Last Jaleo and Hiatus

Photo from Jaleo website

K- “Jaleo” can translate to a mess in English and that’s pretty much what the food was at Jaleo in Crystal City.  Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced real Spanish food in Spain but either way, I was muy disappointed.

I decided to go with a colleague to the restaurant and I was starving as I hadn’t eaten all day. We were seated outside, it was a gorgeous day and the server showed up quickly – good so far. As I was starving (okay, not literally but again I hadn’t eaten all day and it was already 1:30 p.m.) I ordered quite a bit. The special was Spanish tortilla del dia- a Spanish omelette of the day – with mushrooms, sounded good, I ordered that. I also asked for gazpacho estilo Algeciras – classic chilled Spanish soup made with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and bread; Jose Andres chips and the grilled cheese sandwich with grilled Manchego, Murcia, Valdeón and goat cheese with truffle oil on rustic bread, served with honey alioli. My mouth was watering.

The tortilla showed up first. It wasn’t very fluffy and was definitely on the tapas side, which was fine but it still looked a little sad. It tasted okay, I’ve had better tortilla. The Jose Andres chips were just good potato chips, no special seasoning and nothing extraordinary. I don’t know if I would be able to tell the difference between the Jaleo chips and Kettle chips. As for the grilled cheese sandwich it was a lot of bread and “meh.” A friend of mine had made me a grilled cheese sandwich the previous day with a sweet onion jam, which was amazing and pretty much put the Jaleo grilled cheese to shame. I never received the gazpacho.

Overall it was a very disappointing lunch especially what I paid for it. I feel like I might had got a better lunch if I had gone to the food trucks. Maybe the restaurant was having a bad day. I may not know as I probably won’t go back.

**The blog is going on hiatus however you can join us on Twitter. Enjoy the rest of the summer and see you in September!

Sea Pearl @ Mosaic

Photo from Sea Pearl website

K- Last Saturday, C and I met for lunch at Sea Pearl. For whatever reason, I was trying to decide between Sea Pearl and Gypsy Soul – completely forgot about True Food Kitchen, which I really want to try – and ended up making reservations at Sea Pearl as their menu looked quite interesting.  I always make reservations, especially on the weekend as I believe it’s better to be safe than sorry and sometimes, like this time, we are one of the very few people in the restaurant.

Our table was by the window, which was quite nice and our server was quite prompt. I ordered the crab and corn chowder with crisp wontons only to be told that they didn’t have that but they did have a sweet corn soup with crab, bacon and crispy wontons so I ordered that minus the bacon for my first (yes, I hear those of you gasping at my sacrilegious decision of no bacon.)  For my entrée I chose the lobster crepe with shitake mushrooms, green onions, coconut milk, red chili, potatoes hash and sautéed spinach and a cucumber Bloody Mary to sip with my meal.

The cucumber Bloody Mary arrived with a large spear of cucumber rather than a spear of celery thus the cucumber part I’m assuming. It was good, but not very spicy or “tomatoey.” The sweet corn soup wasn’t very sweet, it wasn’t very anything – well, bland. There was a “sprinkling” of crab, which was also bland and of course the crisp wontons, which were nice and crisp.  I was hoping the crepe would add a bit of “zip” to the meal with the red chili but was sadly disappointed. To be honest, I don’t know if and where the red chili part was in my lunch.  The potatoes hash, I did like that – nothing spectacular, but it was good and the spinach was a bit flat.

Overall, for me, the Sea Pearl wasn’t a “pearl” however I had a great time hanging out with C and catching up.

C – These look amazing, don’t they?  Meh. The ricotta fritters with vanilla and lavender honey were just OK. And that was mostly because of the honey. The taste was lacking — like nothing at all, actually — and the rest of my meal was the same. I also had the lobster crepe and, as someone who never salts or peppers, I was looking for the shakers. They weren’t there, or on any table. I didn’t bother to ask. The experience was more about the company anyway.

The atmosphere was nice, though I was surprised to see the dining room so empty at 1:30 on a Saturday. All of the other restaurants at Mosaic are usually packed on the weekends. Perhaps I was served an unusually dull meal, or maybe I made a poor choice, but my instinct tells me lack of flavor may be why we didn’t have to fight for a seat.

