Un Buen Jaleo

By our definition, "jaleo" is an "uproar". Imagine a party, if you will, where everyone is having a great time, the music is roaring, people are dancing and moving about, and things seem at the cusp of being out of control. It aint a party 'til something gets broken, right. Jaleo - it's borderline madness.

Jaleo is also the name of a popular 18 year-old Spanish tapas restaurant, begun in Washington, DC. It is amazing the care and dedication that goes into imagining, preparing, creating, explaining, managing and executing the daily and nightly flood of tiny dishes of deliciousness. From the mind of the wizard... excuse me - "James Beard Award winning" wizard/chef Jose Andres - to his enthusiastic chefs, to the meticulous cooks, to the proudly invested service staff, somehow most of these little plates find their way to the right tables and end up satiating hundreds a day, every day.

At its best, Jaleo is Spain - only better - in America, without the siesta. Of course, any jaleo is never sustained perfection, only an intoxicating whirlwind of a moment. A good jaleo would be the moment of the event when you realize you are truly at a party. It's a tough name to live up to. Well, we try.

I have enjoyed a great many moments at Jaleo DC and have come to know a wealth of people during these six years. A lot of it was fun, wasn't it? Salud!

Markito.

Merry New Year!

Happy New Year!
It's always a unique situation to be working in a restaurant on New Year's Eve. Most people I know call it "amateur night" and would rather stay away from restaurants on this night. However, many others do enjoy letting loose and staying up late on the last day of the year. Some even spend a lot of money for a memorable night. But there is one lesson all of you "amateurs" should keep in mind when you are trying to impress your date(s) and/or friends with the best meal you can find... CANCEL YOUR RESERVATION IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SHOW UP!! You think, "well, they'll be fine... the restaurant will have plenty of people who want our table (or four tables, in this case), so I can't be bothered to call and cancel." Well, I was the schmuck on this special night who had... survey says!!!... two tables of two while waiting for my nine-top (table for 9) to show up. Not that I had other plans... actually, yeah I did - not to be working for nothing because some people don't have any manners. So I transferred my tables to my friend Martin, changed out of that costume, and grabbed some bubbly by 11:15. I would say the night got better, but it didn't actually until after I performed first aid on an over-served busser who was too drunk to know he was actually bleeding fairly profusely from his finger.

Well, it's a new year, and the consensus is that it has to be better than 2007. I'll go along with that (I've already perfected my zabaglione)... just as long as things go my way the first week in November. Conventional wisdom is that there is a lot of time between then and now, so I intend on working on some things in the meantime. First: my last class toward my Certificate in International Studies at SAIS begins this month. Should be fun.

Salam... er... Jose can you see?

Unfortunately, my three rolls of photos were locked in a Kodak store in Lima. Evidently, some people do not work on Sundays, and I had to return to Pisco. To be honest, I considered not returning, you know heading out into some undiscovered territory, but I did not want my colleagues to think Americans were soft... plus somebody said something about having a wine club on Sunday. Anyway, I am here in Pisco, 2005 Malbec in hand, back to see what I can do. I got back around dinner time, and everyone was heading out, so I am here on the computer... big lunch of tacu tacu. What is tacu tacu you ask? Well, it is a very popular dish in Lima made with fried rice and beans all kind of tossed together, served a few ways, but I like it with seafood. Then it is finished with some sort of gravy. Mmm! My beverage pair was chicha morada, a purple non-alcoholic beverage made from Peruvian purple corn. Very refreshing.

