norway lobster

Paella Valenciana

Traditional paella of rabbit and chicken with garrofo

Arroz al horno

Arroz Passeat, baked rice with chickpeas, potatoes and morcilla

Arroz negro

Rice tinted with squid ink with squid and octopus

Fideua negra

Traditional Valencian “paella” of angel hair pasta with squid and squid ink

Arroz con col y costillas de cerdo

Rice with cabbage and pork ribs

Helado de horchata con fartons

Chufa nut ice cream with cookies

Agua de Valencia

Water of Valencia

Traditional cocktail made of cava, orange juice, vodka and gin

Vidal was also the paella master at the CIA's Spain and the World Table conference.