Grumpydad4
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 4, 2007
Growing up in a suburb of Newark, NJ, I had the opportunity to experience many cuisines. One of my favorites was Portuguese/Spanish, and a visit to the Ironbound section was easy. Garlic shrimp, Clams in Green Sauce, and Paella were frequent dishes, with lots of bread!!
When I heard that Chef Jose Andres was opening Jaleo at DisneySprings I couldn’t contain my excitement. I now had the chance to experience the tapas and cuisine offered by this remarkable Chef and Humanitarian. I have to tell you I was not disappointed.
Visually, the restaurant is spectacular. I’m not one to get hung up on whether the establishment is “warehouse” style or perhaps displaying animals.
Yes, atmosphere can add to the experience, but some food found at a street or carnival festival, a gas station corner spot, or basement venue in NYC, can be amazing.
Though, I would think taking a photo of your Festival food sitting atop a trash can and then eating it, would distract me from the food flavor, so those who are overly critical of venue decor need to re-evaluate their point. Now to the food!!
Originally our plan was to order several dishes and share amongst the table; we then decided to order the tasting menu, Jose’s Way, a chef’s selection of tapas and plates. Our server made note of any allergies or strong dislikes (nuts), and we started our 2 hour tour.
A quick note on the drinks of the evening. A Mexican Coca-Cola and a Sea Mist Margarita. The soda contains sugar cane as its sugar, which offers a subtle sweetness. The Margarita tasted as fabulous as it looked. Truly amazed at the salt air and the drink was very smooth.
The first plate was the ‘Ferran Adrià' liquid olives and gordal olives stuffed with piquillo pepper and anchovy. One of my favorites.
The liquid olives are created thru a spherification process and the olives burst in your mouth. The traditional olives have the perfect blend of bitter, sweet, and salty, with those three ingredients.
Our next plate was a special menu item for the Disney Springs location, a Salmon tartare and trout roe cone. The tartare was a sweet, creamy mousse, matching with the salty roe, and was quickly hoarded by one member of our party.
We had two versions of the Ostras Gin and Tonic: Oysters, gin and tonic with lemon zest and a version without the gin and tonic. We had contrasting views of the oysters, with the version without the gin, more flavorful, showcasing citrus and salt.
Next up was the Ensalada de pulpo, “Spanish octopus, baby frisée, pipirrana, tomate fresco, sherry dressing”. This cold dish was refreshing, the octopus was tender, the tomato fresco slightly sweet, there were dueling forks attacking this offering.
The next plate was the “48-month cured ham from the legendary free range, acorn-fed, black-footed ibérico pigs of Spain”. Sweet and slightly nutty, not salty like prosciutto. The Jamon is plated for the tasting menu, but is carved table-side when not. Jaleo, change this.
The Pan de cristal con tomate, “Toasted slices of uniquely crispy and ethereal bread brushed with fresh tomato”. The bread is very airy, each piece having differing degrees of tomato. There is a story out there about this special bread, coming directly from Spain.
Cebolla asada: roasted sweet onions, pine nuts, and La Peral blue cheese. Big contrast of the sweet onions, salty, creamy, tangy blue cheese, and pine nuts.
Fried squid with squid ink, this dish completely missed the mark. The only taste that came across was the breading, and it needed seasoning. The squid ink fell flat.
Gambia’s al ajillo or Shrimp in Garlic sauce, tender shrimp with an amazing garlic oil sauce. Two pieces of bread to soak up the remaining sauce. I need to research the recipe as the garlic was almost as soft and sweet as oven roasted garlic. This is regularly served in my house.
Croquetas de pollo; the taste of the traditional chicken fritters reminded me of chicken pot pie, without the veggies, but breaded and fried. Fantastic. There aren’t many ingredients in the fritter, but it punches your taste buds.
As if the tasting menu didn’t have enough food, the next 2 items were ordered from the menu.
Seared scallops with pine nut sauce, raisins and PX reduction. The PX reduction enhanced the flavor of the plumb raisins, and the scallops, perfectly seared with a crunch.
Grilled flat iron steak with confit piquillo peppers. These sweet peppers roasted with garlic and olive oil were a positive addition to the steak, suggested and requested to be served medium rare.
Back to the tasting menu, next came the Vegetables paella. I was excited to try Chef’s version of paella, having experienced many variations. Everything blended well together. The vegetable version would not be my first choice and I look forward to trying the seafood or rabbit.
“Skirt steak from the legendary black-footed ibérico pigs of Spain served with toasted tomato bread, mojo verde and alioli” (tonight, honey mustard). OMG. Heaven. The pork skirt steak was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Sauces, who cares about sauces with this dish.
Olive oil ice cream with grapefruit. The Olive oil ice cream tasted like Italian ice, with a creamy, smooth texture. Grapefruit was presented as shaved granita, segments, and candied pieces (?), all with a touch of salt.
“Basque-style cheesecake made with goat cheese”, followed by strawberry ice cream. The cheesecake had a firm topping, and was creamy inside, slight goat cheese taste. The Strawberry ice cream reminded us of the excellent Strawberry soup at 1900 Park Faire.
The meal took over 2 hours, you are presented with a lot of food, and I do not think the cost is prohibitive for a Signature restaurant. This may have been an issue confined to this service, but the timing of the dishes was uneven, some plates arriving at the same time.
