Tango Sur

My sister was in town this weekend, so despite the 9 inches of snow falling on the city Saturday night, I braved the elements and spent the afternoon shopping on Michigan Ave., and capped the night off with a phenomenal meal at Tango Sur.

All afternoon we played tourist and hopped from shop to shop along the Magnificent Mile. As is typical for a full day of shopping we returned to the car with a solitary meat thermometer. The lights were pretty, and the free chocolate from Ghiradelli was scrumptious.

The highlight of the day was absolutely our trip to Tango Sur. Tango Sur is an Argentinian steak house. They serve generous portions of Latin American and Argentinian dishes. We started the meal with some great empenadas and warm chewy bread. I've said it before, but I could eat nothing but hot, moist bread and be very happy. After the appetizers we moved onto the real attraction, the meat. I hat a filet, "El Filet" actually. It was good, and on any other night I would have been satisfied. The trouble was that my wife and sister ordered Steak Vesuvio. This was a cut of sirloin, I believe, stuffed with cheese and spinach, and cooked to mouthwatering perfection. The steak was moist, well marinated, and downright amazing.

To top it all off Tango Sur is a BYOB establishment. Not only can you bring your own wine, but there is no corkage fee. We stopped by Sam's on our way to take advantage of their nice selection of Argentinian wines. We picked up a nice bottle of Ben Marco Malbec on the recommendation of the salesman. It was a good bottle of wine, but for $20 in what I consider a value region, the wine should have been more complex and powerful. As it was, it was lacking in a tannic element and all around depth.

Overall it was a wonderful meal to cap off a wonderful afternoon with family that I see too little of. I'm looking forward to a return visit very soon.