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Sea Pearl Restaurant & Lounge
8191 Strawberry Lane, #2
Falls Church, VA  22042

 

Mon Ami Gabi

C – Have I mentioned this place before? I think only as a stopover on the way to Red Velvet Cupcakery, so perhaps it deserves a post of its own. Mon Ami Gabi bills itself as a “classic french bistro.” It is, in fact, somewhat of a chain restaurant with five locations across the country: Las Vegas, Chicago, Oak Brook, Bethesda and Reston.

I’ve been to the Reston location several times and it’s good. Not spectacular, but good if you’re looking for a business dinner that won’t break the bank.There’s something to please everyone here. Some of my favorites include the warm brie cheese appetizer, steak frites w/Bearnaise sauce and the chicken paillard.

It tends to be quite crowded here on weeknights, so reservations are recommended. If you have a large group of people, they are very accommodating and have some great private space. But again, plan ahead. Overall, I see Mon Ami Gabi as a restaurant with consistently good food and an excellent location for business dinners.

Mon Ami Gabi
Reston Town Center
11950 Democracy Drive
703.707.0233

 

Mango Tree in DC

K-Last night a friend and I went to Mango Tree at DC’s City Center.  According to its website  the restaurant was founded in 1994 and the original Mango Tree is located in a beautiful Thai house in Bangkok built during the reign of King Rama VI, almost 100 years ago. The chain has restaurants in cities including London, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Dubai and Manila.

The Mango Tree restaurant group, has partnered up with acclaimed chef / owner Richard Sandoval of Richard Sandoval restaurants for the DC restaurant and per the website “offers contemporary Thai cuisine with a bold new twist, along with authentic essential classics.”

I chose Mango Tree due to Tom Sietsema’s review in the Washington Post.  However, after I made the reservation, I began to read Yelp reviews and became a bit nervous after reading about people not getting their entrees even after a three hour wait, “meh” food, couldn’t find the dining area and other negative comments.  I warned my friend that we could be in for an unpleasant surprise.  Fortunately all that doom and gloom was for nothing.

I arrived a bit early so I sat down at the bar to have an happy hour drink at the bar. During happy hour drinks and snacks are $6.  I asked Tim, the bartender, about the strawberry basil caipirinha and he assured me that it was very good. I looked at him and said, “Ok, but then I’m going to expect it’s going to be amazing.” He said he would make sure of it.  I got my drink and took a sip and it was very good. Thanks Tim!

When my friend arrived he also had a caipirinha and as we were having drinks we asked if there was a way to let the dining room know that we were in the bar so we would be a little late – they said no problem and they would take care of it – mind you, this was around 5:15 p.m.  After about 15 minutes the hostess came down to the bar and asked if we were ready to go to the dining room – yes, we were – and she asked if we would like someone to carry our drinks up for us – nope, we were fine.

Dining room is beautiful. The windows are huge so you can get a great view of outside, yes its streets and buildings but hey, you are in the city.  Daniel, our server, was very knowledgeable about the food and answered all of our questions patiently, including some smart ass ones from my friend.

I ordered the grilled baby octopus salad and the eggplant and mushroom curry and my friend ordered the chili flake calamari and the grilled Portobello mushroom curry.  The salad was very good but if you are one that doesn’t care for spicy heat, I wouldn’t recommend it. I like spicy and didn’t mind that it caused my nose to run. The calamari was nice and crisp but the green apple and wasabi sauce was also spicy.  Both curries were very good but were not very spicy – maybe they were, but just not as spicy as the appetizers! We did have dessert, the mango cheese cake.  The cheesecake was light and tasted more creamy than cheese and the mango slices – one was good and the other must have been cut near the pit as it was a bit tough – made it very decorative. It was a nice dessert. Overall, I would say the meal was good – not amazing but good – and a little pricey.  I’m glad I went there once, but with all of the fabulous restaurants around town I’m unsure if I would return.

