One of the best things about living in Kenwood Forest along Bradley Blvd in Chevy Chase, MD is the ability to walk to restaurants like Jaleo on Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda, MD. Jaleo is a great tapas restaurant owned by the renowned chef, Jose Andres. (Andres was named chef of the year by GQ in 2009.)
Tapas are essentially snacks. In many regions of Spain they are often included in the price of drinks (beer, wine, not spirits) served in bars. In this case, they amount to as little as a few olives, a piece of cheese, etc. Bigger portions that are ordered to make up a meal are also called tapas. It is customary to share them. In lieu of dinner many Spaniards go out for tapas, the equivalent of "bar hopping" but instead eating tapas and having a copa at each bar.
Tapa means "cover" in Spanish. The name comes from the card that used to be put on top of a drink to protect it from flies; at some point it became a habit to top this "cover" with a snack.
I ate at Jaleo recently with my family on one of the first afternoons that we were able to escape from our house, which seemed crushed by the double blizzard that hit Washington last week. As we made our way to Bethesda, a lot more restaurants and stores were closed than we had expected. We had planned to eat at Raku, an Asian fusion restaurant on Woodmont that has great sushi and soups - a perfect meal on a cold winter day. Raku looked open with diners at the tables but on closer inspection we realized that they were wait staff getting ready to face the onslaught of hungry diners later that evening.
With our hopes dashed we looked across the street to see that Jaleo was happily open. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. The restaurant itself is an open floorplan with bare floors, tall windows which were letting the sun stream in on the cold wintry day, and comfortable upholstered chairs around the widely spaced tables. When we came into the restaurant, I could feel my body relax as it enjoyed the warmth of the space.
Sitting down, I immediately ordered a glass of Rioja wine to celebrate liberation day - when my jeep was dug out and we could move around! Then came the difficult part - deciding what kinds of tapas to order. Our late lunch consisted of nine plates of tapas for the three of us. Chistorra Envuelta En Patata Frita, which is a slightly spicy chorizo wrapped in a crispy potato slice, led off our lunch together with gambas al ajillo for my husband. Two great tapas that we also tried were Espinacas A La Catalana, sautéed spinach, pine nuts, raisins and apples
and a
Tortilla De Patatas or a spanish omelet with potatoes and onions.
This ability to walk into Bethesda for a great meal and then perhaps window shop for an hour or two is exactly what makes life in Kenwood Forest so incredibly spectacular. If you want an updated home you should definatley consider Kenwood Forest. Please be sure to call Lise Howe of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.Liae @lisehowe.com.
Comments(2)