{"id":3709,"date":"2013-07-28T23:07:47","date_gmt":"2013-07-29T06:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/?p=3709"},"modified":"2017-05-23T11:40:56","modified_gmt":"2017-05-23T18:40:56","slug":"jaleo-cosmopolitan-las-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/?p=3709","title":{"rendered":"Jaleo @ Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cosmopolitan has become one of my favorite resorts to stay in Vegas.\u00a0 When Mario Luna, Owner and Sommelier of Elevage Wine Group, saw that I was in town again, he FB-messaged me to ‘come to Jaleo tonight’.\u00a0 I’ve never met Mario in person and have meant to seek him out during my previous visits but just kept missing him.\u00a0 I made a point to meet him this time and made a dinner reservation.\u00a0 At 6:00pm prompt when we showed up at Jaleo, Mario came to greet us personally.\u00a0 Something about his warm and friendly smile made me feel like I was seeing an old friend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The restaurant is a lot bigger than I thought.\u00a0 It’s sort of divided into two areas; one side has more of a lounge feel while the other is a little more for sit-down dinning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mario is a Certified Level Sommelier from The Court of Master Sommeliers.\u00a0 Naturally he was enthusiastic about introducing us a few special drinks.\u00a0 I told Mario I was not much of a drinker.\u00a0 He said ‘OK, but try this and let me know what you think’.\u00a0 The drink was\u00a0 \u2018Gin and Tonic\u2019 Jos\u00e9\u2019s favorite cocktail (pictured above left).\u00a0 I took a sip and my eyes lit up!\u00a0 Wow, I REALLY really liked it!\u00a0 Garnished with lime, lemon and mint, it was so refreshing and crisp!\u00a0 I am totally a fan now.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We basically let Mario be our food guide of the night.\u00a0 After he asked Allen and me what we liked and didn’t like, he brought out plate after plate of food.\u00a0 The first plate was Pan de cristal con tomate fresco (Toasted slices of uniquely crispy and ethereal bread brushed with fresh tomato).\u00a0 The bread was really light and crispy but still had enough texture.\u00a0 I don’t know how the tomato was prepared\/cooked but it was completely PH balanced, in my own interpretation, not acidic nor sweet.\u00a0 It was just lovely.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Second plate was Gambas al ajillo (The very, very famous tapa of shrimp saut\u00e9ed with garlic).\u00a0 I savored the sauce and thought the shrimp was a little over-cooked.\u00a0 Nevertheless,\u00a0 we enjoyed it very much.\u00a0 We even asked for extra bread just so we could dip in the sauce.\u00a0 Delicious!<\/p>\n

\"\"I have to admit.\u00a0 I had a lot of reservation about cured meat because more often than not, it’s overly salty.\u00a0 But the\u00a0signature item of Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s and Jale, the jam\u00f3n ib\u00e9rico de bellota, acorn-fed pork cured for 5 years, was complex and intense in flavor but surprising balanced in taste.\u00a0 Jaleo was the first restaurant in the US to offer it.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The Croquetas de pollo (Traditional chicken fritters) were addicting!\u00a0 They were creamy inside and crispy outside.\u00a0 Why where they served in a shoe?\u00a0 I just couldn’t remember, so ask next time when you go there.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

\"\"‘Do you like Olives?’ Mario asked.\u00a0 ‘Not really because they are usually too salty for me.’\u00a0 I said.\u00a0 Minutes later, Mario brought over Ferr\u00e1n Adri\u00e0\u2019 (liquid olives).\u00a0 The technique relies on a simple gelling reaction between calcium chloride and sodium alginate.\u00a0 These little delights melt in your mouth.<\/p>\n

\"\"If you like meat, you won’t want to miss Carne asada con piquillos \u2018Juli\u00e1n de Lodosa\u2019* (Grilled skirt steak with piquillo pepper confit).\u00a0 It was tender and flavorful in every bite.\u00a0 I think Allen wished he could have it all by himself.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lastly the Paella Valenciana \u2018Rafael Vidal\u2019 (A true classic of chicken, rabbit and green beans) was amazing, cooked over a large wood-burning grill for a true taste of Spain.\u00a0 By far the best Paella we’ve ever had!<\/p>\n

Thank you, Mario, for introducing us to the wonderful cuisine of Jaleo!\u00a0 I’m craving everything as I write this post and can’t wait to visit again in a couple of weeks!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jaleo By Jose Andres
\n3708 Las Vegas Blvd S
\nLas Vegas, NV 89109
\n(702) 698-7950<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cosmopolitan has become one of my favorite resorts to stay in Vegas.\u00a0 When Mario Luna, Owner and Sommelier of Elevage Wine Group, saw that I was in town again, he FB-messaged me to ‘come to Jaleo tonight’.\u00a0 I’ve never met Mario in person and have meant to seek him out during my previous visits but...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"pp_embeds":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[246,68],"tags":[552,189,395,701],"class_list":["post-3709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commercial","category-restaurants","tag-cocktail","tag-paella","tag-rabbit","tag-skirt-steak"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t