Josu Zubikarai has joined La Tasca as Executive Chef. Last night at the Washington, DC location, Josu prepared some (20 or so) possible new menu items for a crowd of La Tasca’s friends. These are items he is considering for La Tasca’s new menu. Below are some of the dishes we sampled last night:

Salmorejo Cordobés, Tortilla Torera, and Vieiras y Txangurro are notable because they are dishes or include ingredients that I do not normally enjoy, but I very much enjoyed these versions. The first of these three is a chilled tomato soup, and while I am not a fan of tomato soup or even gazpacho, this soup was flavorful, acidic, and included jamon Serrano. I am usually relatively neutral on Spanish tortillas (thick omelets), but this triple decker omelet was layered with tomato, lettuce, and aioli (fresh garlic mayo), and was very flavorful; I might exchange spinach for the lettuce, but regardless, it is a good dish.  The third dish was a pan seared scallop, and while I am not a fan of scallops, this one was placed over a Basque-style Maryland blue crab casserole; The scallop and blue crab combination was delicious.

The Manchego Frito (fried cheese served with an orange marmalade sauce), Tosta de Sardinas (sardines on toast with a piquillo sauce), and Lubina Aceitunera (rockfish with white wine and black olives) were dishes I expected to enjoy (and did enjoy). Manchego is my favorite cheese, but I will say that the cheese dish was better when just out of the kitchen.

Some of The meat dishes were among the best I tried that evening, including the Cerdo a la Mozarabe (pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon with pine nuts and raisins), Albóndigas a la Mostaza (beef and pork meatballs with a spicy mustard sauce), and Crudo de Buey (beef tenderloin served medium over mixed greens).

I tried a white sangria with watermelon and kiwi while I was there, and it was a wonderful drink.

What was really nice about this event was that we had scorecards for rating the dishes. I do not feel a need to mention the dish or two I was not a fan of since they will probably not make it on to the restaurant’s menu.

-JAY