Tango Sur

Going to Tango Sur for a bachelorette party. I used to go there all the time and enjoyed it. Last time I went, we ordered the: Lomo Relleno (half slab filet with mushrooms). It took an hour for them to bring it to us and we didn't like it.

I forgot what I used to get there. Do you have any recommendations on what to order?

Check out the existing thread:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2064

What specifically about the filet didn't you like? What kinds of Argentine foods do you prefer?

When I go to Tango Sur (which, admittedly, has been a while) I order the lengua a la vinagreta appetizer (almost as good as mine ) and the parrillada, the little mixed tableside grill with blood sausage, sweetbreads, short ribs, and skirt steak. These meats are chewy and intended to be eaten with the accompanying sauces. I've also heard from my Argentine friends that their empanadas are very good, but I'm usually in a meat-induced stupor by the time I think of ordering them.

Darren72: Thank you for forwarding that thread. I agree with them--I thought my tastebuds were playing tricks on me. Now I know it is the food not my tastebuds--whew!

Mhays: Thanks for your recommendation. We'll check out the lengua a la vinagreta, parrillada and some empanandas.

The empanadas are DELICIOUS, as a matter of fact. I recommend, if you're with a group, ordering one or two of each and splitting them, because they're all very good. Oddly, I think I liked the ham and cheese the best, and that's not a variety I normally think of when I think of empanadas. I also enjoyed the matambre and the tortilla de papas, but neither was as amazingly good as the empanadas.

I ordered the filet when I went, and really liked it. I think my husband had the ribeye, and that was also excellent--very tender and flavorful. Our companions split the vacio, and I think they didn't like theirs as much because the meat wasn't as tender, but I thought the flavor was still excellent, especially with the chimichurri (what isn't delicious with chimichurri on it?)

I'm heartened to see renewed enthusiasm in Tango Sur; I was just citing their sweetbreads in another thread. I think it's a romantic room, generally tasty meat (although the breaded steak can be dry), and offers very good sauces, sides, and empanadas. It can get crazy busy and slow (chalk that up to the location), but I enjoy the value it offers. It gets many extra points in my book for El Mercado next door, which is open relatively late and sells sausages and other savories from the restaurant.

Tango Sur Last Night.

I really liked this place when I started going a few years back but it has been a while.


We had:

Provoleta orgentine provolone cheese cooked on the grill with olive oil and roasted red pepper

Tortilla De Papas argentine specialty tortilla made with potatoes, onions and eggs

El. Filet
range grown filet mignon cooked on the grill, topped with red onion wine sauce, served with spinacti mashed potatoes

Para Uno
asado, chirozo, molifeno v morcilla con ensalada for one grilled short ribs, sausage, beef sweetbread and black sausage.

Aside from getting a ton of food for $60 we were severely disadvantaged by the copius amounts of piping hot fresh bread that kept coming to our table.
The salad with warm spinach and hearty olive oil was a nice after the long cold walk to the restaurant.
Don't really know what to say about the Tortilla de Papas since I am not a fan but everyone else seems to like it.

The Filet was very large and covered with the wine as promised. The potatoes were a little bland for my tastes - or rather - watery rather than rich and creamy and the wine sauce would have been more appreciated on a lesser piece of meat.
Luckily though that was my companions’ dinner, I ordered the platter for one which is an astounding amount of food even if the black sausage is discarded. The sweetbreads have been on this forum many times and they are excellent.

All of the meats were perfectly cooked, well seasoned, and generally exceptional for the price.

The dining room was full when we left at 6:30 with the lights dimmed and a single candle at each table the atmosphere was really nice. The BYOB seems to bring in a young crowd - though I'm sure the location does as well - and there were a couple tables celebrating some occasion near ours. I even saw a bottle or two of the hard stuff getting passed around.

All in all this place is still great and made even more so by its' affordability and ambiance. Our bill with tax was $65.00 and the nice mix of patrons make this a destination.

We will probably be going back soon with a group for a celebration.

Went to Tango Sur last night, the first time in probably 18 months. I've always loved this place, but for some reason it fell off my radar screen.

