Heading into the wild of the North side of Chicago was a nice reprieve from the usual urban jungle of downtown. We started at a local Wrigleyville favorite, Coogan’s and enjoyed several, much less expensive beverages than would have been available at our usual locales. What a pleasure to again welcome some out of town guests: Balanaby and PK, both hailing from the East Coast.
Upon moving to the main event, Tango Sur, it was apparent that we were in for an interesting evening: in spite of a large group of people waiting outside, eying the darkening skies, we were brought in almost immediately and seated at a table fit for a full court (a la King Arthur’s; and this was not brought up do to the recent Royal Wedding). Empanadas were ordered immediately (5 of each flavor; con carne, pollo, jamon con queso o espinaca con queso argentina turnovers with choice of beef, chicken, ham & cheese or spinach & cheese) and wine bottles were opened – by the way, thanks to those who brought them! The empanadas were done perfectly and, frankly, were a little much considering the second course of salad that was brought… can’t remember if Glick had arrived by the time the salad course was delivered.
Once the meat arrived it was obvious who had ordered well: Mr. Daddy-o Martin and yours truly walked away with the crown thanks to the stellar shared Argentinian specialty Lomo Relleno: a half slab argentine filet sliced and filled with a chimichurri, ham sauce then cooked and served on a grill with portabella marsala. Ideal for two indeed. Unfortunately, it did not sound as though the rest of the group was satisfied with how cooked their cuts were.
At the end of the night, the check came and was so reasonable that a traditional-esque version of credit card roulette was engaged: 2 gentlemen split the tab and the majority waked away with a little more than expected.
11 – The most people ever to attend Steak Night
340 – The bill – cheapest on record
2 – Houston Girls that pulled the credit cards for payment
60 – The dollar amount of the gift certificate added for the good of the group
45 – Minutes late to dinner – Mr. Glick
9 – The number of people who walked free thanks to payment by Mr. Glick and Mr. Cole
8 – Bottles of wine consumed
3 – The rating for our lack of service
9 – Rating for the vibrant atmosphere
6 – Rating for my strip steak
Priceless – A night on the town with the boys
awesome steaks, awesome locale, awesome talent picking the cards. Painful experience paying half the tab but thanks to Jevon(and Charlotte)’s generosity not to mention watching Richard Joelle finally pop the elusive cherry it was well worth it. If we played under normal rules and it came down to Don and I for who would walk we may have had a riot on our hands.
Bonus pts for the post dinner drinks turnout. Now that the weather is turning in our favor and babies are pooping I hope to see more of it in the next few months.
Unfortunately I will be in china for next month’s night….but expect the tradition to carry on nevertheless.
First, a clarification: pre dinner drinks were at Guthrie’s tavern not Coogan’s which the organizer of the evening managed to incorrectly specify. I also do recall since it was I who was purchasing said drinks due to a posting indiscretion. Don was on board and graciously split the tab with me. Since we have already covered who split the dinner tab I will not go into the specifics of the “Cole Double Down” as it will now be known. Lesser crimes have been committed upon men held in penitentiaries. The round of drinks was concluded and the intrepid last crew jumped a cab due to the heavy rains. The atmosphere was far from the staid, conservative ambiance of many of our steakhouses. Loud and boisterous tables full of free flowing wine welcomed all. The extremely long bench seating proved to be quite a game of musical chairs that commenced once Glick decided to grace us with his presence. The empanadas were a bit greasy and heavy handed given the size of the steaks to come. the salad lacked any true flavor and should be skipped. The filet was my cut of choice but left much to be desired. It was a chore to cut and a bigger chore to chew. Luckily all was redeemed by a post dinner southport pub crawl. There truly is no need to get involved in shots on Steak Night but such was the case. Onward to June.
Attendance for the May 2011 edition of steak night went “up to 11”, as the full crew was there along with two special guests, PK and Balanaby.
The evening started at Guthrie’s for drinks, upon entering I thought perhaps they have an indoor pool because the stench of chlorine or some other chemical permeated the air. Drinks were compliments of Hans and Cole and the ever controversial rule number 4. Thanks for the cocktails gentlemen (notice the spelling Scotty).
