Last night I dined with Eileen, my son Matt, my ex-employee/employer Sunil and his daughter Anoush. We ate at the original Jaleo in Washington, D.C.
We were seated at a sizeable oval glass table (we had two cancellations) placed over a foosball table. The table was pretty standard except that the players included characters such as Spiderman and a ballerina. As we dined, between bites and sips, I played against Anoush (she is ~10 years old).
The restaurant, now over 30 years old, is outstanding and original. We started with cones, now sized more as 2 bites than one. My tomato and goat cheese was excellent; reports on the salmon and trout roe agree.
We just kept ordering tapas, everything was excellent, we wound up eating far more than we had planned. Standouts included everything. The meat platter included both serrano and Iberico. The star of the cheese platter was Cana de Cabra, closely followed by perhaps the best Manchego I’ve had.
Eileen’s apple and fennel salad was a unanimous hit. The patatas bravas were just as popular. A Canary Islands dish of rabbit confit with apricot puree was a tour de force. Escalivada was great. I never have dessert, but make an exception for their flan.
The btg wine list is also straight from the heart. I have to admit that the Raul Perez Godello was not my favorite; slightly heavy, and without much personality. Sunil was happy with his glass of house Cava. Eileen and I were both really happy with 2015 Otanon Rioja Reserva. The wine list on line is not the same as what was on offer; I’m really sorry that I didn’t get the name of an outstanding 2024 Garnacha that I also tried.
Jaleo has my highest recommendation. We ate like pigs and drank almost like lords. All in, $550 for the five of us including a tip of about 25%.
Final Foosball score:
Anoush 4
Dan 1