+1, the manager has since stated that I no longer need to make a reservation or wait in line for a table if I come in. Last time we came by around 9pm on a Friday with 7 people and got sat almost immediately. They also sent out a Miso Black Cod again and 2 desserts. The manager also introduced me to one of the other managers in case he's not around and assured I'd be well taken care of. The wait staff is pretty attentive and informative. As an overall, it's hard to beat Nobu for me, but I find myself wanting to go to Blue Ribbon more. Bar Masa isn't even a blip on my radar anymore.

That is correct.

Ate dinner at Jaleo in Cosmo last night. Tapas restaurant for those who don't know.

O
M
G

I was totally blown away. Every single dish I tried was incredible. Service was impeccable. Truly one of the most memorable dining experiences I've had. I can't imagine I will ever go to Firefly again.

Clark,

What did you have?

Did you try the Paela?

Also, what was the average price per dish?

menu here http://www.jaleo.com/images/uploads/..._Main_menu.pdf

Milos is amazing. The Milos Special (appetizer) is awesome. The octopus is on par w/ the best I've ever had. The eel app was pretty damn good too.

We got a 6 pound salt-baked branzino which was awesome (they cook it in a giant dome of salt which helps it cook evenly. This does NOT make the fish more salty, especially since none of the skin was served, so the salt didn't touch anything we ate really).

We had a vegetable platter on the side that had both the best zucchini and the best eggplant I've ever had.

Everything was relatively healthy as well. Practically no butter used afaict. Lots of olive oil and capers.

I highly recommend Milos.

China Poblano was pretty damn good too (and this coming from someone that was very disappointed in the quality of food / prep at Jaleo DC).

Great place to stop for some quick small bites.

I've had ~ 20 items off the menu now, and the worst dish I've had rates as "pretty good".

The chicken lettuce wraps, sui mai, cochinitas tacos come to mind as awesome. I'm sure I'm leaving some of the best dishes out, but I gotta run.

Zee, you try the lamb potstickers? I hear they're amazing.

Very surprised to hear raves about Jaleo. I lived in DC for 4 years and ate there about 10 times and enjoyed myself but I never ever would have called it fne dining and wouldn't have raved about it.

Ya. I'm equally surprised how much I've loved China Poblano based on how I didn't like DC Jaleo very much. Stuff was just outright cooked poorly.

Pan con tomate Toasted slices of rustic bread brushed with fresh tomato 5

Very good, simple but wanted more.

Flauta bread brushed with fresh tomato and extra virgin olive oil with Ibérico ham 15

I just loved this dish. Paired great with the tempranillo we ordered.

Chistorra envuelta en patata frita Slightly spicy chorizo wrapped in crispy potato 8

Presented as a chorizo "cocktail wiener" on a toothpick wrapped in a fresh potato chip. The sausage was very well done and the crunch worked great with it.

Manzana con hinojo y queso Manchego Sliced apple and fennel salad with Manchego cheese, walnuts and Sherry dressing 9

This was incredible. Had to ensure one of each ingredient on each bite as the flavors worked so well together.

Setas al ajillo con La Serena Sautéed wild mushrooms with La Serena potato purée 9

Yummy

Ensalada de bogavante con cítricos y escarola Maine lobster salad with citrus and frisée 12

The citrus was grapefruit, blood orange and pomegranate. Way more lobster than I would have anticipated, the citrus really worked great with the normally bigger frisee.

Gambas al ajillo The very, very famous tapa of shrimp sautéed with garlic 10

6 shrimp. Simple, well done. Very good. Maybe the least impressive of the dishes.

Paella de verduras de temporada A traditional paella of seasonal vegetables 18

Not a veggie kind of guy but what I had of this was surprisingly good.

Dessert was a chocolate mousse type thing that was good but not great.

I think the prices are very reasonable for what you get. We sat at the bar but our service was just perfect.

Going to try Jaleo next week...if I don't like it, I'm sending Clark the bill.

ELV review of Blue Ribbon

http://www.eatinglv.com/2011/01/blue...es/#more-10336

The oxtail fried rice with bone marrow omlette sounds intriguing.

Ha!

Also, any place where you reasonably expect to spend like $40-50 per person for food alone is fine dining to me. Even if it is a casual atmosphere.

doubt i'll ever eat marrow

Its really delicious. Essentially just beefy fat.

+1 for the marrow Nom

i do not do well with odd textures. got a veal chop once at mesa grill and hated it

if it's cooked in some ways, it liquefies and all it really does is add intense flavor. A lot of Mexican dishes have this in the receipts and it really helps the dish from a flavor stand point when compared to cooking with extremely lean/clean meat.

Then I'm guessing you also don't like steak?

really fatty steak? no i hate it

gotta say, i prefer filet

did you like that rhyme?

The flavor is fine but I ultimately dislike foie gras due to texture.

If you dislike foie gras texture, I imagine you dislike seared foie gras texture. You should try it cold au torchon sometimes. Its spreadable and more akin to butter texturally that way.

I know I pimp Bouchon a lot but Bouchon has one of the best cold foie gras au torchons around since its essentially the same preparation as the foie au torchon you would get at either French Laundry or Per Se.