Birthday Time

It is CoolGuy's birthday so we celebrated. We went to eat at Jaleo because he's been craving their squid, served with carmelized onions and garlic with some type of bright green herb sauce.  Here's a photo of the tasty little things:

If  you haven't been to a tapas restaurant, then by all means, head down here and we'll go with you to Jaleo. Or if you live in the East, then go to Jaleo in DC or Bethesda. You order little servings of tasty things and they bring them to you one at a time. This way you get to savor every morsel, sipping rosemary lemonade between bites. I've tried to order different things each time, but I'm pretty much hooked on their beet-citrus salad with Valdeon cheese and pistachios, and the gambas al ajillo: "the very, very famous Spanish tapas of shrimp sauteed with garlic."

This time I tried Ensalada rusa: "The ultimate Spanish tapa, a salad of potatoes, imported conserved tuna and mayonnaise." YUM. At first, you think, umm...too much tuna, I was expecting more potatoes...but then you begin to nibble it. And then you're eating it with gusto, because it quickly grows on your palate. Each plate is just enough for two of you to get a small serving, or for one person to have a satisfying taste. But, none of our plates went back to the kitchen with leftovers.

So, then for dessert, we ordered a chocolate flan and olive oil ice cream, with a Catalan crisp (some type of thin cookie) and, even though it was a small serving, it was outrageously delicious. I'd tipped off the waitress that it was CoolGuy's birthday, so it came decorated with a lit candle. We had a pleasant evening, in a lovely place and it almost makes up for the fact that we've had, ahem, quite a few birthdays, at this point.

Here are a few more photos from recent fun times. Being grandpa is pretty fun---it makes being this age worth it.