Review: Jaleo

Jaleo has always been a popular destination for my family on the basis of a few key dishes. We usually always go to the one in Bethesda. Up until about a year and a half ago, the food was pretty good. The last couple times I’ve gone back, in my heart of hearts, I keep hoping that it will return to previous form, but each time I am hugely disappointed.

To start out was a specials’ menu mushroom soup. It tasted like mushrooms. I don’t really like most mushrooms, except oyster mushrooms. So that was a flop for me.

My favorite used to be the fried squid with aioli. The squid used to be fried perfectly, but now it seems as if they don’t let the oil get hot enough and the grease seeps into the batter and does not crisp properly. If the oil is hot enough, it should fry fast enough to seal and prevent seepage.

The raw tuna with anchovy oil and pine nuts has always been great and flavorful. Though now the carpaccio is being shaved so thin you lose any sense of the existence of the tuna.

The duck confit with nectarines isn’t as good as the duck confit at Cafe Atlantico. It was plenty salty, but lacked the umami that might have been provided by soy sauce. Yes, I do realize soy sauce is not traditional in Spanish cuisine, but it would have made this dish work a lot better.

For the first time, I tried veal sweetbreads, which is another name for the thymus gland. Just a random human anatomy note… humans are born with a thymus gland, essential in the early years of life for white blood cell development, it shrinks as you get older. Anyway, sweetbreads. This might not have been the best preparation, in a light tomato-based sauce with a mix of sweet peppers, onions and zucchini. The French style of preparation is usually creamier, which likely masks the “organ” taste. It reminded me of kidneys, which I do not like too much.

My sister order the garlic shrimp. It was disappointly thin and not quite garlicky enough. The shrimp seemed quite fresh though, with a texture that comes close to the texture of shrimp cooked alive.

The flan was very good though. I’ve always found the desserts at Jaleo to be excellent.

Something else to watch out for… the sausages used at Jaleo are from another supplier. They really aren’t as flavorful as the old ones. I used to love the ones that came on the garlic mashed potatoes, with their smokiness and strong paprika flavor.

I really hope that some day it could return to its previous glory. Until then I will be buying Palacios chorizo from Wegman’s and wishing.