Eating in the Cosmopolitan / Jaleo

Since I had the bell desk bring up my bag, I decided to order some room service since I still had five hours before my dinner reservation at Jaleo. The shrimp and crab leg appetizer looked too good to pass up, and it seemed filling enough to get me to dinner time.

The presentation was beautiful and like everything else in the hotel, the service was impeccable.

The Shrimp and crab leg were HUGE and a fair value for the price of $17 (but note that by the time you add the taxes, room service & tip it was $31). The tiny Tabasco bottles were so cute I had to open one and empty it into the cocktail sauce which I also doctored with a few squeezes of lemon juice.

I loved Bazaar in Los Angeles, so my first official meal in the Cosmopolitan had to be at Jaleo, Jose Andreas' Las Vegas tapas restaurant. The vibrant colors and open areas make this a perfect party setting.

The "outdoor" seating has a game table with "saddle" seats, and the bar has a huge mural.

I sat underneath the giant paper mache bull against the far wall.

The table next to me ordered the croquetas de pollo (chicken) for $6.50, which were delivered in a shoe!

My croquetas of Jamon Serrano for $8, served in mini metal shopping cart, were five hearty bites of ham and cheese, made with one of the best hams in the world.

I wanted some vegetable, so I ordered the Escalivada Catalana, made with roasted red peppers, eggplant and sweet onions with Sherry dressing for $7. It was such an easy way to eat my vegetables that I could have eaten four more plates to fulfill my daily requirement.

Jose Andreas' sense of humor is apparent in the menu, as the first list of tapas are preceded with "You're here, so start eating" and a selection of toasted slices of rustic bread rubbed with fresh tomatoes, with assorted topping from Serrano ham to anchovies. I chose the Spanish anchovies for $8.50, which were more perfect on the tomato bread than I could have imagined.

I wasn't sure I still had any room for one more small plate, so I asked my fantastic server Danielle if the gazpacho was very filling. She said it was only 5 ounces and she thought I could handle it, so who was I to argue?

I was thrilled with the gazpacho which is the classic chilled Spanish soup made with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, bread and sharpened with Sherry vinegar for $7. It arrived like this:

The server then poured the soup into the bowl, and it looked like this:

The gazpacho was by far the best I have ever eaten, including the ones I ate in Madrid!
 the flavors were fresh, vibrant, and clean.

Too bad it all had to come to an end as my stomach said "Basta"! Next trip I will make sure to come back here with more people so we can order the paella which serves 2-4; who wants to join me?