Mhays wrote:

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?)

M -- It's a very Italian thing, the love of hard-boiled eggs...

JeffB and KennyZ -- I never made it to Penguin, so I have nothing to say first-hand about the place but as JeffB describes it, it certainly sounds pretty authentically and intensely Argentine to me.

From what I've read about Argentine pizza and more generally about Argentine Italianità (I have not yet had a chance to go there), the Genoese element is strong but hardly the only one there. There seem to be different pizza traditions alive in Argentina and the fainà-schtick is common but not ubiquitous (esp. common in B.A.???). It's also a specifically Argentine schtick -- I've never seen that little quirk anywhere in Liguria (or elsewhere for that matter), eating pizza together with fainà... So, I gather that there are plenty of folks who don't go that route, just as one would surmise from what Mhays wrote above and what I've heard from some Italo-Argentines I've known...

How 'bout this sucker?

A

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.

Always a bummer when I get called out (rightly) for my extreme positions about matters with which I really have very little knowledge. Damn you people who know more than I do.

MY apologies on the quick assumption.

Argentina, Brazil...what's the difference?!?! JUST KIDDING!

Anyway FOGO2GO was discovered at some office luncheon had one cold piece that was good a while back.

Hope you all try it and let us know what you ate!

Hasta Sayo LA VISTA NARA!

Kenny, I took your comment as artistic license and hyperbole rather than an affront. But you know that. The thread did make me nostalgic about what has to be one of the oddest little LTH "finds" out there. Unfortunately for the Pinguino folks, this board's influence -- now objectively potent enough to keep such a place in business for a while --wasn't quite enough at the time. The Pinguino patriarch approached business with a sort of magical realism that probably doesn't work in the US economic system -- things such as shutting down the store for 45 minutes to deliver $15 bucks worth of pizza to my house, bringing along at least as much in free gelato and empanadas for a good customer. That couldn't last very long. But a nicer pizza and ice cream man there never was.

dupreeblue wrote:While it's not what I'm looking for, I think you just found me lunch today.

How'd you like it?

The other day I was passing by on the L so decided to stop for a slice.



From the sign it's impossible to know this is a pizzeria but the window gives a good view of their pretty gas-fired oven and the pizzaiolo tossing dough.



Several pies are available by the slice as well as coxinha (a chicken croquette) and kibe (the Brazilian take on Lebanese kibbeh).



A pepperoni pie had just come from the oven so I chose a slice of that as well as a coxinha and kibe.



It had been a while since my last pepperoni pizza so this really hit the spot. The two types of pepperoni were spicy, salty and abundant. I know nothing of Brazilian pizza and am at a loss to pick out any qualities that made this version distinctive. One thing was clear though: the crust lacked any real character. Fogo 2 Go offers some unusual topping choices such as a combination of bacalhao, egg and house-made cheese (there are a huge number of options). I plan to give them another try to see if a made-to-order pizza with more Brazilian toppings might turn out better.

The coxinha was interesting and well worth $1.50 but I wished the casing hadn't been so gummy.



The kibe also fell into the interesting-but-not-great category. It was very dry and salty but I still enjoyed it. Fresh out of the fryer, I'm sure they'd be much better.



While Fogo 2 Go is mainly takeout, there are about a dozen seats at the counter and at some small tables. They also feature chicken cooked on a gas grill (looked pretty good). I look forward to trying it again. There's a lot of promise here but my single visit suggests they're missing the mark in a few areas.

Fogo 2 Go
926 W Diversey Pkwy
Chicago
773-880-8052
http://www.fogo2go.com/

Looks like there will be an Argentine pizza option relatively soon. Per today's Dish, 8 is opening in December in West Town, is inspired by the Buenos Aires street food scene, and will serve pizza among other things.

8
2501 W. Chicago Ave
no phone or website yet

My memory is not trustworthy, and it has been two years, but I just don't recall seeing street food being sold in Buenos Aires. Street vendors of everything BUT food in San Telmo, of course, but all food seemed to be sold within four walls. One time, we ate a sack of empanadas while walking down the street and felt rather self-conscious, like it just wasn't something people did there. Maybe we haunted the wrong parts of town, but regardless, what counts as B.A. street food?

