[Las Vegas] Jaleo- tapas

Jaleo is one of Jose Andres’ three restaurants in Vegas, besides Bazaar Meat and é. It focuses on Spanish tapas. Walking by one of the slot machines in Cosmopolitan, I saw their ad for a 3 course lunch for $25. I was on my way to Momofuku for lunch and made a mental note to come back on another day.

Endibias/ endives. Great. Salty almond balanced by the tartness of the vinaigrette, the citrusy-flavor of the orange and the creaminess of the goat cheese. Very refreshing.

Mini pepito de iberico/ Iberico pork burger. Slight smokiness from the rich iberico pork accompanied by a ‘melting’ sweet pepper and a tart dressing. Good.

Gambas al ajillo/ shrimp. 5 big shrimps in a garlicky lemon ajillo paprika sauce. Salty and intensely tomato-y. Nice.

9 veg paella (+$7). The lunch paella, made with nine kinds of vegetables (hazelnut onion, tomato, carrot, squash, green bean, mushroom, cauliflower, etc.), paled compared to the three tapas I had earlier. It was infused with pepper and had a smokiness to it. Its a bit too wet and like a risotto, with no soccarat in my portion. It tasted ok.

The hazelnut sauce, however, was fantastic and complex. Its made with hazelnut, onion, tomato, piquillo pepper, and red pepper. Fabulous. I could just bring a whole jar home and call that my trip highlight.

Shirley temple grenadine (+$6). Good.

Overall, a very good meal at a very cheap price point for the strip. Yes, its lunch. But you still have to eat lunch in Vegas, right?

Wood fire cooking station. They use orange wood for paella. Olive wood for the rest.

Lunch menu:

6 Likes

I’ve had that endive dish in D.C. and loved it. The recipe is online.

Awesome. Recipe below. How do you find their other dishes?

Too bad they don’t have the recipe for the hazelnut sauce. I seriously would make a jar…

Maybe just try Googling hazelnut romesco? Sounds very similar. Probably has Sherry vinegar, olive oil, garlic, dried peppers, roasted red pepper?

The D.C. dish that sticks in memory is potato/tuna salad.