Monday, March 25, 2013

Holla for Tapas: Jaleo

Long ago, when I was in law school, Jaleo was my absolute favorite restaurant in D.C.  Even on my worst days, those tapas could turn my frown upside-down.

This was way before I adopted gluttony as a hobby (and when my dress size was still a single digit).  It was 2001, and I had no idea who José Andrés was.

All I knew was that there was something magical in those patatas bravas, and I felt so lucky that I could walk to Jaleo from school.

There's no better place to feel lucky than Las Vegas.  We got lucky on Saturday at Jaleo at The Cosmopolitan.
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Even Mr. Monkey got a bit nostalgic about our meals of yesteryear.  He was a fan of Jaleo back in the day, too.

Datiles con tocino "como hace todo el mundo" -- fried dates wrapped in bacon ($10).
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Still incredible after all these years.  Still our favorite little golden sweet and salty bites.

Sopa de ajo -- garlic soup with black garlic and egg 63 degrees ($10).
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People!  This soup is made of garlic!  Slurp it up, y'all!

Empanadillas de brandada de bacalao -- "empanada" of cod brandade with honey ($10).
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Like a fancy crab rangoon but with cod in liquid form.  Unexpected and fun!

Espinacas a la catalana -- sauteed spinach, pine nuts, raisins, and apples ($12).
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Another Jaleo classic.  Just had to get my fave veggies of old.

Codorniz a la Catalana -- grilled whole quail with apple puree and pine nuts ($15).
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Is that quail sexy or what?  Its crossed legs say, "Come hither."

Rossejat -- traditional paella of fried pasta with fresh squid and shrimp ($18).
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Comfort in a giant pan.  Maybe even more garlicky than the sopa de ajo.  And that's good.

Canelones tradicionales de cerdo y higado de pato con salsa bechamel -- pork and foie gras canelones with Béchamel sauce ($14).
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Creamy heaven, but my only complaint is that it was hard to taste the foie with all the cheese and pork.  Feature the foie!

I heart Jaleo.  Forever and always.

4 comments:

  1. Going through your post, I was like, oh yeah.. yeah... If she posts some foie gras I'm going to lose it.

    I lost it. I've got to get to fucking Vegas.

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    Replies
    1. Hahahahaha. Yes, you would LOVE Jaleo! Better yet, we should go together to the exclusive part called "e" (with an accent on it, which I don't know how to make in comments). It's 20+ courses like SAAM at The Bazaar.

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