Tapas at Jaleo, Arlington, VA

I've written before about how my wife and I have become fans of Jose Andres. He's a Spanish chef who have a series on public television called Made in Spain. He also has several restaurants in Washington, DC, and one in Los Angeles.

One of his DC restaurants is an experimental, food-as-art venue called minibar. It's considered one of the most desireable reservations in DC. I went there earlier this year and posted an item about my (fabulous) experience.

I was back in DC in early March, attending a meeting at a hotel in Arlington. At the end of the evening, I wanted to find a place to eat, but didn't want to eat too much. Tapas seemed like a great option. One of Jose's restaurants, Jaleo, was less than a mile away. It serves tapas. I decided to go.

Truth is, I have eaten at Jaleo before. It was very much a similar situation - meeting over, just need a place for a light meal. That time, I went with a small group of other people.

So here's the thing. I like 'small plates,' tapas, whatever you want to call them. And when you only want a light meal, they offer a great option. But I've decided that there's a social aspect to eating tapas, and that was missing with my recent, solo visit to Jaleo.

I posted my review of the food on Yelp. It all was very good. But from my experience, tapas are made to share. I missed being able to share a bite with someone else and then talk about it.

So I definitely recommend Jaleo. But I'd recommend going there with a friend.

Krik's Picks preview of coming attractions

I've decided that over the next several months, I'm going to make a point of visiting all of Jose Andres' DC restaurants. I've now reviewed minibar and Jaleo. Still to come are Cafe Atlantico, Zaytinya (Greek), and Oyamel (Mexican). I have eaten at Cafe Atlantico. It was several years ago, shortly after it had opened. I'm looking forward to a return visit.