Tango Sur is not a steak house, it has four cuts of steak on the menu but it is not a steak house in the traditional sense. The vibe, menu and crowd are vastly different from the many steak houses downtown that we have visited in the past. The empanadas were the highlight of the meal. I went with the ribeye that was topped with olive oil, garlic and parsley sauce, which was overwhelmingly salty and just ok. The steak was served with some run of the mill mashed potatoes. Thoresen didn’t need to be walked thru the sides because there were no sides for the group to share. Overall not really impressed with the food or the service. Although I guess that is somewhat expected given the relatively inexpensive price tag. It was nice not paying for everyone else’s wine for a change.
I finally won at credit card roulette…sort of. Winning at credit card roulette on this particular evening is like having sex with the hottest girl in your high school 10 years after graduation when she is no longer hot. Sure you slept with her but it’s not the same. Well I won but so did 9 of the 11 people there, it’s not the same as winning on another night. That being said it’s better to have sex with her then not have sex with her at all, so to speak.
As always steak night is one of the best nights of the month. The large crowd for dinner and after dinner drinks adding further to a great evening. I had a blast. The company is second to none. However in my opinion Tango Sur is not the right venue for steak night. Steak night should be in a steak house. A place with a liquor license, it’s own bar, plenty of sides, and the ambiance that comes with that.
They say that with great risk comes great reward, and certainly Mr. Holinger’s efforts this week would back that statement up. In what was a much anticipated “off the beaten path” steak night, I’d argue to say the change of pace was a welcome breather to what had become the steak night doldrums for this group.
While the pregame imbibing was up to par, and alas, free thanks to those who ignore the easy rules and have to pay up early and often, the real entree of the evening was the establishment….which was more than ready for us when we arrived and chock full of young women seeking eligible men. While the service was rather furious but not at all fast, the food and table we received did not disappoint. Thanks to the fellas who brought the wine I drank and to Jon Glick for once again making the steak night feel normal by showing up late while typing his blackberry. The reverse credit card roulette was much enjoyed by myself as I was the the “last man out” before the Cole/Glick combination was to go down in history as the first losers of the pay the other way of steak night.
Not one for pulling punches, I just have to come right out and say it – terrible choice; for a Steak Night, anyway. I was pretty geeked up about the May 2011 installment of Steak Night. We had a full house and two guests, one Balanaby and Von Kleinschmidt, which put a lot of pressure on Holingwa to deliver. If it was my decision, I would have gone with a five star steak house of Tavern, Joe’s or Capitol Grille quality. Tango Sur is clearly not of the same ilk.
I like Tango Sur’s atmosphere (as a restaurant, not necessarily a venue for Steak Night, Steak Night deserves mahogany and leather bound books…) and I like Tango Sur’s signature dishes. Being Steak Night and all, I felt compelled for some reason to go Rib-eye. Really my own fault. I could have told you what I was going to get before it came. This piece of meat was easily the worst Steak I have had since inception of this fine evening. I don’t think it was even USDA Choice meat. Clearly I made the wrong decision as a signature steak for two seemed to be the play. I am just happy I filled up on a ton of empanadas and sweet breads which were all delicious. I tried to be bold and make a run for the blood sausage but could not handle it.
I do have to give Hollingwa credit however, because I had a fantastic night. Way more fun then the previous month, that is for sure. Good times, great crowd, enough drinks to leave me crippled until 5pm the following day…. and all for free (thanks Cole and Glick).
Would I do Tango Sur again? Sure, why not. Would I do it on the First Thursday of any given month, ever again, for the rest of my life….not a chance.
This is why “Steak Night” is rightfully more about the friends, than the food. I had a wonderful time with gentlemen (man), but that’s where the goods of the night cease. Save the empanadas (although some question their efforts), the food is nothing special. Actually, it was one of the worse “steaks” I’ve had in a very long time. Which is a true shame because in the past the one thing you could always depend on from the Sur was a decent cut of meat and the low tab. Come to think of it, the only thing that now remains is the low tab (which Glick and I were fortunate of losing the rights to paying). 4 out of 10.
This was my second Chicago steak night experience. The first being Joe’s last August. Oddly enough the night at Joe’s happened to be my “birthday” although my actually birthday fell 3 days after Tango Sur. Two very different restaurants and very different experiences. It was a pleasure to have the full group plus PK out this time
I’ll start by calling Tango Sur a courageous pick by Holinger. Although not what I would consider a steak house, it did fit the bill of at least 4 cuts on the menu. I ordered the rib eye and it kind of sucked. Empanadas were good but not a steak house item. I also tried sweetbreads and blood sausage for the first time. I surprised myself by liking the sweetbreads although I will probably never try blood sausage again. That probably looked better on the way out (Rick I apologize to your toilet). The women were certainly better than those at a steakhouse and if I did it all over again I would have taken a seat looking out at the restaurant and the women, not at the wall.
