Jaleo

We're not shy about our love for Jose Andres. We love the bold flavors and fun atmosphere that his restaurants offer (see our thoughts on Minibar, Oyamel, and Cafe Atlantico). We ventured out to Jaleo in Penn Quarter to test out the Paella Festival. We had only been to the Jaleo in Crystal City so it was fun trying the one that is in our backyard. We started with a pitcher of fruity sangria. It was about 8 million degrees outside so this refreshing drink was a must.

Jaleo, for the uninitiated, is a tapas restaurant. To go with our paella, we ordered a variety of tapas. To start, the Datiles con Tocino. The menu describes them as "fried dates wrapped in bacon that you will want to eat every day." How cute is that? Not only is the description cute, it is accurate. If it wasn't for the whole fried and bacon thing, I could definitely eat these every day.

Next were the roasted sweet onions with pine nuts and blue cheese. The onions were uber-sweet and contrasted really well with the sour bite of the blue cheese. The fact that the dish is served cold and contains blue cheese might turn off some people, but that's ok, more for me!

The main event was the paella: Fideos a banda con bogavante (traditional fried pasta, paella style with lobster and fresh squid). B read an Express article about Jaleo bringing in a chef from Spain for its paella festival (Maria Jose San Ramon). She cooks up a variety of paella with pasta instead of rice. We were really psyched to try it and though the flavor was excellent, but I think it needed more time over the heat. The noodles weren't at all crispy and left the whole pan with a rather mushy texture. My favorite part of paella is the crispy part that sticks to the pan and we didn't get any of that on this visit. The paella was, however, packed with generous servings of lobster and squid.

The next dish was another pesky looksbetteronthemenusapien, which we initially met at Wasabi (see here). The description of salmon with cauliflower puree and raspberries sounded intriguing, but mostly the dish just tasted like a piece of salmon. The cauliflower puree didn't add a lot of flavor and there wasn't enough of the raspberry flavor to jazz it up. Also, no fun to pick bones out of your fish.

For our starch course we tried the Papas Arrugas (Canary Island-style wrinkled baby potatoes served with mojo verde). Canary Island-style must mean "looks like dessert but tastes dry." The potatoes didn't soak up any of the sauce so it felt sort of disjointed. This didn't faze B though. Recipe for success in his world = starch + salt. He ended up eating the whole bowl.

I was a big fan of the Lomo de Buey (grilled hanger steak with piquillo peppers). It was tender and the piquillo peppers added a nice zing.

Our visit to Jaleo was a bit like our table: hot and cold. We were seated in the uber-air conditioned dining room but near the patio door so every so often would get huge blasts of hot air from outside. The same could be said about the meal. Every so often we'd get huge blasts of flavor and smiles all around, while a couple of other dishes left us cold. The variety of Jaleo's menu and the fact that Jose Andres is just a really likeable guy, means we'll be back.

Second Thoughts from B

I've been to each of Jose Andres' restaurants and in my humble opinion, Jaleo is the least outstanding. Saying that, however, is like identifying the least attractive supermodel. Ultimately, they are all really good choices and it just comes down to a matter of personal preference.

Speaking of personal preference, that is one of the things I love about the diversity of Jaleo's menu. It is a great place to go with a group of people when several different needs must be met. Jaleo can be "fit for foodies" who are impressed by Jose Andres' name yet wouldn't intimidate a less sophisticated palate. You'd be comfortable dressed up or in jeans and a t-shirt. Vegetarian requirements? No problem. Someone on a diet? Tapas are the perfect thing for portion control. Basically, there's something for everyone.

Paella was the something for me on this night. Having recently returned from Spain and sampling the original dish in Madrid, I had a craving (and writing this now is making my mouth water). I don't know what it is about paella but I think it has recently ascended to the top of my comfort food list without ever having appeared in my childhood. I just want to stuff myself silly, curl up in a little ball, and fade off into a food coma. I don't know what else I can say... I'm hooked.

Toscana - Guest Post

Over the last week and a half, J and I were lucky enough to be in South Africa where we were on safari and took in a couple of World Cup games. While we were having the time of our lives on the other side of the earth, someone needed to continue our quest to explore every nook and cranny of DC. The following is what that someone - our good friend and loyal reader "A" - found. Apparently, we should thank her for filling in for us AND for saving us from a less than savory experience... Yikes!

-B and J


On Friday evening, I was catching up on my television (Real Housewives of New York, the charming Baby Mama – so reader, know I am not snobby about television and please extrapolate that I am not snobby about food), when, a few minutes after eight, my husband, M, called to let me know he was on his way home from work. We discussed dinner – and settled on takeout from Toscana Café, which is a block away from our apartment.

