Cafe Atlantico

Wow. Was it the amazing company we had? The beautiful weather? The creamy vanilla syrup-laden iced coffee? All I know is that when I look at the pictures from Cafe Atlantico and think about our meal, I actually start salivating all over again.

Cafe Atlantico is part of Jose Andres' plan to make all of the delicious restaurants in the D.C. area have his name on them, muahahahaha. Jaleo, Zaytinya (I love those places), Oyamel, and Minibar are all his. You may remember him from the PBS special Made in Spain or No Reservations: D.C. Or maybe you've never heard of him, in which case--you're welcome, reader.

Why don't we do this old style, huh? A hit list. As F says, "SMALL PLATES! SMALL PLATES! SMALL PLATES!"

Tableside guacamole: Delicious. M doesn't like avocado (K, he's your 'cado-hating soulmate) so the rest of us pitched in extra oomph and finished it without his help. Cilantro, some hotness (we got "medium" and it was perfect for me--the weak one), tomatoes, onion, and lime. Perfect.



Sopa del dia: The tomato bisque with chipotle peppers was good, but not amazing. If I were J I would've downed most of the shot glass in one...shot? But he didn't. And then it got kind of cold, which was sad.

Coconut rice, crispy rice, and ginger: I liked this dish, but not everyone did. It was almost like a funky rice pudding with a floraly-vanilla scent. This dish is on the bigger side of the ones we had, so keep that in mind if you order it.

Fried egg w/mashed black beans and pork: Awesome. We also took the liberty of adding the leftover beans from this dish to bites from other plates--delightful.

Mushrooms w/egg 63 degrees (celsius, folks): Pretty good.



Conch fritters: These were really interesting. The inside was liquid-y and hot, the flavor earthy and somewhat indescribable beyond that. Not seafood-y tasting. Intriguing. I'd like to go back and get them again.



Fried egg with Veracruz sauce: Not our favorite. Not special.



Carne asada: Good, but plain. And too safe. F says too much sauce!



Jicama-avacado ravioli: Almost like a summer roll outside, very thin (not crispy): We liked this fresh and crispy dish, but J wished it was more like a traditional ravioli. Fellas and their pastas...



Scallops: Scallopy. Nothing incredible here.

Pan dulce w/cinnamon syrup: (Run-on sentence about to commence): Hiii, it's like the silkiest most decadent while still being small totally soaked French toast you've ever had. Mmmmm wanting more. Now.

Seared crabcake: What's not to like?

Huitlacoche & wild mushroom quesadilla: Huitlacoche was described by F to the rest of us as "diseased corn." Sounds delicious, right? This was SO YUMMY. I LOVE DISEASED CORN TUMORS.

Pineapple unagi w/avocado sauce: Eel! So good!

Porkbelly confit: A+ from the crowd

I'd love to go back to Cafe Atlantico, especially for brunch. It was awesome. Sure, you can get the tasting menu, but we sort of did our own version, choosing the particular items that we wanted. Customized. Perfected. Picky, some would say. And DELICIOUS. Our company was unbeatable. Even our drinks were yummy. I had an iced coffee that I thought would send me straight to heaven.

Cafe Atlantico
405 8th St NW
Metro: Green/Yellow to Archives, or G/Y/Red to Gallery Place/Chinatown. Or Fed Tri. Or Metro Center. You know, it's just sort of near everything.

Jaleo

Jaleo is a local tapas place, partly put together by Jose Andres, the man behind many James Beard awards and nominations AND some of the most fantastic and innovative restaurants in the area. You (collectively, or at least E, who is reading) know I cherish the opportunity to try a bunch of things instead of being limited to one dish. I'll tell you what T and I had on a recent visit, whether the dish stood out, and if I'd order it again.

Manzanas con hinojo y queso Manchego: Sliced apples and fennel with Manchego
cheese, walnuts and sherry dressing
This was fresh and crunchy; if it had a little more apple and a touch less fennel I'd order it again.

Coles de Bruselas: A warm salad of Brussels sprouts, apples, apricots, grapes and Serrano ham
Despite my attempt to avoid the ham in this dish, the smell of it was overwhelming. Sadly, the aroma transported to me to when I'm in my mother's pantry and open a cookie jar full of Sophie's dog treats--I suppose they are made of the same material. I didn't really catch anything but sprouts and ham, the fruits were lost to me. I wouldn't order it again.

Coliflor con olivas y frutos secos: Sautéed cauliflower with green and black olives and dried dates
This was yummy--the cauliflower florets were tiny and not soft enough for my liking, but the sweet sauce derived from the dates was REALLY good, especially when sopped up with bread. Order on!