My wife and I ordered the Vacio from the menu (not the special), along with the vesuvio potatoes. What a fabulous meal !! It reminded me why I've always loved the place. The flavor of the steak was great, which I always liberally coat with the chimichurri sauce. Yeah, my breath stinks afterwards, but my wife had it too so we cancel each other out. The vesuvio potatoes could have been a bit crisper, but they tasted great.

Dessert as always is the flan. If you only needed one reason to go to this restaurant, it would be the flan. Perfectly prepared and topped with a generous dollop of Dulce con Leche, it's a killer. My wife is a consumate chocolate fanatic and frequently turns down non-chocolate desserts, but she's nuts over the flan.

Getting in will always be an adventure, as they only take reservations for 6 or more. We got there at 5:00 and got right in, as you would expect. This was an early dinner for us as we had a play to attend later in the evening. When we left at 7:00, they were completely full, including about 25 people eating in the outdoor seating, and they had about 20 people waiting for tables. It is what it is, but I highly encourage you to go.

All the best,
John

Stopped by Tango Sur for dinner this weekend.

We walked in to a busy evening, but not so busy that there were not some tables free. We waited in the corner for some friends and eventually just grabbed a seat and let the host know. In that casual environment, the inconsitent service
somehow did not bother us. Our waiter was very engaging, but after taking our initial order did not come back until dessert. Silverware was prewrapped in napkins incorrectly, with one person getting no fork and another getting three. When they brought the very tasty empanadas, they mistakenly told us which one was spinach/cheese, much to the chagrin of our vegetarian friend when beef juice squirted out as she cut into it. Steaks ordered medium rare came out medium in two cases and very rare in another. The one sent back for extra cooking took quite a while before they finally brought it back overcooked. Food runners had to ask who had ordered what when they brought the food. They finished up the meal by mixing up the leftover bags, so that I got the pasta and our beleagured vegetarian friend ended up with blood sausage and flap steak. Short of dropping the food on our laps they messed up about everything they could, but in a good natured way that helped keep the conversation going while three bottles of BYO malbec paved over the cracks.

The food? I thought it was good, but definitely for the large-portion-of-meat eating sect. Grass fed beef may be tough, but does have a lot of beef flavor, and the Chimichuri sauce is to die for. Sweetbreads were cooked until cruncy on the outside yet still soft and creamy inside - reminded me a little of the fried clams I learned to love growing up in New England. The short ribs and flap steak were still somewhat juicy depite being overcooked and delicious with that garlicy sauce. Empandas were very tasty and desserts acceptable.

It has been said that you have to accept Tango Sur for what it is. They serve what they serve and they cook it the way they cook it and if you accept it for what it is, it can be a fun time, although maybe not with the hour plus waits that others have experienced. It won't hit our regulars list, but if there's no wait and you're in the mood to sit back with a pound and a half of full flavored garlicy meat with apps and dessert for south of $30 a head, this is the place.

I love me some sweetbreads, but the ones at Tango Sur disappointed me the other evening--they were chewy rather than creamy inside, and had a more pronounced "organic" flavor, if you will. Perhaps they were pancreas, rather than the younger thymus?

The sweedbreads at Tango Sur are beef, whereas most of the ones served at places like Blackbird are typically from younger animals such as veal or lamb. Beef sweetbreads are generally tougher than veal or lamb sweetbreads, which could also explain their more chewy texture.

Tonight was the first time we went to Tango Sur and we were very happy that we did. Although the sweetbreads are listed among the side dishes, we ordered them as an appetizer which turned out to be a good choice. As mentioned above, their texture was chewier than most other sweetbreads, however this went nicely with their perfectly charred exterior. We also had the Lomo Rellano, half slab fillet (for 2) with chimichurri sauce and portobella marsala, cooked medium rare, just the way we requested. A side of soft and tasty Vesuvio Potatoes completed an overall very satisfying meal. The bill including tax came to $48, with tons of leftovers.

My Bride and I made our way over for our maiden voyage. I had mapped the Value Steak thread and after discussing a few places we both had a need for beef. After a few recommendations here and there we decided this would be the place to visit and after a strong recommendation from ucjames on what to order (Vacio) our meal was planned.