One final negative note is that I would have been liked to have been provided with additional information about each dish when provided by the runners and the story behind it.
When I heard that Chef Jose Andres was opening Jaleo at DisneySprings I couldn’t contain my excitement. I now had the chance to experience the tapas and cuisine offered by this remarkable Chef and Humanitarian. I have to tell you I was not disappointed.
Visually, the restaurant is spectacular. I’m not one to get hung up on whether the establishment is “warehouse” style or perhaps displaying animals.
Yes, atmosphere can add to the experience, but some food found at a street or carnival festival, a gas station corner spot, or basement venue in NYC, can be amazing.
Though, I would think taking a photo of your Festival food sitting atop a trash can and then eating it, would distract me from the food flavor, so those who are overly critical of venue decor need to re-evaluate their point. Now to the food!!
Originally our plan was to order several dishes and share amongst the table; we then decided to order the tasting menu, Jose’s Way, a chef’s selection of tapas and plates. Our server made note of any allergies or strong dislikes (nuts), and we started our 2 hour tour.
A quick note on the drinks of the evening. A Mexican Coca-Cola and a Sea Mist Margarita. The soda contains sugar cane as its sugar, which offers a subtle sweetness. The Margarita tasted as fabulous as it looked. Truly amazed at the salt air and the drink was very smooth.
The first plate was the ‘Ferran Adrià' liquid olives and gordal olives stuffed with piquillo pepper and anchovy. One of my favorites.
The liquid olives are created thru a spherification process and the olives burst in your mouth. The traditional olives have the perfect blend of bitter, sweet, and salty, with those three ingredients.
Our next plate was a special menu item for the Disney Springs location, a Salmon tartare and trout roe cone. The tartare was a sweet, creamy mousse, matching with the salty roe, and was quickly hoarded by one member of our party.
We had two versions of the Ostras Gin and Tonic: Oysters, gin and tonic with lemon zest and a version without the gin and tonic. We had contrasting views of the oysters, with the version without the gin, more flavorful, showcasing citrus and salt.
Next up was the Ensalada de pulpo, “Spanish octopus, baby frisée, pipirrana, tomate fresco, sherry dressing”. This cold dish was refreshing, the octopus was tender, the tomato fresco slightly sweet, there were dueling forks attacking this offering.
The next plate was the “48-month cured ham from the legendary free range, acorn-fed, black-footed ibérico pigs of Spain”. Sweet and slightly nutty, not salty like prosciutto. The Jamon is plated for the tasting menu, but is carved table-side when not. Jaleo, change this.
The Pan de cristal con tomate, “Toasted slices of uniquely crispy and ethereal bread brushed with fresh tomato”. The bread is very airy, each piece having differing degrees of tomato. There is a story out there about this special bread, coming directly from Spain.
Cebolla asada: roasted sweet onions, pine nuts, and La Peral blue cheese. Big contrast of the sweet onions, salty, creamy, tangy blue cheese, and pine nuts.
Fried squid with squid ink, this dish completely missed the mark. The only taste that came across was the breading, and it needed seasoning. The squid ink fell flat.
Gambia’s al ajillo or Shrimp in Garlic sauce, tender shrimp with an amazing garlic oil sauce. Two pieces of bread to soak up the remaining sauce. I need to research the recipe as the garlic was almost as soft and sweet as oven roasted garlic. This is regularly served in my house.
Croquetas de pollo; the taste of the traditional chicken fritters reminded me of chicken pot pie, without the veggies, but breaded and fried. Fantastic. There aren’t many ingredients in the fritter, but it punches your taste buds.
As if the tasting menu didn’t have enough food, the next 2 items were ordered from the menu.
Seared scallops with pine nut sauce, raisins and PX reduction. The PX reduction enhanced the flavor of the plumb raisins, and the scallops, perfectly seared with a crunch.
Grilled flat iron steak with confit piquillo peppers. These sweet peppers roasted with garlic and olive oil were a positive addition to the steak, suggested and requested to be served medium rare.
Back to the tasting menu, next came the Vegetables paella. I was excited to try Chef’s version of paella, having experienced many variations. Everything blended well together. The vegetable version would not be my first choice and I look forward to trying the seafood or rabbit.
“Skirt steak from the legendary black-footed ibérico pigs of Spain served with toasted tomato bread, mojo verde and alioli” (tonight, honey mustard). OMG. Heaven. The pork skirt steak was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Sauces, who cares about sauces with this dish.
Olive oil ice cream with grapefruit. The Olive oil ice cream tasted like Italian ice, with a creamy, smooth texture. Grapefruit was presented as shaved granita, segments, and candied pieces (?), all with a touch of salt.
“Basque-style cheesecake made with goat cheese”, followed by strawberry ice cream. The cheesecake had a firm topping, and was creamy inside, slight goat cheese taste. The Strawberry ice cream reminded us of the excellent Strawberry soup at 1900 Park Faire.
The meal took over 2 hours, you are presented with a lot of food, and I do not think the cost is prohibitive for a Signature restaurant. This may have been an issue confined to this service, but the timing of the dishes was uneven, some plates arriving at the same time.
One final negative note is that I would have been liked to have been provided with additional information about each dish when provided by the runners and the story behind it.
