Sin City

Jose Andres Pounds a Porrón at Jaleo Vegas

Andres at Jaleo
Andres at Jaleo Photo: Tatiana Arbogast

Everyone has their own special way of getting a bag on in Vegas. Some opt for a “wine angel” to flutter around, zeroing in on an astronomically-priced bottle of Montrachet at Charlie Palmer’s place, while many more are content with alcoholic, slushie-filled plastic Day-Glo guitars from PBR Rock Bar and Grill. While holding a wood-fired paella-making demo this weekend at Jaleo in The Cosmopolitan during the Vegas Uncork’d event, Jose Andres showed his fans how to fuel a proper fiesta, whipping out a Spanish bong porrón in the middle of his high energy cooking demo and tipping it straight back into his maw. “I love show business,” the high-on-jamon chef shouted upon finishing, as he offered a few of these glass updates on the shareable Spanish bota wine skins of old to the assembled crowd.

Strangely, despite the purpose of the porron’s design (to keep ones lips off of the spout), there were very few takers of the citrusy Spanish shandy known as clara; A certain surprise given that the same timid crowd had no problem eating croquetas out of one of Jaleo’s running shoes.

Croquetas at Jaleo
Jose Andres Pounds a Porrón at Jaleo Vegas