Vacio for two at Tango Sur


Nicely browned with Sweet Potatoes


Stuffed and topped with a butter, garlic and herb mixture


Recommended angle of attack? Slice off a 1/4 to 1/2 inch slice and plate. Cut off a bite, swirl around in the au jus, eat and repeat.

Was it like tender like butter in your mouth? No.
Did you need teeth to eat it? Yes.
Was there a tiny bit of gristle? Yes.

Was it the most awesome preparation for this cut of meat? Yes. A rich beef flavor.

We just couldn't stop eating it. The perfect marriage of garlic, butter, beef juice and meat kept us eating and purring. The rest of the room faded away and we had a private party. Just My Bride, me and the meat.

We arrived and put in our name and were told that there would be an hour and a half wait(do they take reservations now?). Prepared we strolled down the street only to find that the dive sports bar had closed. No problem as there was an lively Irish bar just a few doors further down which was a good choice on St Patty's Day weekend.

Cullen's Bar & Grill‎
3741 N Southport Ave, Chicago
(773) 975-0600

The Curry Chips looked awfully good but we knew we had a sizeable meal ahead of us so we settled just for a few Harps and enjoyed the atmosphere. Our call came after about an hour and a half. My Bride had her way to the table while I made a dash to the car for the Brazilian Brahma Beer I had chosen for the evening.

Was the place crowded? Yup. A bit noisy too. A young crowd with tables filled with bottles of wine. Groups of two having a romantic dinner. The restaurant dark with candles on each table.



There seemed to be several tables for 10 or more with a small room in the back that appeared to be available for a large group that is waiting for a table. A wonderful place for a group of friends to have a fun time.

The wait staff was great. Switching off taking care of the needs of the diners.

All in all, between the atmosphere, great food and service, the best meal I have had in a long time. The price has to make this the best flavor value in the city.

We are counting the days until we can go back.

I'm glad you enjoyed the Vacio. It's my absolute favorite. I put about a pint of the chimichurri sauce on it as I love that flavor too. I'm sure I'm not pleasant to be around for a couple of days afterwards though.

In answer to your question about reservations, I believe that the answer is still "no" unless you have a big party (over 10). If I don't feel like waiting, my wife and I will go for an early dinner (pre-6:30) and usually can walk right in. After that, you're pretty much on a wait status for the rest of the evening.

Oh, I hoped you tried the flan. It's fabulous!

Panther in the Den wrote:Was it like tender like butter in your mouth? No.
Did you need teeth to eat it? Yes.
Was there a tiny bit of gristle? Yes.

Was it the most awesome preparation for this cut of meat? Yes. A rich beef flavor.

This quote places you among the steak cognoscenti, with the Argentines. NB, the (Spanish) tortilla is among the best in Chicago and a legitimate vegetarian option at what is in all other respects a house of meat.

PS, the bife Vesuvio is a similar cut and prep, stuffed with provoletta and chimichurri. A little over the top, but it works. I'm more of a morcillas/sweetbreads/ribs guy at TS, but the large, shared cuts are an excellent way to go there as well.

I am heading to Tango Sur for the first time tonight; I've read good things about the chimichurri and want to make sure I try some. My question - the menu I've found online doesn't list chimichurri with a lot of the steaks, does it come as a side with most of the steaks or is it something I can request? Based on what I've read, it sounds like the Vacio may be the way to go? I can't say I've ever had flap meat before, is it a similar cut like skirt steak?

The Chimichurri is standard with all the meat, but you can certainly ask for it. I always get extra, it's that good.

I always order the Vacio on the menu, not the "special". The best way to categorize it is that it's like a thick skirt steak. It's really tremendous, IMHO. Don't forget to bring wine!

Two quick Tango Sur questions. I promise to report back if the wait's not too bad tomorrow.

1) Is the beef Argentinean or American? The menu on MenuPages seems to suggest that only the four steaks listed under "Argentine Range Grown Beef" are Argentine: http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/tango-sur/menu. Can anyone advise whether this is the case (and if so, which of those steaks is likely to be the best)?

2) Regarding the Vacio, John Danza seems to be recommending the plain Vacio (for one), while Panther and others suggest the Vacio for two. Is the difference that the Vacio for one is grilled without being stuffed with the butter/garlic/herbs/etc.?