Now, we live on the north side of Capitol Hill, and there are not a lot of dinner options here. Due to the dearth of dining, we are very lenient with the food around here – it doesn’t have to be fantastic, just serviceable. We do love Kyoto Sushi, but M felt like pizza and, since Clemson was playing in the College World Series, we needed to eat at home. And oh how I wish Clemson had won to make up for our terrible meal.

Toscana is close to home, and that’s about all it has going for it. Oh, that’s not entirely true. Toscana has a partnership with Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, wherein patrons can bring beverages from Schneider’s to Toscana and not pay a corking fee. And Schneider’s is amazing – they have an impossibly huge selection of wine, beer, and spirits in a tiny store, and their staff is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. In the three years we have lived here, we have had one bottle of wine that we didn’t care for – everything else we have gotten there, we’ve loved.

So on this Friday night, I strolled over to Toscana to check out their takeout menu and order a quick meal. M wanted a pizza with vegetables, and I decided a salad would go well with it. To start, they don’t have paper takeout menus; instead, patrons look at about five different boards with dishes written on them while basically standing in the kitchen. They offer three types of pizza, none of them obviously veggie, so I asked the host/main waiter to suggest a veggie pizza. He said that they didn’t really have any, but the Formaggi pizza, with spinach, ricotta, and fontina would be good. I also ordered the Grilled Corn and Orzo Salad with Shrimp, Cucumbers, Peppers, and Coriander with Passion Fruit Dressing. When I walked in to order takeout, I was told it would be 20 minutes, but when I placed my order I was told it would take 30.

Thirty minutes later, after a quick few sips of beer and a little pre-game coverage of the Clemson game, I walked over to Toscana to pick up our dinner. I was told it would be another 15 minutes, and I unhappily walked home. I think that they had forgotten to make our pizza, but when I want back after 15 minutes, there was a pizza waiting. The man I ordered from asked me if I had ordered anything else, and I said that I had ordered a salad. He asked what kind, and then went into the back to root around a bit before telling me that they were out of it. One of the sous chefs said he was making it (cooking the shrimp, by far the highlight of our meal). I was not charged for the salad, paid $10 for the pizza, and walked home in a huff. At 9:30, we finally started our dinner.

Does this look like a veggie pizza? Not a vegetable to be found:

(note: the photos were taken on my Droid. We did not feel motivated to take good photos of our bad food).

Frankly, I could have walked to the corner store, bought a frozen pizza, and we would have finished our meal long before the game started. And that frozen pizza would have tasted better – the pizza was bland, and the crust was far too thick for the amount of sauce and cheese. Neither the crust nor the bottom of the pizza was brown, but there were burnt, not brown, portions of the cheese. As M said, the crust just tasted like bread. I will say the sauce was not as sweet as many pizza sauces I’ve tasted, but I only had a bite. M ate half, probably because he didn’t eat the salad. At the end of the meal, M stated that Jumbo Slice, eaten sober, is better than this pizza.

Ah, the salad:

Well, M was not a fan of the passion fruit dressing, or as he liked to call it, the “weed dressing.” Yes, it smelled suspiciously and quite strongly like the newly legalized herb. We don’t like to pour bong water on our salads. And M had poured it on his serving, rendering it inedible.

I did not use any dressing, making me quite confused when M started calling it weed salad. I shared the rest of my grilled shrimp, which as I mentioned, was delicious. But the jokes from Half Baked continued all night, so I guess this salad was worth every penny!

As a little backstory, we did eat at Toscana a few months before, and I can confidently say that the best part of the meal was the bottle of wine we brought from Schneider’s. M ordered the Papardelle with roasted tomato lamb ragu, and I had the Gnocchi with basil pesto, sundried tomato, and shrimp. M’s papardelle was overwhelmed with rosemary – I know that rosemary is a typical lamb pairing, but rosemary can taste like soap when too much is added. The dish tasted entirely of rosemary, and M says he was still burping up rosemary hours later (ladies, don’t be jealous of my husband – you can’t have him!). Meanwhile, my gnocchi with basil pesto came in a pink cream sauce. You can imagine my confusion, since I know basil to be green, but I ate it anyway because I really don’t like to make a scene. Finally, M flagged down our waitress to ask why my sauce was pink, and it was explained to us that the sauce did have basil pesto in it, as well as marinara sauce and alfredo sauce. Huh?

Incensed by bland pizza and another misrepresentation of a dish on the menu, I called to complain about the lack of vegetables. The person I spoke to was very apologetic and tried to explain that they had been swamped that evening. Well, the restaurant has been open since last fall, so I don’t understand why they couldn’t handle one night when the outdoor patio was not even full of diners. He even offered to comp our next dinner there, which I firmly turned down. And I am cheap, cheap, cheap. In the words of our previous president, “Fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me … you can’t get fooled again!”