Yesterday was a great day. I was able to wash my laundry for the first time. The weather was sunny and perfect. I spent the afternoon in Miraflores walking along the cliff overlooking the ocean and taking photos. "Miraflores" is the perfect name for this district of Lima, because this walk along the cliff has a long garden of "flores" (flowers) which makes for a perfect stroll and some great photo ops if you, say, are into nature photography... or I guess if you have a date, but I think you all know better. Hey, so anyway, I think I got some great shots... but alas, they are in Lima (4 hours away). Later, I got really hungry, so I made my way down to sea level by taxi and found Restaurante Costa Verde. I will have to consult with my Top Twelve Favorite Restaurants in the World list, but this one is definitely knocking at the door: right on the ocean, nearly all white interior with windows all around, attentive professional service, a great view of paragliders overhead, the best Pisco Sour I have had... very nice. Ceviche was good, but I have had better. Anyway I enjoyed myself thoroughly (Sorry, Brian if this is ruining your affection for the chow hall). Ooh, they even have little flags in the foyer for you to bring to your table to represent you country, and they have servers available to speak five different languages. I picked the flag for Ethiopia just for fun, but nobody came to help me despite my pleas in Amharic for "service!", so I grabbed the red white and blue.

OK, here is my list so far...

1. Il Latini (Firenze, Italia) - no menus, plenty of wine, dine with total strangers, the best total experience.
2. La Cantinetta (Barolo, Italia) - out of this world, but simple, Piemontese cuisine. Owner Maurelio treated me like a member of the family.
3. Lucy's (San Bernardino, CA) - my start in restaurants. Good Mexican food. Friendly service.
4. Antica Bottega del Vino (Verona, Italia and NYC) - 80 wines by the glass listed on a chalkboard in the bar. Amazing selection... food was good too.
5. Harry's Bar (Venezia, Italia) - Have a REAL Bellini cocktail where it was created... oh, yeah, you're on the Grand Canal... in Venice!
6. Pasta Mia (Washington, D.C) - Chef/Owner does all the cooking. Fresh pasta. Affordable, respectable wine list. Cozy and fun.
7. Public (NoLIta, NYC) - a culinary treasure and adventure in fusion that pulls flavors from Italy, Spain, Australia, Ecuador, Asia... consistantly delicious!
8. Zaytinya (Washington, D.C.) - Greek/Lebanese/Turkish small plates, hip bar, and fascinating wines you've never had before
9. Jaleo (Washington, D.C.) - Spanish tapas and more Spanish wines than you ever knew existed. Iron Chef winner Jose Andres. Me.
10. Grimaldi's Pizzeria (Brooklyn, NYC) - No delivery, no credit cards, no slices... great pizza.
11. Jose Antonio (Lima, Peru) - Upscale traditional Peruvian cuisine that's cozy instead of pretentious. Wonderful ambiance and professional service to show you the best of Peru.
12. Lupa Osteria Romana (NYC) - Molto Mario's restaurant for the rest of us has fresh homemade delicious pastas, a lively atmosphere, and, in my experience, a much better value than Babbo.

Keep your comments to yourself

Well, I think every part of my body is sore. You get all sorts of bitter thoughts in this kind of environment, almost as bitter as having a section full of Spaniards at Jaleo. But, what really gets me peeved is while you are digging a 30 yard trench for Señor ¨Ay, ay, ay!¨ his neighbors across the street are hangin´out with nothing else to do but to yell out at us ¨mas rapido!¨ (¨faster¨) and laugh. I already work with three lazy Peruvians in DC; I really don´t need your jive talk here! I should say that the gentleman for whom we were working today was in his seventies and helped us every step of the way. So I included him in our late-afternoon Coca Cola toast, which gave us the bump we needed to finish the project. (We tossed our rubbish on the spirited neighbors´ lawns on our way out... no not really.)



I am part of a very interesting, eclectic, and amazing group of volunteers here in Pisco. Most are travelers out and about in South America for a few months, and some have come with this as their purpose. We all work from 8 to 5 every day, except Sundays, for no pay. We do get a free hostel-style place to stay and meals cooked for us. I am proud to say there are a great deal of Americans in the crew, but there are plenty of travelers from Australia, Canada, the UK, and elsewhere. So everyone speaks English, except for a few Peruvians who have joined as well. I´ll leave you with something fun I learned yesterday. Evidently the Aussies and Canadians have a wonderful term of endearment for the Brits: ¨POMs¨ (Prisoners Of her Majesty)