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| - Finally got to try a Jose Andres restaurant. The wife and I have had reservations at The Bazaar, E, and Jaleo before and each time we had to cancel for various reasons. We finally made it to Jaleo this time in Vegas. We were seated almost right away and the had a pretty casual atmosphere for such a highly touted restaurant.
We started out with the Pan Con Tomate which is pretty much a bruschetta. I was like its just tomato and bread but I gotta admit that it was pretty tasty. So far so good.
Next came the world famous Jamon Iberico Ham. Nicely cured ham, similar to a proscuitto, but for $18 we got 3 small slices. Good stuff but not worth the price in my opinion.
Got a good review of the paella from a buddy so we had to try. The paella for the night was the Iberico Short Rib Paella. The wife thought it a bit salty, but it was very good. Wild mushrooms gave it a great earthy flavor and the Iberico Short Ribs were awesome.
Then the bacon wrapped dates fried in a batter. I guess it was okay but its not something I would order again. Nothing special here.
The Calamares Tinta was pretty much the best squid I've ever had. Squid usually ends up overcooked and tough or chewy. This squid was sooooo tender. More important, the squid flavor was not masked by some overwhelming sauce. It comes with squid ink as the sauce and is just a great squid dish.
Last, but not least, the Carilleras which is veal cheeks. Anyone who has had veal cheeks knows that they are just so tender, melt in your mouth good. This was no different. Served on creamy, fluffy, mashed potatoes.
As an aside, the wife as very impressed by the Spanish Red Wine that she ordered. It is called Montecastrill. Nice and smooth, medium bodied, and that's about all I can say because I'm not a wine conissoeur.
In short, I was impressed by Jaleo. It is quite expensive for the small portions of food that you get but although I wasn't stuffed by any stretch, there was enough food to satisfy me.
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