Jaleo Hour? I’m there!

Bacon wrapped dates at Jaleo Hour

Jaleo’s bacon wrapped dates may not have photographed well, but believe me, they sure tasted heavenly. And for $4 during Jaleo Hour, they were definitely worth both the wait and the price.

Jaleo Hour takes place Sunday-Friday from 4:30-7:00pm and features $4 tapas, drink specials, sangria, and draft beer. Normally, Jaleo’s tapas are a bit pricey at $6-12 each, which makes a visit to Jaleo Hour a total steal. My boyfriend and I snacked on garlicky gambas al ajillo (shrimp sauteed in with garlic and guindilla pepper), the aforementioned bacon wrapped dates, and the crusty complimentary bread and olive oil. I also had a glass of  Tempranillo & Garnacha for a mere $4 (wines are half-price), which was an excellent pairing to the tapas. In total, we spent only $12 on our Jose Andres tapas excursion.

The only drawback (or for some, it might be a plus) was the crowd. At 5:45 on a Friday night, we could barely squeeze into the bar and were lucky to even find a seat. I recommend going early if you have a big group or want to be guaranteed a seat. Despite the crowd, it’s still a fun happy hour and I’m certainly not going to complain–especially with a plate of those bacon wrapped dates in front of me. 🙂

Jaleo (3 locations)

1. Downtown: 480 7th St. NW Washington, DC 20004 (202) 628-7949

2. Bethesda: 7271 Woodmont Ave. Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 913-0003

3. Crystal City: 2250 A Crystal Dr. Arlington, VA 22202 (703) 413-8181

Dim Sum (and then some) Happy Hour

Ping Pong Dim Sum opened on Saturday (12/12) in Chinatown and from the looks and tastes of things, it’s off to a great start (review will be posted shortly!). If you want to sample Ping Pong’s delectable dim sum at a discounted price, stop in on Tuesday 12/15 between 6-10pm for lots and LOTS of specials. These include: $5 Ping Pong specialty martinis, $4 beer, and $3 baked puffs, char siu buns, prawn balls, spring rolls, and more. See Ping Pong’s Twitter for more details.

Ping Pong Dim Sum

900 7th St. NW (behind PS7’s)

Washington, DC 20001

(202) 506-3740

12 Bars of Christmas

Sourced from: http://barstoolmountain.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html

Get into the holiday spirit(s) with Washington City Paper’s 12 Bars of Christmas. Everyday from Dec 2-17 between 6-9p, a different bar will have beer specials ranging from $3-5. Bring in your City Paper passport to get stamped and enter giveaway contests, with prizes such as 4 tickets to a Wizards game and a large flat screen television. Now that’s something to be merry about! For more information and a list of bars, click here.