Argentine food in Chicago? In particular: Argentine pizza?

I just read an article on Slice, talking about an Argentine pizza place in Denver & it got me all sorts of nostalgic for one of my favorite types of pizza; whether in Buenos Aires or at an Argentine place in NYC. I've searched the interwebs more than a few times over the years, looking for one in Chicago & always come up empty. (Apparently there used to be a place called Penguin? But that's gone.) Does anyone know where I could get some Argentine pizza in Chicago proper (I don't have a car to go to the 'burbs, but I suppose I'd rent one if the pizza was good enough.)

I realize someone is going to mention Tango Sur, while I do adore it (and even more, the El Mercado Food Mart next door), & constantly have a vat of their chimichurri in my fridge, they sadly don't do pizza & aren't going to satisfy this particular craving.

Any and all help appreciated; thanks!

sorry, but if you hear of one, let me know. more importantly, argintinian ice cream

Will do. I wouldn't be upset to find some solid Dulce de Leche ice cream reminiscent of Freddo myself.

In a related topic, I once had Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza) in Tuscon but can't find any place in the city limits that serves it. I know it exists outside the city, but I do not own a car. Maybe LTH members can help us both!

Can you explain how Argentine pizza is different from traditional pizza?

TAC Crazy: Probably not as well as others can. Honestly, the last time I had any I was about 20 & I didn't know as much about food. If I'd known the last time I was going to have it was over a decade ago I'd have taken notes, pictures, & eaten a ton more.
IIRC, it's a thinner crust, more NY style than Chicago, possibly with some oil in it. Toppings aren't like American pizza toppings; you'll find an onion pizza, pies with ham under the (white) sauce w/spinach & cheese, olives popping up in random places, and other variations. If no one with better writing skill & more knowledge speaks up here ('cause I'm sure there's more than a few!), wiki has some good info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_cuisine & here's a link to some guy in Buenos Aires that does tours of the city & romanticizes the pizza quite well. http://www.buenostours.com/guerrin-pizzeria

TAC Crazy wrote:In a related topic, I once had Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza) in Tuscon but can't find any place in the city limits that serves it. I know it exists outside the city, but I do not own a car. Maybe LTH members can help us both!

Is there an okonomiyaki thread in the Forum? @TAC Crazy, I don't know of any Japanese restaurants that carry okonomiyaki in the city, but I did have it as a special request at my favorite Japanese home cooking place, Itto Sushi, on Halsted and Wrightwood. It's delicious, but I'm surprised that you call it Japanese pizza....what they prepared at Itto and what my half-Japanese friend who I brought with me recounted eating in Japan is closer to an omelette than pizza.

@fusionfan - I love Itto Sushi. One of my favorites as well. Haven't been there in quite a while, come to think of it.

---Now: back to Argentine pizza questing---

If you had been here a few years back, you might have saved that late, great, always quirky Argentine pizza and gelato place, The Penguin. It wasn't a theme joint, it was run by a nice Argentine family who were long on cooking skills but short on marketing expertise. RIP Penguin.

@JeffB - I've read about Penguin time & time again on here. I'm pretty sure I moved to Chicago within weeks of its closing. A travesty for me & for them.

dupreeblue wrote:Will do. I wouldn't be upset to find some solid Dulce de Leche ice cream reminiscent of Freddo myself.

that is cruel.

I grew up on israeli ice cream, and the very best israeli ice cream is made by argentinians. had a chance to get down to argentina a few times to try the real thing. I could really really use some now

dupreeblue wrote:@JeffB - I've read about Penguin time & time again on here. I'm pretty sure I moved to Chicago within weeks of its closing. A travesty for me & for them.

same here

hard to discribe better than above - the cheese is a little more chewy, maybe, more crust than italian pizza but maybe less than new york. less tomato sauce, maybe half the types don't have any. very different toppings - a few different types of meat (including large rectangles of ham, thick cut slices of spicy sausage/salami) vegetables, corn, and some specific combinations.

very often served with glasses of wine, and empanada appetizers.

Wow, Evanston had one 26 years ago, on Benson, I think where the BBQ joint is, or a couple doors down.

Didn't impress me much. It was a long rectangular pizza you ordered by the decameter.

JoelF wrote:Wow, Evanston had one 26 years ago, on Benson, I think where the BBQ joint is, or a couple doors down.

Didn't impress me much. It was a long rectangular pizza you ordered by the decameter.

didn't see that one, but that is a subset of argentinian pizza that brings a fond smile to my face. that type uses a pre-baked crust, so it is a little strange, but an aquired taste.

May I say...you owe me HUGE!

http://www.fogo2go.com/

ll982 wrote:May I say...you owe me HUGE!

http://www.fogo2go.com/

That's Brazilian, not Argentine.

Antonius wrote:

ll982 wrote:May I say...you owe me HUGE!

http://www.fogo2go.com/

That's Brazilian, not Argentine.

But still cool sounding, South American pizza and chicken that DELIVERS!

It's not Argentine pizza if it doesn't come with a slice of faina, the chickpea-flour flatbread that's ubiquitous in the pizzerias that abound in Buenos Aires. I liked The Penguin, but there was nothing Argentine about it besides the ownership.

fainà (senza pizza)

't Is true, in Argentina the Genoese element was very prominent, serving as a 'founder' population for Italians in the country. The Italo-Brazilian community does not, I believe, have as much of an abiding and strong Genoese cultural element.