Thanks for any answers or other input.

~Pam

pamiam wrote:2) Regarding the Vacio, John Danza seems to be recommending the plain Vacio (for one), while Panther and others suggest the Vacio for two. Is the difference that the Vacio for one is grilled without being stuffed with the butter/garlic/herbs/etc.?

Hi Pam,

The Vacio on the menu is not stuffed with anything. It's just seasoned and grilled. The chimichurri sauce provides plenty of garlic and herbs for an addition.

John

pamiam wrote:Two quick Tango Sur questions. I promise to report back if the wait's not too bad tomorrow.

1) Is the beef Argentinean or American? The menu on MenuPages seems to suggest that only the four steaks listed under "Argentine Range Grown Beef" are Argentine: http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/tango-sur/menu. Can anyone advise whether this is the case (and if so, which of those steaks is likely to be the best)?

Pam, to the best of my knowledge, Argentine Beef has been banned from import into the US since around 2001 as a result of the Foot and Mouth Disease scare. This is one of the issues that I have consistently had with Tango's marketing. They're simply not honest if they are advertising Argentine beef on their menu.

Several years ago, I was grilling the butcher at the store next to Tango that has the same common ownership because I was aware of the FDA ban. He indicated to me that the beef served at Tango Sur was grass fed Canadian.

YourPalWill wrote: Several years ago, I was grilling the butcher

Low and slow?

YourPalWill wrote:

pamiam wrote:Two quick Tango Sur questions. I promise to report back if the wait's not too bad tomorrow.

1) Is the beef Argentinean or American? The menu on MenuPages seems to suggest that only the four steaks listed under "Argentine Range Grown Beef" are Argentine: http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/tango-sur/menu. Can anyone advise whether this is the case (and if so, which of those steaks is likely to be the best)?

Pam, to the best of my knowledge, Argentine Beef has been banned from import into the US since around 2001 as a result of the Foot and Mouth Disease scare. This is one of the issues that I have consistently had with Tango's marketing. They're simply not honest if they are advertising Argentine beef on their menu.

Several years ago, I was grilling the butcher at the store next to Tango that has the same common ownership because I was aware of the FDA ban. He indicated to me that the beef served at Tango Sur was grass fed Canadian.

I believe the ban was lifted last year for beef from certain regions of Argentina, but google searching has gotten me only conflicting and outdated info about the subject, and I'm not motivated enough to research it further.

Interesting. It didn't take too long to find some facts, as this is current news in many respects. As now I understand it, the feds proposed lifting the ban on fresh Argentine beef in '07 for beef from the southern part of the country and the rulemaking to do that was up for comment. Early this year, senators from Wyoming and SD ('course) introduced a bill to keep the ban in place until Argentina can somehow prove to our satisfaction that there's no FMD threat (which one would suppose had already happened given the proposed rulemaking). Recent articles in a number of papers demonstrate that the Argentine beef industry is failing terribly (more due to drought and shifting ag practices than the US ban; the EU lifted theirs a while back), and Argentina will be a net importer of beef shortly.

Regarding the state of the law: http://beefmagazine.com/markets/0129-ba ... ne-cattle/

Regarding Argentina's fall from #1 producer to #7 and the loss of the gaucho:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 9090903489

So, although Argentine beef was available in the US around the time TS opened way back when, it seems they can't have really been selling Argentine beef steaks any time recently, per Will's discussions. (Part of the confusion on the status of US-AR beef commerce is the fact that US remains a top 10 importer of Argentine beef, presumably cooked, canned, processed, whatever; the ban is on fresh or frozen uncooked.)

As much as I love TS -- and although I never get the "Argentine" beef as I don't think it's better than the "American" beef at TS and it's way more expensive -- the folks at TS shouldn't be touting the stuff as having come from Argentina. Now that Americans are well-familiar with the grass fed vs. corn finished debate, there's less need to use Argentine as shorthand to convey the difference to diners.

(This all assumes TS isn't sitting on a stockpile of deep-frozen pre-embargo beef, equivalent to that box of pre-Castro Partagas at the Kennedy compound.)

