Spanish -> Sant Pau -> Tokyo, Japan

Our second lunch day was the two star Michelin Spanish restaurant Sant Pau.

	Cava Champagne – Cava slight bitter and bubbly
	Bread – Bread had a soft center and very crispy exterior Breadsticks – Very long, very crunchy as well and chock full of flavoring too.
	There were three condiments for the bread Salt (Back) – Very fine sea salt, had a sharp distinct salty taste. Butter (Front Left) – Wish it was a bit creamier. Nothing distinct about it. Olive Oil (Front Right) – Very good Olive Oil, light olive taste and had a velvety rich taste to it.
	Croqueta no 7 (d’arros Japonica, misso, shiso, sesam) – Warm rice filled croquette with a light miso base mixed it. Also a sesame flavor from the exterior seeds. Couldn’t really taste the shiso.
	Broqueta de sanma tomaquet, motassa i poma – Sweet and sour soft fish, slight aftertaste. The sweetness comes from the tomato and the sour comes from a light vinagrette.
	Cap-i-pota de vedella amb guisat de cigrons – Pork a bit on the chewy side, perhaps braised for too long. The soft chickpeas mixes nicely with the tomato taste.
	Cornet de pa gelat d’pli d’oliva verge extra D.O. Siurana – Very light olive flavor, blends in nicely with the slight sweet taste. Loved the thin crunchy tuille
	Calamar 2009 (ceps calamar ink pasta, white sauce) – Squid is very soft while slight chewy. I did like the creamy mild sauce that allowed for the calamari to shine. The mixture of soft mushroom and al dente squid ink pasta though was very well thought out. Best course of the meal.
	Monkfish (julivertada, azuki) – Monkfish had a mild slight crunch to teh skin. It was served with a nice sweet red bean paste that offsets the slightly salty fish. The monkfish liver was creamy and mild seafood taste. The parsley, olive oil green sauce very very light and barely noticeable which allowed the fish to shine.
	Pluma of Iberian Pork (potato mille-feuille) – Crispy and staggered potato mille-feuille was the best part of the dish. When mixed with the awesome paprika jam ball, the potato was amazing. The tender pork had a mild zest and tang; however sadly the potato really stole the show as the pork wasn’t that good comparatively.
	South America (potato, chocolate & corn ice) – Potato mousse served with chocolate and jelly rum from Brazil. Sprinkled with crispy corn. Innovative but not our thing. Slightly sweetened potato puree needs to be more sweet. The ice cream was nice but the crunchy bits of corn detracts from the smoothness. But really kills it is the bitter rum. That really does not blend well with the mixture.
	Divertiments de Patisseria Polo de Piruleta – First Picture. Shaped like a Lollipop, eats like a cherry popsicle, not too sweet which is perfect. Plantan (coco) – Second Picture. Plantain covered with chocolate. The nice soft interior is contrasted nicely with a crunchy chocolate exterior. Third Picture. Only the right side of the plate going L-R, and down by row. Flam de roses – Rose flan. A very light rose taste. The flan practically melts in your mouth. Wife’s favorite. Pega dolca i sidral – Pistachio cake. It was a nice soft cake that had a great rich cream filling. The crunchy exterior peppered by pistachios. Cabell d’angel – Spaghetti squash. Almost had a pie feel with a chewy yet crispy exterior. It was lightly sweet with crunchy pine nuts. Bombo de xocolata – Supposedly spicy chocolate. No spice in my opinion. If you’ve had the “Melty Kiss” chocolates, this is what it feels like though with crunchy sesame seeds. Nori amb cacao – Coco covered seaweed. Interesting blend of a salty sweet. Not really our thing though. Cruixent de xocolata – Chocolate Crunch. The milk chocolate has a bitter aftertaste. The exterior is covered with crunchy almond fragments Sindria amb rom – Watermelon rum jelly. The jelly has a nice watermelon soothing taste. Just a mild dash of rum in it. Brac de gitano (to the left of the main plate) – Licorice sticks. Not too strong of a licorice taste, which was good. A light dusting of sugar to keep it sweet.
	Mint Tea – Nice mild mint tea. Nice aroma to it.
	Coffee – Strong and bitter like most other coffees here in Japan.

Decor: Very classy feel. Varied client base. we saw people in T-shirts in jeans while there are people in suits as well. The funniest thing we saw was this elderly grandmother that was eating by herself. Walls are red with art paintings all around. Another thing we noticed was that the whole wait staff were women. Odd as we have not seen much female wait staff here in Japan much less a staff made completely of women. We had no problems with it, just an observation. Our waitress spoke perfect English and Spanish as well, impressive. One thing that was odd is that they positioned to building to have a view, yet the view is of the side of a shopping mall. Another oddity was he was the only chef that didn’t come out to say hi to us when we asked for an autographed menu.

