Preston and I went to see “As You Like It” by the Shakespeare Theater Company in D.C. on Saturday. This was my first time at this venue, the Lansburgh Theatre. Great theater; small and intimate (I think it only holds 500?). Ok, 500 may not be intimate, but it is small by some standards. The Shakespeare Company makes a few free tickets available for some (all?) of the shows on a first-come basis. I got lucky and snagged some – when we arrived and got the tickets at will call they were great: ~5th row, center!

Preston had a perfect view. The only issue I had was parking – this is in downtown DC after all. But we managed to find a parking garage a couple of blocks away, and made it to our seats just as the curtain rose! Perfect timing.

After the play we went next door to Jaleo for dinner.

This was Preston’s first exposure to Spanish tapas, and he was a trooper and tried a bunch of different tapas. He liked the presentation of the Croquetas de Pollo (traditional chicken fritters), but was not a fan of the taste. They surprised me too, as the interior (while tasty) had the consistency of thick clam chowder. Why are they served in a sneaker?

He loved the Gambas al ajillo (shrimp sauteed with garlic), though he did comment that they were a bit spicy. He chowed down on the bread they came with.

He tried the Chorizo casero con pure de patatas al aceite de oliva (house made traditional chorizo with olive oil mashed potatoes and cider sauce), but really liked the mashed potatoes (we ordered more on the side).

Finally, he tried the Pollo al ajillo con salsa verde (grilled marinated chicken with parsley puree and garlic sauce). This was a nice grilled chicken; I really liked the salsa verde (almost like a parsley pesto).

I liked them all, my favorite being either the chorizo/mashed or the shrimp (great spicy sauce). I probably won’t get Croquetas de Pollo again, though. :)