Jaleo Crystal City – Arlington, Va

Earlier this week, I was invited to a kickoff party for Jose Andres’s 11^th Annual Paella Festival (July 29^th – Aug 11^th) at Jaleo Crystal City. 

The event benefited Jose Andres’s charity, World Central Kitchen and was to promote the 2 week long festival. There were a number of paella stations set up for the event, each presenting its own types of flavors.

Paellas:

Arroz Iberico de bellota – A paella with Iberico belota ribs, sausage, and baby artichokes

Arroz Caldoso de Pollo, Conejo, y Acelgas – A soupy rice with chicken, rabbit, and swiss chard

Arroz de Verduras de Temporada – Traditional paella of summer vegetables

Fideuá Negra con Gambas – A paella of black "fideos" with head-on shrimp and calamari

Other Dishes Include:

Gazpacho

Flan

My favorites of the night were the Fideuá Negra con Gambas (shrimp) and the Arroz de Verduras de Temporada (summer vegetables). The Fideuá Negra con Gambas was great due to the texture of the black fideos and the head on tiger shrimp. The summer vegetable paella was a favorite since it had the greatest crust out of all the paellas. It was cooked thoroughly and charred to perfection, which is exactly what a paella should taste like.

I definitely need to applaud all the staff at Jaleo Crystal City. The event was run very well and everyone was having a great time. The addition of live music also added to the overall experience. I will probably having a paella craving within the next week so count me in. I’ll see you at Jaleo!

4/5 Stars

Arroz de Verduras de Temporada – Traditional paella of summer vegetables

Entrance Area

Arroz Iberico de bellota – A paella with Iberico belota ribs, sausage, and baby artichoke

Gazpacho

Fideuá Negra con Gambas – A paella of black "fideos" with head-on shrimp and calamari

DC United - Screaming Eagles Tailgate - RFK Stadium - Washington, DC

What's NEXT: Come cheer on the DC United MLS Soccer Team at RFK Stadium on any Saturday game and enjoy this fabulous Screaming Eagles Supporters Group Tailgate.(http://screaming-eagles.com/game-day/tailgates/)

"The Screaming Eagles gather for food, drink and camaraderie 4 hrs before every D.C. United weekend home game at RFK Stadium.

The tailgate is in parking lot 8 at RFK Stadium near the Soccer Celebration area (look for the large black SE canopies) and is open to members and their guests.

We do have a limited supply of chairs and a lot of shade under our tents, but feel free to bring your own blankets and/or chairs to sit on. Times for the tailgate will vary based on kickoff time and day of the week so check for updates on the website.

Our menus consists of the BBQ standards-hot dogs and burgers along with grilled chicken, bratwurst, chorizo, grilled pizza and ravioli. We also have plenty of vegan/vegetarian friendly options

COST

Tailgate pass includes buffet and drinks

SE members : $10
Non-members : $12

Drinks Only : Free for members with 2013 SE ID, $12 non-members"

Remaining 2013 Schedule:

Jun 29	vs Vancouver	7:00 pm
Jul 3	at Seattle	10:00 pm
Jul 7	at Colorado	9:30 pm
Jul 20	at Chicago	8:30 pm
Jul 27	vs New England	7:00 pm
Aug 3	vs Montreal	7:00 pm
Aug 10	at Philadelphia	8:00 pm
Aug 17	at Montreal	7:00 pm
Aug 24	vs Toronto FC	7:00 pm
Aug 31	at New York	8:00 pm
Sep 8	at Chivas USA	9:00 pm
Sep 15	vs Los Angeles	5:00 pm
Sep 21	at New England	7:30 pm
Sep 28	at Toronto FC	1:00 pm
Oct 4	vs Chicago	8:00 pm
Oct 12	vs Philadelphia	7:00 pm
Oct 18	at Sporting Kansas City	8:00 pm
Oct 27	vs Houston	1:30 pm

Safeway DC BBQ Festival

What's NEXT: This past weekend was the 21st Annual Safeway BBQ Festival in DC on Pennsylvania Ave. It's one of my favorite events of the year since there's nothing but great barbecue everywhere. Safeway, which hosts the event, has a big sampling tent offering over 30 different samples with your cost of admission ($12 adults). In addition, this year vendors such as Chobani, Snyder's, Ben & Jerry's, King's Hawaiian and many more were handing out free samples. 

Similar to year's past, Sprite hosted a few basketball events such as a free throw and dunk contest. With the weather being in the mid 80's, it was a great way to kick off summer and enjoy some great ribs, brisket, pork and a little veggies.  

TIPS:

1. Make sure you get to the Safeway Tent no later than 11:30am so you don't have to wait hours for the sampling tent. The tent opens at 12 noon so you're not waiting forever. The lines for people who show up in the afternoon is about 2-3 hours.

2. Safeway offered a buy one, get one free on their tickets with a purchase of select BBQ items in their supermarkets. Be on the lookout next year, as this helped reduce the cost of admission.

3. Make sure you bring a reusable bag or backpack to hold all of your free samples!

4. Don't forget the sunscreen. You'll end up with enormous amounts of sunburn like me if you don't!

Famous Daves BBQ

Safeway Sampling Tent

Georgia Based BBQ Team