A Study of José Andrés- Part One: Overview

Having lived in the metro area of DC my whole life, I've been accustomed to seeing great restaurants come and go. Since I've only very recently discovered my "foody" passion, I have yet to experience a lot of them first hand. Growing up in Bethesda, I watched my hometown turn into a restaurant-Mecca of sorts with bug names such as Mussel Bar's Chef Robert Wiedmaier,  Chef Tony's (formerly Visions) Chef Tony Marciante, and of course, Jaleo's Chef José Andrés. My chef instructor, Susan Callahan, has told me on numerous occasions that she would gladly run away with José Andrés. Thats a bold statement. I'd like to know more about this man. 


Luckily I live within metro-distance of most of his restaurants (the others are in Las Vegas). So I decided to do my own impromptu study of him; researching his life, going to each of his restaurants, tasting and experiencing his cuisine. This is going to be a 5-part post. I can't promise promptness, but I can assure you all that I will eat as much as my student-limited budget will allow and bring you all the details I can on each restaurant; from atmosphere and service to food and drink. 
Through what I have found on the internet, here is a brief overview of the restaurants that I will be reviewing (in my own unique way) one at a time:

• minibar by José Andrés 

• 405 8th Street NW Washington, DC 20004
• One of two flagship restaurants; the other one is "é", is located in Las Vegas. 
• Three chefs serve a prix fixe menu of thirty to thirty-five small courses to six diners at a time. 
• For a cool visual of how José Andrés uses molecular gastronomy at this location, watch this video: Almond Cups with Spanish Blue Cheese
• America Eats 

• 405 8th St NW Washington DC 20004
• This restaurant serves traditional American dishes 
• Works in conjunction with the Foundation for the National Archives in the former Cafe Atlantico space.
• Named after the Works Progress Administration (WPA) writers project of the 1930s
• A "casual tavern menu" is offered on the first floor, while a "more refined and elegant menu" (minibar)  is featured on the second and third.


• Jaleo

• 480 7th Street NW Washington, DC 20004
• The restaurant serves traditional Spanish tapas. 
• Jaleo has four locations, in Washington, D.C.; Bethesda, Maryland; Arlington, Virginia and at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. 
• "Jaleo" is named after a painting by John Singer Sargent.


• Zaytinya 

• 701 9th Street NW Washington, DC 20004
• This restaurant serves mezze, known regionally as meze, maza or mezethes, small plates of food from the Mediterranean regions of Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. 
• The word Zaytinya means "olive oil" in Turkish. 
• The restaurant is a short distance from the Verizon Center.
• Since it's opening in 2003, Zaytinya has repeatedly ranked as a "Top D.C. Dining Destination" 
• Oyamel 

• 401 7th Street NW Washington, DC 20004
• This location serves a variety of small plates and antojitos. 
• It was originally located in Crystal City in Arlington, but reopened in Penn Quarter in February 2007. 
• Andrés consulted Mexican food expert extraordinaire Diana Kennedy (one of my personal favorite references for Mexican cooking) while developing the menu for Oyamel.

So now I will go on my Chef José Andrés-inspired adventure. Stay tuned for fun-filled reviews of each and every one of these restaurants (and more) in the coming weeks. And please let me know if you have suggestions, comments, or advice. From one foody to another. Eat well!!!

For more information on José Andrés, check out these sites:
Jose Made in Spain

Think Food Group

José Andrés' Facebook

@chefjoseandres

**Please be aware, I am in no way an expert on anything that I write about. I'm just a young woman who loves food and wants to learn more about everything**

Cactus Cantina

Tonight I went to dinner with one of my very best friends, Carolyn Eby. She lives in South East DC and I live in Gaithersburg, MD so we decided to meet somewhere in between. I'm into Mexican food, so we decided on a little place called Cactus Cantina. Located on Wisconsin Avenue between Glover Park and Tenleytown, this restaurant has a rich history in northwest DC.

I had never been there myself but I've heard great things. Before we went, I read a couple of reviews from fellow foodies. I found out a few things that I kept in mind while perusing the menu. For one thing, I heard the house-made tortilla chips are amazing. A true statement. They come to your table fresh and warm with just the right amount of salt and sweet corn taste. The salsa was great too- very much like the salsa I've had at places like Guapos and Uncle Julio's.

Carolyn and I ordered one of the appetizers from the specials menu- Queso and Guacamole. The queso was way too sweet. It tasted as though someone had dumped sugar in there in place of salt. We thought some hot sauce might help, so we asked our waitress who brought us typical tabasco sauce- not the right addition to our Mexican meal. The guacamole was alright- fresh avocados were definitely used. It was lacking in other ingredients, however. There were probably a total of 4 tomato chunks in the entire scoop and not a single piece of onion. Not what I like to see when I'm paying $8.95 for an appetizer.

Then it was time for the main course. Carolyn is a big mango fan. As I was sitting in the restaurant, drinking my Corona Light, I saw on the specials menu that there was a Mango Chicken dish. I knew immediately that this would soon be in my friend's stomach. It came to us completely covered in sauce and extremely bright and colorful veggies. It was a delicious dish. If there were one thing I would complain about, it would be the sheer amount of the sauce. But everything else was delectable. And for $13.95, I'd go back and order that for myself.

Mango Chicken Platter- from the specials menu

I always tell myself that I'm going to try something new- something that I've never had before. Then I always end up getting the combination platter. In a way, it is trying something new! I find it very cool to compare and contrast every Mexican restaurant with one another, determining who has the best tamales, enchilada, etc. The platter that I ordered at Cactus Cantina included a Chicken Enchilada, a Cheese Chile Relleno, a Beef Taco al Carbon, and a Pork Tamale. Since I don't eat pork, I requested a Chicken Tamale instead. Out of this entire dish, I would say the tamale stands out the most for me. I don't remember where I heard this, but I know that somewhere in Mexico or Central America, it is traditional to include chick peas and green olives in the tamale. This was a nice surprise that I received when I dug in. The chick peas made a fabulous textural difference in the masa, the chicken with perfectly moist, and everything all together made the tamale outstanding. As for the other components, I couldn't find anything wrong with them, but they were nothing special. This combination platter, Cantina's Special, costs $15.95.

My Combination Platter: Mexican Rice, Chicken Tamale, Chicken Enchilada, Cheese Chile Relleno, Beef Taco al Carbon, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole. 

For dessert, we orders from the specials menu again. Tres Leches Cake. It was moist and warm, but it lacked the yummy condensed milk flavor that I was expecting.

Tres Leches Cake- $6.50

All in all, Cactus Cantina delivered on the basics. I didn't try the margaritas or sangria, but I intend to in the future. I'll definitely be back.