But don’t worry, I had a delicious dinner, thanks to Schneider’s:

In conclusion, a plea to Chipotle – please open in Union Station NOW! Your sign has said “Coming Soon” for months. COME NOW!!

Thanks to J and B, and to everyone who made it through my long rant.

Mitsitam

Are you doing the "I have friends in town and I don't know where to go eat near the Mall" routine for the millionth time? Problem solved: take them to Mitsitam in the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

Before you laugh and say that you're never going to a museum food court, take a closer look. Mitsitam (which means "Let's eat") features cuisine native to different regions of the Americas: Northern Woodlands, South America, Northwest Coast, Meso America, and the Great Plains. In addition to your typical chicken tenders and burgers, you'll find Indian frybread, buffalo steak, cedar plank salmon, roasted chayote squash, and much, much more.

In addition to having the best menu on the Mall, Mitsitam also has the best view. If you're lucky, you can snag a seat next to the flowing waters that surround the museum. This "best kept secret" isn't so secret any longer and it can be pretty crowded and peak times.

Go early (or late), grab a tray and explore.

B likes to try a different item each time we go. This time, he journeyed to the Northwest Coast for cedar plank juniper salmon, stewed blackeyed peas with horseradish root and spinach, and broccoli with pumpkin seed and lavender butter.

I found something I love and I stick to it. The Indian Taco made with buffalo chili smothered over fry bread is my go-to lunch. Part taco salad, part flatbread, all yummy.

Mitsitam also offers aguas frescas (that always look better than they taste) and desserts to cap off your meal. The cafeteria-style and huge variety of options makes it a perfect destination for groups or hard to please visitors. It isn't as cheap as the McDonald's next door in the Air and Space Museum but it is light years better.

Second Thoughts from B

There's so much to love about Mitsitam and only one drawback. The drawback is that you'll pay museum prices. But aside from the cafeteria style operations, it is closer to restaurant quality food. Plus, if you're on the Mall doing the tourist thing, the cafeteria speed is a benefit.

As J said, we eat here often whenever we are playing tour guide. Diverse and unique dining options, a beautiful setting, and a convenient location (almost exclusively given the Mall's lack of options) are all worth making this a regular stop.

But there's one more thing that I think is so unique. Appropriately, it seems that the philosophy is that eating time during a museum visit is not a time to stop learning. Through the wide-range of dishes and the ingredients that are used, visitors can experience a taste of American Indian life. A version catered to the modern palate to be sure, but considering the emphasis on authenticity and the strong ties to native peoples at the museum, it will open more than a few eyes (and mouths). Over the course of many meals I've had, I can say that each time I've enjoyed something that was foreign to me. In fact, my goal is usually to find something I've never heard of (and can't pronounce) and I've yet to leave disappointed.

Commissary

After the Pride Parade (see our thoughts here), we were in need of some grub. Not wanting to venture far from our viewing spot on P Street, we headed to Commissary. You might recognize the space as it formerly housed Merkado. Apparently Merkado's Latin/Asian fusion theme wasn't bringing in the big bucks, so the owners closed up shop and converted the space into Commissary, which has a coffehouse/cafe feel.

Some days all you want is a plain old burger. Well, that's what I got at Commissary. It was as basic as a burger gets: bun, beef, lettuce, tomato, onion. As you can see from one of the ugliest pictures to grace this blog, the burger was a bit over done. It wasn't that good but was what I needed after a lot of celebrating at the parade.

B had better luck with his prosciutto, gruyere, and arugula pizza. It was thin and light in the crust department, but bold in the flavor department. Not quite 2 Amy's (see here) but a solid pie.
Commissary wants to be "your neighborhood place" and if it was in our neighborhood we might be more likely to pop in for a drink or a casual meal. But, with all of the fun places opening in the Logan area, Commissary isn't going to be what brings us to this 'hood.

Second Thought from B

Commissary isn't exactly gourmet, but it isn't looking to be either. It is much more a place to refuel that anything else (after all, its name is synonymous with "dining hall"), and in that role, it succeeds. Therefore, anything more than something to quench your hunger is a bonus.

As J said, my pizza exceeded my modest expectations. It was a nice combination of mostly salty ingredients with some refreshing citrus, all on a well done crust. If anything, the flavors might have been too bold. Not everything needs to be turned up to 11, despite what our friends in Spinal Tap might say. Still, if your meal is more about visiting with friends and filling your stomach, you could do much worse.