Cupcakes, Sangria and Tapas!

We had a little bit of fun this weekend. Which of course left us exhausted come Monday.

Friday night we met up with friends at Piratz Tavern in Silver Spring, MD for rummy drinks and dinner. Piratz is a fun place. Plenty of cheeky atmosphere and pretty good drinks. I always go for the "666" a fruity, coconutty rum drink. It's the devil for a reason. Tastes like candy. And, in terms of food, I always get exactly the same. Jerk Pork Sandwich with fries. It's simple and it's good. After Piratz, said friends joined us back at home for fruity, sweet cocktails. Chocolate Martinis and a new cocktail we're working on, a Carrot Cake Martini. Right now, it's coming across more as a spiced cake martini, but we're getting there.

Saturday was rough. All that rich sweet stuff left us feeling a little less than ideal. Most of Saturday was a geek's delight. Board Games with more friends!

Sunday was a little culinary adventure. The main goal of the day was to catch one more Oscar nominated film before the awards this weekend. So we headed to Bethesda, Maryland for lunch, a viewing of The Last Station and a surprise treat. For more on the movie, and other Oscar noms check out Eat With Me's better half, Footnotes.

Let's start with the surprise treats...Georgetown Cupcakes. OMG, so good!

Clockwise from the top: Carrot, Key Lime, Red Velvet and Coconut.
Rankings: 1st-Coconut, 2nd-Carrot, 3rd-Key Lime, 4th Red Velvet

At the shop...

They are so pretty...

And they are incredible. They cake has great flavor and near perfect texture. The icings are rich and decadent. As they should be! Can't wait to go again. And if you follow them on Twitter you'll find out about a free, secret flavor daily! They are a bit spendy. But they are worth it. If you think about what you might spend on dessert at a restaurant, this is totally in line for the quality. To me, it seems the average restaurant dessert is maybe 1/2 the size more (re: 1 1/2 cupcakes), but will cost you upwards of $6-8 and the quality may be hit or miss. These cupcakes are just under $3 and certainly meet all and perhaps exceed expectations! Bravo!!!!

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Now, let's go back to lunch. We contemplated stopping at a favorite French joint for lunch, but there was a wait, they were super busy and we had a movie to get to, so we didn't want to risk getting slow service and/or feeling rushed in our ordering. So, we went with another favorite: Jaleo.

For those who haven't been, Jaleo is a tapas bar. Small plates of amazing Spanish food by the prolific and delightful, Chef Jose Andres. There are three locations in the DC region--Downtown DC/Penn Quarter; Crystal City, VA; and Bethesda, MD.

If you go to Jaleo, just order a pitcher of Sangria. You'll thank yourself for it.

I generally order the same thing everytime I go to Jaleo, simply because I love it and we don't go that often, so...Croquetas de pollo; a traditional fritter made from bechamel, chicken, serrano ham, rolled, coated and fried! I have Chef Andres' cookbook and have made these before! See here.


My main bit was this awesome hanger steak (Lomo de buey), seared and served rare on a bed of roasted red peppers and a red oil (not spicy-chili oil, probably just red from the peppers) and garnished with flakes of sea salt and chives. Like butter. The texture was...is...redonk! The flavor is mellow, rich and sublime.

OMG, a good weekend!