Ah, tapas. You and your cured meats and your rich cheeses and your rich marinades and your small-plates-that-falsely-lead-me-to-believe-I’m-not-gorging-myself.
I love you so.
I renewed my love-affair with the late night Spanish dish when a friend and I took out a visitor from Pasadena to Jaleo’s Crystal City location last week. Three of us didn’t really need nine tapas. But boy, did we enjoy them. The roundup:
Quesos de Espana: Jaleo’s cheese plate includes Murcia, Picon, Idiazabal and Manchengo, if you can’t stick to just one. The portions aren’t giant, but they end up being more than you need, once you order other items. I’m always partial to manchengo, though picon was a little pungent for my liking; overall, I enjoyed all four choices.
Spanish sausage: If you get the variety plate, Jaleo provides you small slices of chorizo, soria, butifarra, salchichon, with a toasty bread to match. Rich and spicy.
Duck confit with pear sauce: One of my favorite dishes, this was incredibly rich – the duck was juicy without being too fatty, and the sauce nicely balanced the bird’s sauciness.
Octopus with paprika: Eh. It tastes as you’d expect it to taste. Didn’t mind the rubbery texture, but the overall effect was a little more bland than I’d hoped.
Tortilla de patatas: This was probably my choice as top dish, though it wasn’t anything particularly unique. Served warm, to my surprise, this tortilla was savory and flavorful, despite there not being much to it. Very filling and satisfying.
Spanish mackerel: I could have done without this choice, but my two dining companions raved, so I’ll chalk it up to my antipathy towards fishy-tasting fish. Simply prepared, showing off the fish itself.
Steamed mussels: This is a great buy at Jaleo as they give you more mussels than you’d expect for a tapas order – I’m not sure we even fished them all. The bay leaves are really prominent in the broth’s taste, and that’s a good thing.
Marinated beef: I’m frustrated with myself for not remembering this dish exactly – I think it was slices of beef tenderloin, cooked rare. No complaints; thin, juicy beef with a melting texture.
Spinach with pine nuts: A surprise hit, there was just enough olive oil and sweet accent (raisins) to make this vegetable stand out.
You can’t really go wrong with Jaleo – it’s priced moderately, the waitresses are friendly and low key, the atmosphere is colorful and laid-back. Though the sherry lemonade isn’t anything to brag about – we should have picked up some sangria at the bar before heading to our table. Next time.
Jaleo
2250 A Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 413-8181
Other locations in Bethesda and downtown