Tango Sur
3763 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 773-477-5466
Date of Review: June, 2007; updated May, 2008
Tango Sur is an Argentine steak house and is one of Chicago’s romantic gems. It has a great al fresco dining section out front on busy Southport Avenue. In addition, it has a dark and intimate interior with low lighting and lots of tables. It is easy to find a table for two in the corner for a romantic evening but the BYOB policy also makes this a great place for a birthday dinner. The restaurant is small but it has a lot of tables, always a lot of people and a lot of energy. There is a great waiting area in the back near the bathroom that is like a separate room where guests can pop open a bottle of beer from their 6 pack or have a glass of wine as they wait.
The empanadas are the crown jewel of the appetizers. They have four variations including spinach and cheese, ham and cheese, chicken and ground beef. The pie crust like shell on the empanada is excellent. The empanadas are served with gorgeous chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri is made from chopped parsley, dried oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and paprika with olive oil. Another appetizer that is very good is an eggplant dish called berenjena. This dish reminds me of vegetarian lasagna as it features oven baked eggplant layered with spinach, provolone, parmesan and ricotta, served with tomato cream sauce.
For entrees, I have had the Vacio on numerous occasions. The Vacio is described on the menu as flap meat. The first time I came to Tango Sur, I tried the Vacio because it was recommended despite the fact that I didn’t know what flap meat was. Well… Flap meat is a cut similar to skirt or flank in that it comes from the less tender regions of the animal. It is often cheaper than more popular cuts but has a wonderful meaty flavor and fine texture when prepared carefully. The serving of Vacio at Tango Sur is huge. There is no bone in it and it is very flavorful and tender. It is served with chimichurri sauce. Dribbling some of this wonderful garlicky sauce over the steak is a must. I have also tried the double portion of solid filet mignon and the Argentine grill for two. The Para Dos (Argentine grill) is a huge helping of assorted meats served on a table top grill. It features short ribs, flap meat (or Vacio), pork sausage, beef sweetbread and black sausage. This is a great way to sample a bunch of different menu items. The short ribs are extremely flavorful and the vacio is always good. The pork sausage is OK and I am not a big fan of beef sweetbread or black sausage. They didn’t taste bad to me but a couple bites were more than enough for me. If you are connoisseur of these meats, you may feel differently.
All steaks are served with a simple salad that arrives about 10 minutes before your entrée. The salad has lettuce, tomato and a few rings of white onion and is served with old school vinegar and oil bottles for dressing.
The waiters help to make Tango Sur feel even more authentic as they all look as if they are from Argentina and I believe they are. The servers are predominantly male, friendly and very casual.
The prices at Tango Sure are reasonable. On my last visit, my party of 3 had three empanadas, the chef’s special eggplant appetizer, a filet and the argentine grill for 2 for a total of $91. That included tax and tip. There are very few places in Chicago where you can have a good steak for that price. Steaks range from $14
to $21. Read the fine print as there are some steaks that are $35 plus but these are intended to be shared by two people. In addition, don’t be fooled into thinking the only steaks on the menu are the ones listed under the Chef’s Specials page which seems to dominate the menu. Most of these steaks are more elaborate and expensive variations of the steaks listed under the Parilla section of the menu. The steaks on the Parilla section are not served with a potato while the Chef’s Specials are.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Chicago (Greek) - Artopolis
Artopolis
306 S. Halsted, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 312-559-9000
Date of Review: June, 2007
Artopolis is one of the more casual dining spots in the heart of Greektown. This place is a bit different from every other place around as it offers some traditional Greek dishes but also offers tastes from around the Mediterranean and pizzas cooked in a wood burning oven. Artopolis has a very enviable location as it is close to the Hasted Blue Line station located in the middle of Halsted Street across from Nine Muses. There are 3 floors in the restaurant and lots of open windows to look onto this always busy and active slice of Halsted Street. The restaurant has an open layout with a bakery visible and display cases of pastries for sale. The décor reminds me of the Mediterranean.
Artopolis has a wide ranging menu that includes traditional Greek dishes, pizzas and sandwiches. The solid Greek Salad is void of lettuce and focuses solely on the tomatoes, kalamata olives, peppers and feta that are topped with an oregano and red wine vinaigrette. It is served with a plentiful basket of bread. The Mediterranean Fest includes a plate with hummus, fava, baba-ghanoush, tzatziki, and olives. Unfortunately, the same bread served with the salad is used for the dips. The bread is fine but pita bread is much nicer with Middle Eastern spreads like these. The hummus and baba-ghanoush were average compared to the variations of these dishes I have had at Middle Eastern restaurants in Chicago. That said, the tzatziki was solid and I respect the effort to stretch the menu beyond the borders of Greece.