JimInLoganSquare wrote:My memory is not trustworthy, and it has been two years, but I just don't recall seeing street food being sold in Buenos Aires. Street vendors of everything BUT food in San Telmo, of course, but all food seemed to be sold within four walls. One time, we ate a sack of empanadas while walking down the street and felt rather self-conscious, like it just wasn't something people did there. Maybe we haunted the wrong parts of town, but regardless, what counts as B.A. street food?

yeah, the most I can think of actually sold on the streets were nuts.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Looks like there will be an Argentine pizza option relatively soon. Per today's Dish, 8 is opening in December in West Town, is inspired by the Buenos Aires street food scene, and will serve pizza among other things.

8
2501 W. Chicago Ave
no phone or website yet

Either the article's authors misinterpreted things, which wouldn't be the first time for this fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants publication, or Hubie Greenwald and I have different interpretations of what "street food" is. That wouldn't be surprising either, since I have no idea what he means when he uses the word "Motel". The article says, "“[It’s] street food inspired by what you find in and around Buenos Aires,” Greenwald says, pointing to pizza, empanadas, pastas, and salads". Pizza and empanadas, perhaps, but pasta and salads don't sound like street food in my world.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:My memory is not trustworthy, and it has been two years, but I just don't recall seeing street food being sold in Buenos Aires. Street vendors of everything BUT food in San Telmo, of course, but all food seemed to be sold within four walls. One time, we ate a sack of empanadas while walking down the street and felt rather self-conscious, like it just wasn't something people did there. Maybe we haunted the wrong parts of town, but regardless, what counts as B.A. street food?

No recent experience in BA, but when I was fourteen I remember horrifying a roomful of relatives there when I peeled back a banana and ate it with my hands (like a monkey, a smiling but clearly horrified aunt said, trying to make light of the situation) My mother eats grapes with a knife and fork to this day. Although my family was upper-middle-class, it wouldn't surprise me if this attitude about food being "dirty" was pervasive in BA.

(Though - how in the heck else are you supposed to eat an empanada? I refuse, just plain refuse, to eat them with a knife and fork.)

There was certainly no street food on the streets of BA when I was there. I was in BA puerto madero, the business district, Recoleta and Palermo. They may mean food that you would eat on the street in a cafe. Most of the cafes we went to had outdoor seating.

True, there isn't street food in Palermo or Recoleta, but you must have missed the Costanera Sur east of Puerto Madero near the ecological reserve:
http://www.whatsupbuenosaires.com/news/Street_Food_Buenos_Aires_-_Whats_Up_

We had some great steak sandwiches there. That being said, I don't think that's what 8 will be offering...

Time to resurrect a thread....RISE!!!!

A new place has opened at 1629 N. Halsted called Caminito Argentinian Grill. Argentinian pizza is on the menu, I haven't tried it yet so can't give a recommendation but thought the OP might be interested.

http://www.caminitoargentiniangrill.com/

Coogles wrote:thought the OP might be interested.

YES! Very interested. I shall be heading there very soon. Coogles, what you don't know is that yesterday was my birthday & you've just given me a great birthday present. Thank you!

Yay!

I LOVE it when this happens

After having to stop in at the Apple Store at North/Clybourn recently I ran to Caminito Argentinian Grill to grab some pizza & empanadas for dinner. Granted it was 5pm, but the place was empty save for the Brazilian girl working the main room. Totally personable, we chatted while I waited for my food (about 20 minutes). I got the pizza & popped open the box instantly to see it. When I looked & said it wasn't what I expected she told me "the chef is from Argentina". Um... ok?

Fugazza pizza — Not what I expected at all. First off, what are those tomatoes doing there?


Empanadas — Spinach in front, beef in back. Of note, the beef used actual 'steak' pieces as opposed to ground beef like most places. Olives & eggs present. No raisins.


The good: the pizza was fresh.
The bad: that crust is like no Argentine pizza I've ever had. The whole thing tasted like Chicago pizza w/almost Argentine pizza toppings.

The good: the empanadas were better than El Nandu.
The bad: the empanadas weren't as good as Tango Sur or 5411 Empanadas. (I know, those are baked, not fried.)

The good: there was chimichurri.
The bad: not as good as Tango Sur or 5411 Empanadas.

All in all, I'm still looking for Argentine pizza in Chicago. Regardless, thanks for the tip Coogles!

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Looks like there will be an Argentine pizza option relatively soon. Per today's Dish, 8 is opening in December in West Town, is inspired by the Buenos Aires street food scene, and will serve pizza among other things.

8
2501 W. Chicago Ave
no phone or website yet

Anyone know why this place never opened? I was looking forward to it.