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Mad Fox’s Hoppy Oktoberfest

C – The last Saturday in September saw Mad Fox’s annual Oktoberfest in Falls Church, and this year did not disappoint. The line to get in stretched through the parking lot, but everyone managed to get into the Market Square in good time. It was a family (and pet) friendly event, which made the atmosphere happy and lively.

My favorite pour of the day

There was an impressive selection of the region’s top IPA’s and Oktoberfest beers along with pretzel bites, bratwurst and chili. Admission was technically free, but to eat and drink you had to buy tickets and a souvenir mini-beer stein. $20 for 6, 4 oz. pours worked quite nicely for me, though some in my party opted to mix in some food. The weather was amazing, the music was good and the company was outstanding. I’d recommend it for next year!

Mad Fox Brewing Company
444 West Broad Street, Suite I
Falls Church, VA 22046

Tea at the Willard – take one

C – So, the Saturday before last we tried to have tea at the Willard. Sounds so sophisticated, doesn’t it? My friend and I had this planned for weeks. Imagine our surprise to find a big, brash bridal show going on in the lobby and hallway – Peacock Alley – where tea was to be. The tea had been moved to a tiny corner and the harpist had to compete with a wedding band. No one called us to let us know our tea experience wouldn’t be the one we had expected. We were not thrilled. However, kudos to the Willard staff, as they apologized saying someone should have called us. They cancelled our reservation without penalty, validated my parking and rescheduled us for the following weekend.

By this time, we were hungry, so we went into the famed Round Robin bar. We had bar snacks – club sandwich and calamari – along with some hot, alcoholic drinks to stave off the chill of the day. It wasn’t very crowded and it was lovely. And then the Hoyas fans descended. It got very loud, very raucous and quite crazy incredibly quickly. That was our cue to leave.

Next week… Tea at the Willard! (we hope)

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The Willard Round Robin and Scotch Bar
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

World of Beer – Yes, there is such a thing!

C – I didn’t really have high hopes for this place. The name is kind of cheesy and it really just looked like your typical sports bar. But little exceptional things kept happening and the sum throughout the evening meant that I’ll be going back soon.

1. Seriously the most comfortable bar stools ever. Super cushiony, double-wide. You could pretty much sit there all day (and I’m sure that’s the point).
2. Mac and cheese to die for. Everyone’s doing this little side these days and I can’t fully explain what made this one different. It was very small, but totally rich with flavor.   I couldn’t have had any more than I was served. It was perfect.
3. A truly great selection of beers from around the world. I had the Maes Pilsner from Belgium. Someone else had the Hofbrau Original from Germany. But the real test came from the girl from Galway. She was absolutely beside herself when she found out Kilkenny was on the menu.

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The atmosphere was friendly and casual. The place had an open feel which made me comfortable – as if I could escape if need be. There was a band that played on a little stage and super huge pretzels served hanging. The only negative was the specialty drink my friend ordered. The Berry Cosmo was very thick and she had a hard time with it. So, they don’t do everything right, but WOB totally works if you’re looking for low key and lots of beer.

World of Beer – Arlington
901 N. Glebe RD 105
Arlington, VA 22203

Cyclone Anaya’s – Mexican in the Mosaic District

C – So, this was a nice surprise. It was a Sunday and we wanted something that wasn’t your typical brunch and we got it. Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen opened in November 2013. It went up so fast, I didn’t even see it happen. That section of the Mosaic District now boasts several new restaurants I’m dying to try.

But back to the Mexican grub. Cyclone Anaya’s offers quite the brunch spread including the typical Huevos Rancheros and the not so typical Carne Asada and Eggs. But we went straight for the lunch fare. This girl wanted a taco.

I had the Del Rio Dinner: Crispy beef taco, homemade tamale and a beef enchilada. Served with guacamole, Mexican rice and beans. It was a lot of food, and yes, I totally cleaned my plate. Every last morsel.

I should say that there didn’t seem to be anything spectacular about the food. It was typical. But typical totally works when you’re in the mood for Mexican.

Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen
Mosaic District
703-992-9227
2911 District Ave., Suite 170
Fairfax, VA 22031

**check out their website for the fascinating story of Cyclone Anaya – the professional wrestler who started a family restaurant. http://www.cycloneanaya.com/our-story/ 

The Cosmos Club

C – Founded in 1878, the Cosmos Club is home to Washington, DC’s intellectual elite. So, what was I doing there, you ask? (thanks a lot, by the way). I’ve been dying to take a trip inside this amazing Beaux-Arts mansion for years. When a friend asked me to accompany her to an event, I jumped at the chance to peek inside.

I’m not sure what the policy is on taking photos inside the club. When in doubt, I tend to go covert. They were hastily taken and a bit blurry, but you get the idea. It’s a grand place with lots of marble, rugs, tapestries and statuettes. The library is, predictably, library-like –the kind of place you could get lost in, flipping through the pages of member writings.

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There are several rooms in the club. The bar is comfortable yet upscale. The reception we went to was in a lovely private room. Dinner was divine (lamb and an unbelievably good chocolate cheesecake); the company, ever better. The Cosmos Club is a place where conversation flows freely. It doesn’t matter what the topic is, as long as you have a well defined and defensible opinion. After all, the club is home to “two Vice Presidents, a dozen Supreme Court justices, 32 Nobel Prize winners, 56 Pulitzer Prize winners and 45 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

Interesting tidbit: the club did not welcome women until 1988.

Cosmos Club*
2121 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008

*You must be a member or guest of a member to enter.

Quick trip – NYC

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K- This past weekend I went to NYC. The Big Apple is an easy trip from DC. There are various ways you can get there but the two most popular are train or bus. I’ve taken a bus to NYC for a day trip. There are many buses you can take with various price points such as Bolt, DC2NY, MegaBus, and Vamoose. It’s okay, for me it’s a lot of time on the road for a quick trip to the city, but I’ll do it. My preferred method of transportation is the Acela – specifically the “Quiet Car.”  I love the “Quiet Car” because it’s just that – quiet. No one talking on their cell phone, chatting loudly, and no kids running up and down the aisle and screaming. It’s a nice few hours where you can nap, read, listen to music with headphones, surf the ‘net on WiFi, etc.

The Acela stops at Penn Station – which was a few blocks walk to The Carlton Autograph – where I was staying at. I prefer walking to taking a cab for many reasons, one being that with traffic in NYC, sometimes it’s quicker just to walk.

While in New York I walked in Central Park, which is amazingly clean and green. Visited the Guggenheim and the MoMa. I have to say I was very disappointed in the collection that was being shown at the Guggenheim. The collection was a bit too “avant garde” for my taste – kind of like a big red “o” painted on a white canvas kind of art. Just not my thing. However the MoMa was fantastic. I loved looking at the Picassos, Rousseaus, Klees, Miro,  and Monets among the other artists that were represented there. Also walked around Chelsea, Greenwich Village and SoHo.

Went to a couple of great restaurants. Lupa, which is an Italian restaurant that serves very simple, delicious, food. I had some pea agnolotti that couldn’t have tasted any fresher and the Fried Lupa Baccala that although it was fried – I am so not a fried-food person but thought I would try it – it wasn’t oily in the least and very good. For dessert I had the Lupa tartuffo, that was a chocolate deliciousness. I also tried the Apician Spiced Dates & Mascarpone with my glass of red wine and that too was delightful.

The other restaurant Cuba was of course, Cuban. Instead of an entree, dinner consisted of a bunch of appetizers. The Empanadas Habeneras with spinach and manchego, Calamares Tamarindo, and Ceviche Mixto were wonderful – I wish I would have ordered more of them rather than the Camarones al Ajillo and Croquetas de Jamon Serrano – that I don’t recall seeing any jamon in. The shrimp and croquetas were not very impressive and I wouldn’t have missed them. In addition, the mojitos were great, not too sweet and just the right amount of everything. They also had a couple of musicians playing guitars, which added to the cozy atmosphere.  Both places are tight on the real estate especially on the weekends, where you definitely need to reserve a table as soon as possible. But, they are well worth it.

Heading back to Penn Station to return to DC, I had to stop at my favorite bagel place “Murray’s” to grab a bagel for the trip. Can’t wait to go back!

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