On another occasion, I had the Spinach and Feta Spanakopita as a starter – can also be ordered as an entrée. This dish is excellent and consists of fresh leaf spinach, leak, spring onion, dill and feta cheese in a flakey phyllo dough.
There are a host of excellent sandwiches on the menu including varieties of vegetarian, chicken and lamb sandwiches. Two sandwiches I have tried which I really enjoyed include the Briammi Kefte and Mediterraneo. The Briammi Kefte is oven-baked lamb and beef kefte, briammi (vegetable ratatouille), and crumbled feta on rosemary bread. The Mediterraneo has sliced roasted leg of lamb, Dijon mustard mayonnaise, tomato, green leaf and mint on rosemary bread.
The pizzas at Artopolis are excellent. The pizza crust is what is most impressive as it is crispy and flavorful. The pizza is pan style and has a plentiful amount of toppings that make it very filling. On my last visit, we ordered the Inferno pizza which has roasted chicken, smoked gouda, mozzarella, green and florina peppers, caramelized onions, and spicy tomato sauce. It is a sizeable portion as this one pizza priced at $12.75 had 8 reasonable size slices and could easily serve as a dinner for 2 moderately hungry people.
The prices at Artopolis are reasonable. On my last visit, we had a Greek Salad, appetizer plate, a pizza and a half bottle of wine for $53 including tax and tip. Pizzas range from $10 to $13 and sandwiches are in the $7 to $10 range.
306 S. Halsted, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 312-559-9000
Date of Review: June, 2007
Artopolis is one of the more casual dining spots in the heart of Greektown. This place is a bit different from every other place around as it offers some traditional Greek dishes but also offers tastes from around the Mediterranean and pizzas cooked in a wood burning oven. Artopolis has a very enviable location as it is close to the Hasted Blue Line station located in the middle of Halsted Street across from Nine Muses. There are 3 floors in the restaurant and lots of open windows to look onto this always busy and active slice of Halsted Street. The restaurant has an open layout with a bakery visible and display cases of pastries for sale. The décor reminds me of the Mediterranean.
Artopolis has a wide ranging menu that includes traditional Greek dishes, pizzas and sandwiches. The solid Greek Salad is void of lettuce and focuses solely on the tomatoes, kalamata olives, peppers and feta that are topped with an oregano and red wine vinaigrette. It is served with a plentiful basket of bread. The Mediterranean Fest includes a plate with hummus, fava, baba-ghanoush, tzatziki, and olives. Unfortunately, the same bread served with the salad is used for the dips. The bread is fine but pita bread is much nicer with Middle Eastern spreads like these. The hummus and baba-ghanoush were average compared to the variations of these dishes I have had at Middle Eastern restaurants in Chicago. That said, the tzatziki was solid and I respect the effort to stretch the menu beyond the borders of Greece.
On another occasion, I had the Spinach and Feta Spanakopita as a starter – can also be ordered as an entrée. This dish is excellent and consists of fresh leaf spinach, leak, spring onion, dill and feta cheese in a flakey phyllo dough.
There are a host of excellent sandwiches on the menu including varieties of vegetarian, chicken and lamb sandwiches. Two sandwiches I have tried which I really enjoyed include the Briammi Kefte and Mediterraneo. The Briammi Kefte is oven-baked lamb and beef kefte, briammi (vegetable ratatouille), and crumbled feta on rosemary bread. The Mediterraneo has sliced roasted leg of lamb, Dijon mustard mayonnaise, tomato, green leaf and mint on rosemary bread.
The pizzas at Artopolis are excellent. The pizza crust is what is most impressive as it is crispy and flavorful. The pizza is pan style and has a plentiful amount of toppings that make it very filling. On my last visit, we ordered the Inferno pizza which has roasted chicken, smoked gouda, mozzarella, green and florina peppers, caramelized onions, and spicy tomato sauce. It is a sizeable portion as this one pizza priced at $12.75 had 8 reasonable size slices and could easily serve as a dinner for 2 moderately hungry people.
The prices at Artopolis are reasonable. On my last visit, we had a Greek Salad, appetizer plate, a pizza and a half bottle of wine for $53 including tax and tip. Pizzas range from $10 to $13 and sandwiches are in the $7 to $10 range.
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