Overall Assessment: ($$$$$, 6/10) – Originally we wanted to visit La Rochelle but they were booked up with weddings. So we opted for this two star Spanish restaurant. We liked certain aspects of the restaurant. There definitely were some hits with the squid, and the paprika ball, some real downers like the dessert and just a lot of ho hum dishes. They do small plates here well. Both the four-mini course and the petit four plats offered innovation and promise. Perhaps they should do some more of that.

Website: http://www.santpau.jp/english/index.html
Location: 1-6-1 Nihonbashi
Reservation: 03-3517-5700
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Tues – Fri; 1130 – 1530, 1800 – 000, Sat – Sun; 1200 – 1530, 1800 – 0000

 

Spanish -> Toro Bravo -> Portland, OR

We came here for dinner upon hearing the great Spanish dishes as the wife does love Spanish food.

	Blackberry Pimms (Fresh Oregon Blackberries, Tanquerary Gin, Pimm’s No 1 Juice and a Splash of Rhubarb Soda Served Tall on the Rocks) – Nice little bits of blackberries in the drink. Barely could taste the alcohol which of course is always a bonus in the wife’s book. Very light and summery. Not quite a Thrasher but very very close.
	Red Pepper Delicious (Aviation Gin, Muddled Red Pepper, Mint and Lime Served Up) – This one was a bit more innovative, crushed red pepper giving it a slightly sweet taste. The red pepper is very subtle but it does hit the spot. A bit stronger than the Blackberry drink. The mint and lime serves up a nice aroma to the drink.
	Hominy – Nothing grand, though the waitress did tell us they were spicy yet no spice at all to them. Grilled till they were crunchy, barely any salt on them so only a natural flavor to them.
	Jamon Wrapped Chicken with Pisto Manchego – The chicken was a bit flavorless but the tough cured ham gave the dish the salt flavor. The Pisto was very subtly flavored with the natural tomato really carrying the dish. Wife really loved the sauce for its mild natural taste. The chicken itself was tender and not dry though not as soft as the Crush chicken (but what is?)
	Squid Ink Fideos (with Rabbit Sausage, Griddle Shrimp, Corn and Heirloom Tomatoes) – Great Paella dish, The squid ink noodles was soaked in a zesty tomato sauce. The homemade sausage went well with sauce and the noodles. The corn adds some texture and the shrimp was cooked just perfect as well. I’ve always been a fan of squid ink pasta, so naturally I jumped at this the moment I saw it on the menu. Overall a really fantastic dish.
	Chocolate Almonds – Wife wanted something small to finish off the meal. These confectionery sugar covered chocolate was very mild in terms of sweetness. The chocolate was mild on bitterness and the almonds were pretty crunchy. A simple yet elegant dessert for the meal.

Decor: The inside is covered with earth tone red walls with various art pieces hanging on the wall. The tables and chairs are intimately placed but not too close together. The atmosphere was a bit loud. The staff was friendly, our waitress seemed to be ecstatic about her work and it translated to us as well.

Overall Assessment: ($$, 10/10) – Man, where can one can a meal for two, desserts and drinks for two for barely $50. And it was great food as well. The idea behind the food is tapas and small plates, but the plates are generously sized. The paella was a fraction of what the cost would be here in DC, what a deal. The drinks wee very well constructed and affordable as well. AS we left the wife bemoaned over the lack of such a place in DC.

Website: http://www.torobravopdx.com/
Location: 120 NE Russell St, 97212
Reservation: No Reservations
Takeout: No
Hours: Sun – Thurs; 1700 – 2200, Fri – Sat; 1700 – 2300

 

Spanish -> Taberna del Alabardero -> Washington, DC

It’s restaurant week in DC. We start off with the wife’s favorite restaurant.

• Crema de Purrusalda con Gambas Ahumadas (Chilled Potato and Leek Soup with Smoked Shrimp) – Nice summery soup, especially in the heat.  Nice how they somehow transformed the shrimp to taste like ham.  As the wife states “Unless you told me otherwise, I would have though it was ham”.   Semi-bland soup goes really well with the smoked shrimp.
• Atún a la Plancha con Vinagreta de Aceitunas y Patatas Aliñadas (Grilled Tuna with Olive Vinaigrette and Potato-Lemon Salad)  – The tuna was overcooked a bit.  However the olive accentuation on top of the tuna was a good match with the potato.
• Falda de Buey con Setas Salteadas y Salsa Oporto (Grilled Flank Steak with Sautéed Mushrooms and Port Reduction Sauce) – Savory pieces of steak that were lightly marinated.  The mushroom assortment was savory as well.
• Flan con Compota de Naranja (Caramel Cream Custard with Orange Compote) – Dessert is up to the usual standard.  The flan by itself would be not worth screaming about but the orange compote mixed with the orange sauce and powdered sugar. Delectable.

