The best friends are the one who act with intentionality.  In a world where we “like” many things and have endless Facebook friends and Twitter followers, what portion of those folks could you wake up in the middle of the night to help you scoop water from your basement after a pipe burst?   In the New Testament, there’s a story well where a disabled man is lowered through the roof of a house where Jesus is preaching and Jesus heals him.  This divine miracle is fascinating and powerful, but this Sunday in church we explored the life changing dedication of the friends of this disabled man and their determination to do what it took to help their friend in need.  I’m not sure how hot it was that day in Capernaum, but I know how hard it is to fight through a July 4^th crowd to find a place to watch fireworks.  I cannot imagine beating those kinds of crowds while carrying a person in a stretcher only to realize that the only way in is to tear up a stranger’s roof and lower the person through the ceiling.  I’m inspired by this story to invest in friends who will put me before themselves and celebrate my victories as their own.  The best way to find these type of friends, of course, is to be this type of friend to others.

In the food world, we are lucky to have a world renowned chef who has this type of intentionality to educate our city about the multifaceted culture of Latin food.  There is no doubt that Jose Andreas has built an empire for himself, but I truly believe this is a by-product of his dedication to help us understand the beautiful differences between Mexican, Peruvian, Spanish and other Latin foods that, prior to Andre, mainly came to the US as an indistinguishable smorgasbord of TexMex chain restaurants.  Outside of running his plethora of restaurants, Mr. Andreas spends a considerable about of effort holding food tours and special events to help us learn more about the delicious culinary landscape of his heritage.  I was excited this Sunday to indulge in one of his events called Paella Sunday at Jaleo in Crystal City.

Jaleo is Jose Andrea’s blackboard to Spain’s tapas and paella culture.  Tapas are small plates of food,  ideal for those who can never decide what they want for dinner; paella is Spain’s quintessential dish of rice cooked in the savory broth of a stew until it plumps up and takes on the rich flavor of the ingredients swimming alongside it in the broth. Paella is to Spain as risotto is to Italy or as biryani is to Indian cuisine.  Every Sunday at the Crystal City Jaleo, Jose holds an all-you-can-eat paella feast for $25 – an unheard of price in DC for a 5-7 course meals at an award-winning restaurant.  On these Sundays you clearly see Mr. Andreas’ focus is not making money, but rather his dedication to give you the chance to swim through plates of paella flavors you may not have tried when it cost $40-50 for a single plate.  After courses of bread accompanied by aromatic rosemary and garlic oil, a small but crisp and fresh lemon caper salad, and a beet gazpacho (cold soup) that could be the star of any meal itself, you arrive at the opportunity to dive into seafood, chicken and mushroom, AND vegetable paellas.  I emphasize the word “and” here, because the staff do not wince at a half-eaten plate of paella as you ask for the next flavor.  Instead they seem delighted in my fascination to explore multiple types of this famous rice dish.

Of course I started with the seafood version, which came with the plumpest mussels you can find around town.  Each plate of paella is served with a generous smear of garlic aioli (garlic flavored house made mayonnaise) that elevated each bite of paella.  One small very minor warning…the seafood paella is the most popular flavor, which means that even though the paellas are made to order in repetitive four person servings instead of a large oversized vats (where the rise could become overcooked and soggy), the sheer number of seafood paella orders lead to a few minor flaws, such as slightly undercooked rice and dryness.  However, these are so slight and only noticeable since I then had two more plates to compare
to.

Next came the chicken and mushroom paella.  This version is perfect if you’re looking for a meat and rice dish with worlds of savory goodness but seafood is not your thing.  Being second in the string of popularity at this paella event, I found the chicken paella cooked more fully through with a bit more broth oozing from the rice – which in how I personally prefer paella.  I have had the paellas in Spain, and I fondly remember the creamy bold original version I found throughout the historic alleyways of Barcelona.  Yet still I found myself craving the salty sea flavors of my first paella dish, despite its errors: I’m a die-hard seafood fan.

Last but certainly not least came the true gem of the day – Jaleo’s vegetable paella.  This is the genius of Jose Andreas.  Never in a million years would I have ordered the vegetable paella without this Paella Sunday platform.  Yet this version was the true winner of the day.  The broth soaked paella cooking style brought out the deep flavors of these vegetables in a way you’d never taste if a quick sauté.  Topped with a generous guard of pungent and colorful olives that provided pops of salty goodness, this paella invites true gluttony.  After 3 pre-course and two other plates of paella, I found myself not wanting to eat more even if I was dangerously full.  After a few additional bites past my limit, I asked to take the rest home, for which the Jaleo staff happily obliged.

The final bar of this Spanish concert ended with a perfectly creamy full size Flan al Estila Tradicional de Mama Marisa con Espuma de Crème Catalana…essentially a lightly citrus flavored flan with a generous portion of whipped cream on the side.  Jaleo’s kitchen did not lose heart in this final round.  They brought their A-game all the way until the end. I pity those who may be too full from the mountains of paella to cherish every bite of this perfectly balanced dish.  I thought I would try to eat just half to save my waist line and yesterday’s workout….but unfortunately this was the best flan I have ever had, and there was none left to take home.

 – Guest blogger JJS