Jaleo (Washington, DC)
Jaleo
480 7th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20004
http://www.jaleo.com ($$)
Eat AND Drink: I loved it!
So glad I followed Dave's advice and made time to visit Jaleo when I was in D.C. last month. And not because I'm a fan of Spanish dishes, jamón, tapas, and paella, but their colorful menu is awash in all kinds of fare for just about any taste. With tapas being their specialty, don't event think you're going to try them all out. The menu is more than 3 pages of these delicious morsels based in cheeses, meats, veggies, fish and other house specials. Being solo, I was only able to get through 3 orders myself before I had to call it quits. And yes they're also pretty generously sized. Next time I go, and you know I will, I'm taking friends and I'm trying the paella for damn sure.
But of course I had to try out one of their signature cocktails. I had the El Compadre made with Four Roses Bourbon, Aperol, and citrus. And while I wasn't trying to pair it with my dinner, it did go well with it as I would have expected a dark liquor would with Spanish food. For dinner I had the Ensaladilla rusa (potato salad with imported conserved tuna), Ibérico de bellota mini hamburguesas (slider with acorn-fed pig of Spain and bacon), and the Dátiles con tocino (fried bacon wrapped dates). Damn just writing about them is making me crave those little nuggets again. Definitely make time to visit Jaleo when in D.C. and bring friends to share in all the tapas. Jaleo also has locations in Bethesda, Crystal City, Mexico City and ...VEGAS! (sorry, did I say that out loud?)