Antonius

one of these days I am going to apply my but to a chair and write down an essay on the various formats of pizza that you find - Brazilian pizza is also great, maybe better than argentinian, but as different as new york and conneticut pizzas.

JoelF wrote:It was a long rectangular pizza you ordered by the decameter.

Damn, that's one big pizza.

globetrotter wrote:

dupreeblue wrote:Will do. I wouldn't be upset to find some solid Dulce de Leche ice cream reminiscent of Freddo myself.

that is cruel.

I'm not meaning to be! I miss it too. Sorry 'bout that.

ll982 wrote:May I say...you owe me HUGE!

http://www.fogo2go.com/

Woah. While it's not what I'm looking for, I think you just found me lunch today. Thanks!

Antonius wrote:

ll982 wrote:May I say...you owe me HUGE!

http://www.fogo2go.com/

That's Brazilian, not Argentine.

... II982... ...

Having poked around their website, I must say I'm intrigued by the place and look forward to checking it out... Thanks!...

A

Kennyz wrote:It's not Argentine pizza if it doesn't come with a slice of faina, the chickpea-flour flatbread that's ubiquitous in the pizzerias that abound in Buenos Aires. I liked The Penguin, but there was nothing Argentine about it besides the ownership.

It's interesting - faina is outside my personal (and admittedly limited) experience of pizza in Argentina. Of course, Argentine ice cream or gelato (or helado) is also something I never heard about or experienced - I wonder if some of the things people associate with Argentine food became a part of the culture after my mother left in the early sixties, or if it was just something my mother overlooked for one reason or another when we were there visiting. She did make a point of taking me out for pizza and for asado (though the most memorable food from that trip was my aunt's huevos fritos con papas fritas, otherwise known as the very British delicacy, chips and egg)

TAC Crazy wrote:In a related topic, I once had Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza) in Tuscon but can't find any place in the city limits that serves it. I know it exists outside the city, but I do not own a car. Maybe LTH members can help us both!

Hamamatsu in Andersonville has Okonomiyaki on their appetizer menu in both seafood and vegetarian versions.

Hamamatsu
5143 NORTH CLARK ST.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60640
773 506 2978

Here is the pizza I had in BA in the Palermo district.


and the meat pizza



This is the link to all the food we ate.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15636&p=252909&hilit=buenos+aires#p252909

nicinchic wrote:Here is the pizza I had in BA in the Palermo district.


This is the link to all the food we ate.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15636&p=252909&hilit=buenos+aires#p252909

Stunning pictures. I'm now hungry & homesick for a country that wasn't ever my home. It was my Dad's home though. Does that mean I can claim 1 generation removed homesickness?

Kennyz wrote:It's not Argentine pizza if it doesn't come with a slice of faina, the chickpea-flour flatbread that's ubiquitous in the pizzerias that abound in Buenos Aires. I liked The Penguin, but there was nothing Argentine about it besides the ownership.

Hold on. That's not anywhere near my experience both with the Penguin and BA pizza. I'm not suggesting that faina isn't available in Argentina. It's a side item at Los Inmortales, eg. I am saying that few places are more Argentine than the Penguin. I'd be there at midnight on a Tuesday with little kids running around, eating empanadas, dulce de leche gelato (before it became a standard flavor in the US), and Argentine pizza with sliced ham and hardboiled eggs on it, soccer games blaring on TV, the owner handing out wine. The old guy only spoke Italian and Spanish with a Porteno accent so thick and quirky that my native-Spanish-speaker inlaws could barely understand him. The Penguin was much more Argentine, in my experience, than even the Argentine pizza places in Miami. And the menu had both "Argentine style" and "regular" pizzas, with quite different approaches for each.

JeffB wrote:...and Argentine pizza with sliced ham and hardboiled eggs on it, soccer games blaring on TV, the owner handing out wine...

This would be in line with my admittedly limited experiences with Argentine pizza (what is it with the HB eggs, man?)

JeffB wrote:

Kennyz wrote:It's not Argentine pizza if it doesn't come with a slice of faina, the chickpea-flour flatbread that's ubiquitous in the pizzerias that abound in Buenos Aires. I liked The Penguin, but there was nothing Argentine about it besides the ownership.

Hold on. That's not anywhere near my experience both with the Penguin and BA pizza. I'm not suggesting that faina isn't available in Argentina. It's a side item at Los Inmortales, eg. I am saying that few places are more Argentine than the Penguin. I'd be there at midnight on a Tuesday with little kids running around, eating empanadas, dulce de leche gelato (before it became a standard flavor in the US), and Argentine pizza with sliced ham and hardboiled eggs on it, soccer games blaring on TV, the owner handing out wine. The old guy only spoke Italian and Spanish with a Porteno accent so thick and quirky that my native-Spanish-speaker inlaws could barely understand him. The Penguin was much more Argentine, in my experience, than even the Argentine pizza places in Miami. And the menu had both "Argentine style" and "regular" pizzas, with quite different approaches for each.

You are correct. There are multiple styles of Argentine pizza, just as there are multiple styles of American pizza.