Decor: Decorated with a nice red tone, the taps bar is at the entrance.  The lights are dimmed nicely and give off a sort of romantic flair. Wife loves the molding on the walls.  The staff here all speak with a Spanish accent.  Nice touch.  They are friendly and courteous.  I never have to ask them for anything, they do everything automatically such as bread, drinks, etc.

Overall Assessment: ($$$$, 7/10)  Don’t let this one time low rating fool you.  It’s like what the wife states “It’s a restaurant week rating”.  We’ve been here numerous times, and every time we would give it a 9 or 10 rating.    The bar has just been set so high, we came in expecting so much more.  The food tonight would have been perfectly acceptable elsewhere.  Kinda sad to see them “step down” for restaurant week, you think they would want to do more to impress.   The plating here isn’t as good as some places, but where it really excels is the harmonizing of flavors on the plate.  If you only have the main item, you would think, hmm nice.  But once you mix it with the accompaniments on the plate, exquisite.

Website: http://www.alabardero.com/
Location: 1776 I St NW, 20006
Reservation: OpenTable
Takeout: No
Hours; Mon – Fri; 1130- 1430, 1730 – 2230, Sat; 1730 – 2230

 

Spanish -> Jaleo -> Washington, DC

Thought about going to Brunch. Originally though of going to Peking Village for some dumplings. Since we didn’t have to take care of our problem child dog, we decided we could go further. We narrowed it down to Jaleo and 2 Amys. Wife wanted some Spanish, not having gone to Taberna del Alabardero for a while.

• Conejo en Salmorejo (Rabbit with Potato Puree) – Nothing special, rabbit a bit tough, though it wasn’t as “gamey’ as I thought it would be.
• Setas Silvestres con Frutos Secos (Mushrooms with Walnut and Raisins) – Nice fusion. the mushrooms go well with the sweet raisins. Wife said it reminded here of the mushroom with egg appetizer she got at Taberna.
• Flan de Berenjenas ‘Reno’ (Eggplant Flan) – Great appetizer, the eggplant went well with the red pepper puree. It was presented very nicely with a streak of orange sauce on the side (I think carrot and pepper).
• Vierias con Sopa de Almendra (Scallop in Cold Almond Soup) – The soup was a bit sour. Couldn’t really taste any almond. Though the soup tasted much better with the grapes. The scallops were seared nicely though. If you could get the scallops without the soup…
• Bocadillo de pollo “Visca el Barça” (Fried Chicken w Ham and Cheese Sandwich) – I loved this sandwich, easily in my top five of sandwiches. The chicken had a light breaded skin not heavily coated, it was still tender inside. The bacon really added to this. It was sorta like a chicken cordon blue sandwich, only better. The red pepper spread highlighted everything.
• Bocata de tortilla de patata (Spanish Potato Omlet Sandwich) – I thought this was so, but the wife liked it. A little more on the bland side.
• Spanish Potato Salad – Good side for the sandwich, not a lot of mayo. The red pepper went well with everything. The peas in the salad were a nice touch as well.
• Spanish Chips – Due to a miscommunciation between the wife and I, we got this as a side. They were ok. Some chips were drenched in oil though. those that weren’t had a nice flavor to it.

Decor: It was nice to go people watching in DC on a Saturday afternoon. See the crowd of tourists and such. friendly staff, water filled regularly. The restaurant is divided into two areas with a bar in the center. Bright and sunny and overall clean and tastefully decorated.

Overall Assessment ($$, 7/10): You can easily be filled with a sandwich and side. But we choose to be like pigs and try out a bunch of things. There are some many different tapas and stuff to try out on the menu. Don’t think you could ever get bored with the food selection. It was definitely worth checking out for a brunch.

Website: http://www.jaleo.com/
Location: 480 7th St NW, 20004
Reservation: OpenTable
Takeout: 202.628.7949
Hours: Mon; 1130 – 2200, Tues-Thurs; 1130 – 2330, Fri – Sat; 1130 – 0000, Sun; 1130 – 2200