Rape con puré de berenjenas: Seared monkfish over an eggplant purée and finished with black olive oil
The monkfish was tasteless, but the eggplant puree beneath was AWESOME--I wanted just a bowl of that and some bread! Don't order again as long as the monkfish is still the main to-do.

Salmón a la plancha: Seared salmon with a relish of green olives and capers
This was good, but tiny and not super memorable.

Seared scallops with a traditional sauce from the Canary Islands
This sauce was yum. Order it!

Pastel Vasco con helado de leche merengada: Basque cake with semolina cream, cinnamon-vanilla sauce & ice milk
THIS WAS MY FAVORITE THING THE ENTIRE NIGHT! I love dessert, but it's not usually my favorite part of a meal at a restaurant, because many restaurants have scrumptious dishes and "OK" sweets...it's not their specialty, and I have high standards. This cake was divine. We were hesitant about the cream because we didn't want anything to heavy, but Spanish desserts are customarily very light. The sauce, the ice milk (as opposed to ice cream), it all came together beautifully. It was such a perfect ending to a meal that was otherwise interesting, but not to-die-for.

I think I want to go to back with a group of friends and order all of the desserts--I wanted the hazelnut chocolate torte, too! Who's in?

Jaleo
Arlington, Bethesda, DC
Metro: Blue/Yellow Line to Crystal City, Green/Red/Yellow Line to Gallery Place/Chinatown, Red Line to Bethesda

La Tasca

A return visit to La Tasca (but my first to the Chinatown branch) with a fab friend brought some interest to what otherwise would have been a dull Tuesday. Interesting bit about La Tasca, it's actually a UK chain that is alll over the place across the pond with just five US locations, all in the Balt/Wash metro area.

Tapas are my cup of tea. In fact, I'd like to have tapas-style meals with all kinds of food, not just Spanish. I'd like small plates of Italian, American, Thai, etc etc. That's why I love going out for Indian and Ethiopian food with groups--you get to try tons of stuff. Go out for Indonesian, same deal!

We had the following:

1. Champinones al ajillo (pardon my lack of tilde)- Sauteed mushrooms - You know, mushrooms. Good. Not particularly flavorfully seasoned.

2. Berenjenas gratinadas - I wanted this to be better than it was. It was ok, but I prefer my eggplant peeled, and the cheese had melted and hardened a little, gathering in the middle. So if you wanted to eat some cheese you had to literally cut it with a knife and take a piece, rather than have it smothering your eggplant. It was less "baked with cheese" as described, and rather, topped with baked cheese.

3. Mejillones a la marinara - I really enjoyed these mussels! The sauce was delicious, I wanted to drink it but instead politely dipped my olive and tomato bread in it.

4. Pulpitos a la gallega - baby octopus - I have put out many disclaimers about my lack of adventurousness, but I tried it. It was hard to look at it up close (I'm glad it was kind of dark in there) because ewww gross, but the crunchy legs (tentacles? Whatever they were) were pretty good and had a little kick to them. They could have been potato straws for all I knew.

5. Albondigas a la jardinera - MEATBALLS. Can you ever go wrong? There were peas in the sauce, and they were welcomed.

The service was ok. While our server was friendly and mildly amused at my attempt to order in Spanish (I've been learning via podcast), our service wasn't attentive. We were starving and ordered some appetizer bread (pan de tomate and pan de aceitunas--tomato and olive), which came along with a basket of regular bread WITH OUR FOOD. I'm sure the bread could have been ready earlier, and maybe it's Spanish custom to serve it with the food, but I needed something to nibble on in a serious way. Also, a few times I wished I wasn't staring at an empty glass of water. We were seated in the back left corner of the restaurant, and I faced my friend and a door that was THANK G-D NOT THE BATHROOM, because then I would have been annoyed. Besides the general bathroom smell (even if it's an air-fresheny one), I don't like the people shuffling in and out and around. Very distracting.

Sidenote, my other area of seating pickiness is with "floating tables." I prefer to be anchored to a wall, particularly when it's only me and another person, that way I can't be surrounded on all sides by people (sitting, talking, walking by...). I don't mind a small space, just let mine be against the wall.

Also, La Tasca, your pillows are a little bit awkward sometimes for sitting. Too big maybe? Too many?

Coming up: Why Old Ebbitt Express is the best bang for your lunch buck, and my Happy Hour picks...

Bon appetit and b'teavon.

La Tasca
www.latascausa.com
2900 Wilson Blvd...772 7th St NW
Metro: Orange Line to Clarendon...Green, Yellow, or Red to Gallery Place/Chinatown