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| - I'm so very torn on how to review Jaleo. Yelp! When will you give us half stars???!!!
I think 3.5 or 3.75 is more accurate for me. I've been here three times now and have had vastly different experiences in terms of service and of food. I wouldn't go so far as to say the place is inconsistent (although that wouldn't be a surprise as it is in The Cosmopolitan-the Kings of Inconsistency), but the food flavors and preparation are vastly different from dish to dish. The price is sometimes off-putting for what you get; it is Vegas though...
If you go for dinner and want to order wine, the server will leave his ipad-wine list with you; it's cool. I still like someone who can discuss wines with me a bit more than our server could.
To keep it light and casual, Jim G. and I grabbed some snacks in the bar a couple times. That's how tapas is really done in Spain, anyway. Two different bartenders on the two nights we went. Both were cool, although one was slammed (and apparently short-staffed) so he was not the kindest; service was fine though.
During our dinner visit we tried the Monkfish: I strongly suggest you stay away from this dish!!! One of the best dishes I've had ever was monkfish in Paris, so I figured I'd give this dish a try. Oh My! It was fishy, it was sour-ish, it was not good. I mentioned that to the server; he was uninterested. We also tried some paella; it looked so great cooking at the Paella station that we had to. I didn't think it was that awesome. It was done well, but the flavors were uninteresting to me.
Things that are good/ok:
Gambas al Ajillo: Hard to do this one wrong; nice garlic/butter sauce
Huevos Fritos con Caviar: If the egg were a bit less cooked and there was a dash of additional flavor or texture, this might have been perfect.
Canelones de cerdo: Pork and Foie Gras canelones with bechamel sauce. This was good, but again, I expected bolder flavors. it could have been amazing, but fell short of that.
Ultimately, my review of Jaleo isn't stellar. What I do like is the energy in this place. I like the decor. I like what the Chef is trying to do. I think a lot of people will enjoy the less-than-traditional ingredients and the attempts at bold flavors. It's a blessing and a curse that I've eating amazing meals in fascinating places; I expect a lot. I would still prefer to be smashed up against a bar with slightly warm wine or Mahou beer enjoying the bold flavors if tapas in Madrid than in any of the US restaurants where I've tried tapas. They try, as Jaleo does, but the food still leans a bit too American for me.
You see why I'm torn? Temper your expectations, and I think you might like it a lot here =)
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