Sunday, June 19, 2005

Restaurant Reviews: Ri-Re and Jaleo

We went to two restaurants this week, located less than a block from each other in Bethesda.

Ri-Re (Irishy) and Jaleo (Spanish tapas) have a lot in common beside their location.

First, they are comparably priced. Second, they each have extensive menus, giving you a lot of choices. Third, they are comfortable. Fourth, it does not matter much what you order: they are both very consistent.

But there is one major difference. Jaleo is consistently excellent, while Ri-Re is (at best) consistently mediocre.

And I guess I should mention a second difference. Ri-Re has a greater variety of draft beers, while Jaleo appears to lead in types of sangria. As to the beers at Ri-Re, there seem to be at least 12 on draft (including Guiness, Murphy's and Harps), but the speciality on Saturday night ($2.50 was the quoted price) was Budweiser.

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