Jaleo and Washington DC

Since I have been a slacker all week with the whole blogging thing we need to go back in time a bit. Monday DC was hit was a snow storm. This is not what I was expecting the first week in March in Virginia.  Much to my dismay the snow came in droves leaving about 6 inches on the ground. My brother got the day off but I just wanted to get out.

I had great plans to meet up with my BFF from college. She had made reservations at a swanky downtown restaurant for lunch. Sunday night we vowed to make it out no matter what mother nature threw down or how the city reacted. DC does not do well in snow.

By 10am our reservations had been canceled but we were still set to meet up.  We headed out in the snow. Although we packed for the cold, I wasn't as prepared for the snow. Thank goodness my sister in law and I have the same size feet. I borrowed her boots.

We ended up at one of the few restaurants opened, Jaleo. Not that this was second best by any means. Jaleo is one of the Jose Andres restaurants in DC. He makes some marvelous creations. Jaleo was packed full of delicious tapas.

As you can see from the photos we had quite a feast.  There were sweets, savory and spicy dishes.  Some recommended, some we choose.

There were a few cocktails thrown into the mix as well. Mr. J and my BFF were more adventurous with their drinks. I had red wine. Snow days mean everyone is on vacation.

About half way through our feast my BFF noticed Jose Andres, himself walk in. He sat at the bar and we gawked. Or at least I gawked. I have gone to many famous chef's restaurants and never have I seen the actual chef. He was clearly there on business and met with several staff while sample some food and drinks.

Seeing him there pretty much made a great day even better. We were debated about going over to talk to him but never got to it before he left. I get some star struck and embarrassed. In the end we decided we were just too cool.

To end we got three desserts. After so much food and drink we decided there was no need to hold back with the sweets. 

Chocolate flan and brioche ice cream, apple charlotte with vanilla ice cream and hazelnut cake.

This ended up being one of the best meals I have had in a long time with the company and food.

Jaleo
480 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
t. 202-628-7949

America Eats

Update: We are still without power in Connecticut.  Tomorrow I am planning on posting about the big storm, how we managed, and lessons learned.  I keep hoping that power will be restored and I will be back to blogging and reading all your wonderful posts soon.  Until then, computer batteries are reserved for the absolute essentials, mainly work. 

I consider this somewhat essential though.  America Eats is a Jose Andres restaurant.  On July 4th he opened America Eats to coincide with the Smithsonian exhibit "What's Cooking Uncle Sam" at the National Archives.  The exhibit explores how the government has shaped America's eating habits over time.  It was fascinating to say the least.

The menu at America Eats is a history book in dish origins.  It is like a mini history book for food. You can find out where the Cobb Salad was created and Presidential Favorites.  Bill Clinton loved gazpacho.

We started off with some homemade donuts and a bread basket. 
The best part was the blackberry jam and butter.  So delicious!

As soon as I saw the menu I knew I had to get hush puppies.   We each ordered an appetizer and did the whole pass the plate around the table.  It was great to sample but I think my hush puppies were the winner in this round.

Buffalo wings anyone?  Of course, this origin was a given...Buffalo, New York.

Cannot get more American than a hot dog served with homemade mustard, catchup, and relish to boot.

Johnny Cakes

Po'Boy sandwich

Reuben sandwich

The food portions were a bit small and the prices were a bit much but the concept is completely cool.  I took about 30 minutes to go through the whole menu reading all of the details. 

The meal ended with a bit of dessert.  Strawberry shortcake for Mr. J and key lime pie for a few others.  The key lime pie was deconstructed.  According to all though it was delicious!

The restaurant is only opened for the length of the exhibit.  So if you are in DC and can make it...go fast! 

Julia Childs Kitchen

One of my favorite things to do while in DC is to walk around the National Mall and see the monuments.  I get a true sense of pride in remembering our past, America's accomplishments and missteps. 

This past weekend was suppose to be the unveiling of a new monument dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.   The ceremonies ended up being canceled due to the impending hurricane but the monument still stood in all its glory.

The entrance is between two stones; it is to show MLK coming out of the mountain. The whole area was very powerful.  Even though the ceremonies were canceled some of the speakers came out to see and great people.  We saw Rev. Jesse Jackson looking at some of the famous quotes engraved in a semi circle around the main monument.

This was one of the main things I wanted to see during this trip and I am so glad we got to see it.

We got to do some more walking before the rain broke out.  I saw another new area on the far side dedicated to Roosevelt.  FDR brought America through some hard times and it is sickening to see the similarities in some things today with the economy.  I wish some of our Representatives and Senators would take a walk through there. They might learn a thing or two.

My favorite spot though of this trip was in the American History Museum.  We got to see the First Ladies gowns, the original American flag, and JULIA CHILDS KITCHEN.  I have never been in  this museum and was so happy to make it during this trip.

I cannot think of a better way to weather a hurricane than in the museums lining the National Mall.  We easily got from one to the next without getting to wet.  The Air and Space Museum had so many full airplanes inside.  I couldn't help but wonder about what this would have been like in the earthquake.

And finally for Mr. J we had to make a stop at the Natural History Museum. He is a sucker for the animals, especially the African safari animals. One day we will be able to see the real thing but for now this will have to do.

Cajun Food: Acadiana

It was my brother's job to book our meals for the weekend.  I think he felt the weight of this job knowing that Mr. J and I are pretty critical when it comes to our food.  Really though, I was just happy I didn't have to make the decisions.  I was never really worried though.  Friday, after saying by to my friends we headed to Acadiana.  The story is that one day while reading the paper my brother noted that Jay-Z and Beyonce were in town and had dinner at Acadiana.  Not too long after, my brother and his wife just happened to stroll by.  After glancing at the menu, they decided they wanted to try it too. The meal turned out to be wonderful and so it was top on the list for us.

I must thank Jay-Z and Beyonce for enlightening us because it was amazing.  Again, we decided to do the sharing method of ordering. We ended up with 6 appetizers that were passed around the table and 5 entrees.  The above picture was my appetizer, Charbroiled oysters.  The oysters were topped with Parmesan cheese and butter, then broiled. They were ab-so-lute-ly delicious!  It also came with a hunk of bread to sop up all of the melted butter at the bottom of the pan.

My entree was the seafood gumbo.  There was so much seafood, jumbo lump crab, shrimp, crawfish, oysters, redfish, and mahatma rice.  Of course okra was in the mix as well.  The flavor was so good and spicy I had trouble trying the other dishes because I didn't want to ruin the taste in my mouth.

Some of the other entrees included fried catfish and blackened beef tenderloin.  Have you ever seen such a pretty plate of fried fish? Two people ended up getting the tenderloin because it was served with parmesan gnocchi, spring onions, english peas, honey mushrooms, and charred onion relish.  The gnocchi won them over.

We finished the meal off with french market beignets.  They were great, truly melt in your mouth fried dough. 

I could go on and on about how great this meal and total evening was.   They was also an abundance of fancy cocktails and drinks.  This would be a great place for a unique happy hour.