5 replies to this topic

[CrescentFresh]

While at Pentagon Row in Pentagon City, I had about a half hour last evening to fit in a meal. There's a new joint there called Tapeo, which is under the same ownership of the folks who have Murali and La Creperie in the same courtyard. Because I was in a rush, I didn't try much, and I wasn't expecting much, but amazingly Tapeo fell below my already low expectations.

Happy hour M-F from 5-7 has $2 Yeungling and $3 mojitos and glasses of sangria. I opted for the mojito which definitely had some rum in it. A few of those will definitely get you rollin'. A light taste of mint. Perhaps a bit too sweet. Not the best I've had but not the worst.

The food, however.....

Patatas Bravas. Listed on the menu as "fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and garlic olive oil" they were actually stewed in a thick tomato sauce. When I think of patatas bravas, such as those I've had in Spain, or here at Jaleo or even La Tasca or Las Tapas, they're smallish chunks of potatoes, most definitely fried and given a light coating of a spicy tomato and garlic sauce. You can stick a toothpick in them and eat them simply and singly.

At Tapeo, they were these big, overcooked, mushy chunks of potato jammed in that sauce. You could pick up spoonfuls of this and use it as spackling or even mortar to hold bricks together. Utterly foul. Revoltingly foul. Think of the consistency of that sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving, but with bigger chunks. Or a lamb stew that's had the opportunity to dry out a bit and had nothing in it but potatoes and sauce.

The other dish I ordered was the Chorizo a la Parilla. Grilled Spanish sausage served with mashed potatoes. (If I wasn't in a rush I probably would have caught that I was ordering two dishes with potatoes.) The sausage itself was pretty decent. Heavily and pleasantly spiced, there were two chunks of sausage about 4 inches in length each, split down the middle and served over the potatoes.

What the menu didn't point out was that they were throw-me-a-goddamn-life-preserver DROWNING in this terrible, brown, sweet and sour sauce. That sauce was like you're typical English "brown sauce" spiked with a massive amount of vinegar. It completely ruined the sausage underneath it.

I've either eaten, or drank, or eaten and drank at almost every one of the places at Pentagon Row. As far as I'm concerned there's only two places worth sitting down in....Thaiphoon (same ownership as the folks in DC) which does a decent job, and Lebanese Taverna which most folks around here are familiar with. Honorable mention to Noodles and Co. for fast food takeaway.

[mktye]

Tapeo is no more?

Clicking the link to their website brings up a different name and a decidedly non-tapas menu.

[CrescentFresh]

Tapeo is no more?

Clicking the link to their website brings up a different name and a decidedly non-tapas menu.

I wonder why they felt it was important to get the salmon and tilapia stoned before they baked them? Couldn't they just put them in the freezer for a little while first, like when you boil lobsters? Or are the tilapia and salmon baked simply because they got them stoned? And if that's the case, what happens to those of us who eat the salmon and tilapia? Will we all of a sudden get even more hungry and want to eat the rest of the menu? There are no desserts mentioned but I wonder if their brownies would get you baked?

[DonRocks]

Tapeo is no more?

Clicking the link to their website brings up a different name and a decidedly non-tapas menu.

Working on the dining guide, mktye?

What Google couldn't handle, a telephone could: The girl who answered told me 'same ownership, different concept.' Voila: PR Grill.

[starfish]

I wonder why they felt it was important to get the salmon and tilapia stoned before they baked them? Couldn't they just put them in the freezer for a little while first, like when you boil lobsters? Or are the tilapia and salmon baked simply because they got them stoned? And if that's the case, what happens to those of us who eat the salmon and tilapia? Will we all of a sudden get even more hungry and want to eat the rest of the menu? There are no desserts mentioned but I wonder if their brownies would get you baked?

so this is what happens when you get off the sauce?

[DonRocks]

PR Grill is now a Nando's.

Once again, I'm left shaking my head as to why some people open the restaurants that they do.