John Danza wrote:

pamiam wrote:2) Regarding the Vacio, John Danza seems to be recommending the plain Vacio (for one), while Panther and others suggest the Vacio for two. Is the difference that the Vacio for one is grilled without being stuffed with the butter/garlic/herbs/etc.?

Hi Pam,

The Vacio on the menu is not stuffed with anything. It's just seasoned and grilled. The chimichurri sauce provides plenty of garlic and herbs for an addition.

John

Actually you can see the butter, garlic and herb mixture under the 'flap'...

Panther in the Den wrote:
Stuffed and topped with a butter, garlic and herb mixture

Man! Was that good. It has been a month or two since our last visit. Time to go back!

Panther in the Den wrote:Man! Was that good. It has been a month or two since our last visit. Time to go back!

Doing a little house cleaning this past weekend I discovered a forgotten $75 gift certificate for Tango Sur that my parents had given us - it is most definitely time for the wife and I to go back

The hard part, as always, will be whether to just go with the wonderful and dependable vacio or branch out as we do on occasion.

Panther in the Den wrote:

John Danza wrote:

pamiam wrote:2) Regarding the Vacio, John Danza seems to be recommending the plain Vacio (for one), while Panther and others suggest the Vacio for two. Is the difference that the Vacio for one is grilled without being stuffed with the butter/garlic/herbs/etc.?

Hi Pam,

The Vacio on the menu is not stuffed with anything. It's just seasoned and grilled. The chimichurri sauce provides plenty of garlic and herbs for an addition.

John

Actually you can see the butter, garlic and herb mixture under the 'flap'...

Panther in the Den wrote:
Stuffed and topped with a butter, garlic and herb mixture

Man! Was that good. It has been a month or two since our last visit. Time to go back!

Was this the standard Vacio from the menu, or the ever-present Vacio on the "Special" list? I've had a lot of the former at TS, and have never seen the butter/garlic/herb mixture you've got pictured here.

JeffB wrote:As much as I love TS -- and although I never get the "Argentine" beef as I don't think it's better than the "American" beef at TS and it's way more expensive -- the folks at TS shouldn't be touting the stuff as having come from Argentina.

Does anyone know if they actually state on their menu that the beef comes from Argentina? (Not picking on Jeff's comment here, it was just the easiest quote to grab to ask the question to those in this debate.) Frankly, I don't remember because it's been years since I looked at the menu, since I always order the same thing. If they just say they're an Argentinian restaurant, then there's nothing wrong with that comment because that's more about style of dishes than where the ingredients actually come from.

John Danza wrote:Was this the standard Vacio from the menu, or the ever-present Vacio on the "Special" list? I've had a lot of the former at TS, and have never seen the butter/garlic/herb mixture you've got pictured here.

That's the Vacio for 2 people - I cannot recall which menu area it is listed under. It always looks like it does in that picture, and it is pure goodness.

John Danza wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:

Was this the standard Vacio from the menu, or the ever-present Vacio on the "Special" list? I've had a lot of the former at TS, and have never seen the butter/garlic/herb mixture you've got pictured here.

Just the standard.

Panther in the Den wrote:

John Danza wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:

Was this the standard Vacio from the menu, or the ever-present Vacio on the "Special" list? I've had a lot of the former at TS, and have never seen the butter/garlic/herb mixture you've got pictured here.

Just the standard.

Interesting, I've never seen that line of "stuff" before in the steaks I've had there.

ucjames wrote:

John Danza wrote:Was this the standard Vacio from the menu, or the ever-present Vacio on the "Special" list? I've had a lot of the former at TS, and have never seen the butter/garlic/herb mixture you've got pictured here.

That's the Vacio for 2 people - I cannot recall which menu area it is listed under. It always looks like it does in that picture, and it is pure goodness.

Thanks for the responses. On the Menupages menu, it has the Vacio for 2 listed under Chef's Special, along with Lomo Relleno, Bife Vesuvio, El Filet, and other things. I was assuming that the Vacio for two was the "special" Vacio to which John Danza referred. The follow-up seems to bear this out. The Vacio for one, from what I gather now, is still tasty, but not saucey like the Vacio for two?

I suppose it'll come down to whether there's something else on the menu that calls our name as to whether Vacio for one or two makes most sense.