January 20, 2011: Tango Sur, our inaugural dinner club excursion

Located in the Lakeview Neighborhood of Chicago, Tango Sur is an Argentinian BYOB restaurant with a menu designed to meet any meat-lovers beefy dreams.

The group's first restaurant choice was made by H.L.; he wanted to revisit one of the first restaurants he had been to after his arrival in Chicago.  His first experience here had been during the summer, so he was able to enjoy his food al fresco (they open an outdoor patio during the summer time); our dinner club excursion took place in the middle of winter, so we had to make due with eating indoors.  The ambiance of the restaurant was surprising - dark, lots of candlelight, very romantic.  It seems like a perfect spot for a date night.  In my opinion, the only down side was that the tables seemed really close together - I felt like we were sitting on the people next to us.  Also, the night we went it was pretty boisterous as there were a lot of groups dining that evening, so it may not be the best for a romantic tete-a-tete.

There was good variety on the menu, almost made it hard to choose.  Usually in that situation, the wait staff can offer some insight but I didn't feel our waiter helped us narrow down our choices.  Rather than giving us his top picks, he rattled off the most popular dishes that people order.  Other than that, the overall service was average.

Now onto the food...
We started out with some appetizers - empanadas and provoleta.  Both were excellent choices and I would have probably been just as satisfied with getting a variety of appetizers and sharing.  Rather than do a group meat platter, which would seem customary in any type of steakhouse, we each got individual entrées.  Most of the group stuck with beef (filet mignon or steak) and I got a grilled chicken.  I think most of us were satisfied with the food, although one person's filet mignon was underdone and when they brought it back she said it was like rubber.  Because of that mishap, we ended the night with a complimentary flan for the table, which was the perfect topping to the meal.

I would definitely recommend this place and I would love to go back during the summer and experience the outdoor patio & the grilled meat platter with friends.

Kelly's Overall Rating

STAY TUNED NEXT MONTH...
February's gastronomic adventure takes place at Art Smith's Table Fifty-Two. Check back soon for a new review!