Jaleo — Restaurant in Washington

If you're in DC you MUST GO HERE! Jaleo is the first restaurant in DC by Chef Jose Andres who literally started the culinary scene in the nation's capital. This is not an ordinary spanish tapas restaurant; this place is the kingdom of all things Iberico (black footed pigs from the island of Iberico in Spain). If you don't know why this is significant, google Iberico ham and you'll see. This meal was one of the best I have had at any restaurant ever.

We started with this simple homemade bread with a tomato sauce and manchego cheese which was so simple but out of this world. All fresh flavors, balance of sweet and tart, smooth sauce, fluffy dough with a crisp crust; simply insane.

Then we had the 48 and 36 month dry aged, salt cured Iberico ham. I have never seen marbling throughout a piece of pork like there was in the 48 month. It literally started to melt in my mouth when I took a bite. And you could taste the subtle hint of acorn (what the pigs are fed) and it was so pleasing to the pallet.

We moved onto the rabbit leg which was so tender. The gaminess of the rabbit paired beautifully with the sweet apricot puree it sat on top of.

The cannelloni stuffed with foie gras and topped with manchego cheese were a revelation. Creamy, meaty, salty, amazing!

The quail over lentils would have been the star of any other meal had everything else not been so absolutely amazing. It was so tender, perfectly moist (hard to do with such a small bird), seasoned well with crisp skin, and so well balanced with the rest of the plate.

The star was the pork tenderloin. Cooked to a perfect medium rare, seasoned to perfection, and balanced unlike any dish I have ever had. It was served on a beautiful gravy reduced from the juices created during the cooking process, the most creamy mashed potatoes I have ever had in my life, and topped with chive and gorgonzola cheese. The pork was crisp just enough to add texture and contrast the creamy potatoes. The gravy tied everything together. The gorgonzola (a cheese that I usually hate and I feel overpowers everything) was so well balanced by how aggressively seasoned the pork was and how flavorful the gravy was. And the chive gave a fresh note that cut through the richness of everything else on the plate. Each bite was perfect and was an explosion of flavor in your mouth.

All in all this place was simply exquisite. It's easy to see how Chef Jose has had so much success in his career. If you are in DC, this needs to be a stop. You're missing out on a local gem and something that you really can't find anywhere else...

Had dinner last night before a show at the Capital One Center. We made a reservation 2 weeks ago (using their website online system) for 5:45pm; when we hit terrible traffic coming in from Herndon, we called at 5:15 to let them know we would be late at the rate things were moving and tried to see if they could push it to 6:15. It wasn’t just moments before our arrival or anything, on a Wednesday night, for 2 people, in the winter. The hostess said they could hold the rez for 15 minutes but that’s all they could do. So we just took our chances when we showed up at 6:15, as predicted.

Luckily they said they could accommodate us in either a very cramped table inside or in their outdoor tent. We said let’s see the cramped spot first, and we’ll do outside if need be. The indoor spot was definitely cozy; it was a pub-height countertop that wrapped around a column, essentially the “fishbowl” seat in the corner window. But we thought it’d make for cool people-watching if nothing else, and it was just us two, so we said so long as the server didn’t forget we were back here, we’d be fine with it!

Our server was Felipe V who was excellent. We started with a 1/2 pitcher of red sangria. It was presented in a cute, squat bottomed glass pitcher, and the glasses were garnished with a slice of orange and some greenery (mint?) of some kind. It tasted fruity and refreshing, but a bit weak as far as alcoholic drinks go. Could have used a little more wine in the flavor mix.

My friend and I ordered an assorted of tapas, naturally. We had the three cheese assortment: we did a goat cheese, manchego, and one that came with orange marmalade. It was served on a handled wood bar board with a sprinkling of these little mini breadsticks (bread pellets?) that looked almost like assorted nuts. Tasty, all three cheeses and accoutrements. We ordered the roasted beet salad, which was excellent, and the Escalivada (roasted peppers) which was pretty good but not a standout. The Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp in garlic) was delicious, though. I could have had like 3 more small bowls of those!

When it was time to pay, Felipe brought over a handheld device and was effortlessly able to split the check and check us out tableside. Quick and easy.

It’s been many years since I’ve been back to Jaleo, and it’s a solid 3.5 stars in my book. Convenient before a show, we had great service even in our fishbowl corner, and the only challenge was efficient use of our limited...

Restaurant is spacious, modern and vibrant. Colorful artwork on the walls. A high-end, modern feel.

My food and beverages were a mixed bag. The spicy Mezcal 'margarita' was outstanding and the Rabbit Confit (in a smoky adobo sauce) was worthy of Michelin accolades.

The wine-by-the-glass list was thoughtful and well priced, though I thought it funny that they had a temperature control system for the reds to keep them at 58F while the whites were chilled in a fridge to near freezing...something I wouldn't have expected at a Michelin-starred place.

On the culinary downside, I didn't think the Serrano-wrapped stuffed trout was very good - on the plate, it looked like a winner, but the flavors didn't come together for me (whereas the sauce on the rabbit was a highlight, the sauce on the trout was too heavy & overwhelmed the dish).

I thought the prices were very reasonable considering the quality of the ingredients they were using, portion sizes and the DC locale.

The other mixed bag was service. The guys at the bar were outstanding - with a team of 2, they managed to mix drinks for the entire restaurant and act as informed waiters for those of us dining at the bar. A shout-out to Jose V!

On the downside, the hostess was poorly trained. I'd booked a reservation for a table so I could enjoy the Chef's Tasting Menu (and wine pairing) but the gal on duty told me, "sorry...we don't do the tasting menu for solo diners."

Having just returned from a whirlwind of solo, Michelin-starred dining in Andalusia, I thought "how American" but simply went to the bar to order ala carte. The irony came when the guy sitting next to me (also solo) asked Jose if he could do the tasting menu and Jose's response was, "sure...absolutely." Doah!

It was this kind of spotty experience on both the food & service side that I worried about before making the call to try Jaleo, as I often find the celebrity chefs who achieved success and subsequently opened mega-restaurants in Vegas & Dubai just aren't able to impart the standards on their staff that they could when they were on their way up and striving for that first star in a single smaller restaurant.

And that's what Jaleo felt like to me - a once bright star that has...