Arroz caldoso de bogavante, or lobster paella. Greg Powers for Jaleo.
Your big group is going to dinner in Penn Quarter. Someone says there’s a paella special at Jaleo, and most heads nod in agreement.
One person mentions pasta, pointing across the street to Carmine’s. Another thinks Hill Country barbecue would hit the spot. Luke’s Lobster is floated.
With a little imagination, you can cover all the bases at the Jaleo paella festival, taking place from October 6 to 19 at the D.C. (480 7th Street NW), Crystal City (2250A Crystal Drive) and Bethesda (7271 Woodmont Avenue) restaurants. A kickoff party will take place at the Maryland location.
A variety of meat, seafood and vegetables are used in the eight paellas on this year’s menu. Priced from $40 to $80, the featured paellas feed at least six people.
Traditionalists can order the classic Valenciana, crafted with unmistakably Spanish flavors, rabbit and bone-in chicken. Carnivores can also select oxtail paella with peas or squid paella with inked black rice.
Arroz con carabineros is a hands-on option for those who wish to follow the classic technique and break the heads off the giant imported red prawns, dripping the organic matter (read: brain juice) over the rice.
A meatless selection blends seasonal vegetables from the Penn Quarter farmers market.
The friend who wanted lobster can order arroz caldoso de bogavante, a soupy paella with lobster.
Now, suspend disbelief for a moment. Repurpose paella as Italian dinner via arroz meloso de bacalao con puerros, alubias y alcachofas, made with cod, leeks, white beans and artichokes. Soupy and loaded with bright beans, the dish could pass for a bowl of minestrone with fish.
Fideos con lágrima ibérica contains Italian and barbecue elements. The base is pasta, not rice. Fideos are matchstick-sized noodles, bathed in a full-bodied brown sauce that subtly hints of barbecue. Boneless pork ribs add to the barbecue qualities.
A specialty cocktail complements the paellas. Drink in the festive flavors of the Mascletá, a blend of brandy, lemon juice, saffron syrup, plums and egg white for $14.