I would go back to Tango Sur for dinner but not for steak night. I’ll rate it as a 6 as a restaurant but a 2 as a steak night choice although I didn’t pay so no complaints here. See you in August
Heading into the wild of the North side of Chicago was a nice reprieve from the usual urban jungle of downtown. We started at a local Wrigleyville favorite, Coogan’s and enjoyed several, much less expensive beverages than would have been available at our usual locales. What a pleasure to again welcome some out of town guests: Balanaby and PK, both hailing from the East Coast.
Upon moving to the main event, Tango Sur, it was apparent that we were in for an interesting evening: in spite of a large group of people waiting outside, eying the darkening skies, we were brought in almost immediately and seated at a table fit for a full court (a la King Arthur’s; and this was not brought up do to the recent Royal Wedding). Empanadas were ordered immediately (5 of each flavor; con carne, pollo, jamon con queso o espinaca con queso argentina turnovers with choice of beef, chicken, ham & cheese or spinach & cheese) and wine bottles were opened – by the way, thanks to those who brought them! The empanadas were done perfectly and, frankly, were a little much considering the second course of salad that was brought… can’t remember if Glick had arrived by the time the salad course was delivered.
Once the meat arrived it was obvious who had ordered well: Mr. Daddy-o Martin and yours truly walked away with the crown thanks to the stellar shared Argentinian specialty Lomo Relleno: a half slab argentine filet sliced and filled with a chimichurri, ham sauce then cooked and served on a grill with portabella marsala. Ideal for two indeed. Unfortunately, it did not sound as though the rest of the group was satisfied with how cooked their cuts were.
At the end of the night, the check came and was so reasonable that a traditional-esque version of credit card roulette was engaged: 2 gentlemen split the tab and the majority waked away with a little more than expected.
A Night of Numbers……
11 – The most people ever to attend Steak Night
340 – The bill – cheapest on record
2 – Houston Girls that pulled the credit cards for payment
60 – The dollar amount of the gift certificate added for the good of the group
45 – Minutes late to dinner – Mr. Glick
9 – The number of people who walked free thanks to payment by Mr. Glick and Mr. Cole
8 – Bottles of wine consumed
3 – The rating for our lack of service
9 – Rating for the vibrant atmosphere
6 – Rating for my strip steak
Priceless – A night on the town with the boys
awesome steaks, awesome locale, awesome talent picking the cards. Painful experience paying half the tab but thanks to Jevon(and Charlotte)’s generosity not to mention watching Richard Joelle finally pop the elusive cherry it was well worth it. If we played under normal rules and it came down to Don and I for who would walk we may have had a riot on our hands.
Bonus pts for the post dinner drinks turnout. Now that the weather is turning in our favor and babies are pooping I hope to see more of it in the next few months.
Unfortunately I will be in china for next month’s night….but expect the tradition to carry on nevertheless.
Overall rating: 8
First, a clarification: pre dinner drinks were at Guthrie’s tavern not Coogan’s which the organizer of the evening managed to incorrectly specify. I also do recall since it was I who was purchasing said drinks due to a posting indiscretion. Don was on board and graciously split the tab with me. Since we have already covered who split the dinner tab I will not go into the specifics of the “Cole Double Down” as it will now be known. Lesser crimes have been committed upon men held in penitentiaries. The round of drinks was concluded and the intrepid last crew jumped a cab due to the heavy rains. The atmosphere was far from the staid, conservative ambiance of many of our steakhouses. Loud and boisterous tables full of free flowing wine welcomed all. The extremely long bench seating proved to be quite a game of musical chairs that commenced once Glick decided to grace us with his presence. The empanadas were a bit greasy and heavy handed given the size of the steaks to come. the salad lacked any true flavor and should be skipped. The filet was my cut of choice but left much to be desired. It was a chore to cut and a bigger chore to chew. Luckily all was redeemed by a post dinner southport pub crawl. There truly is no need to get involved in shots on Steak Night but such was the case. Onward to June.
Attendance for the May 2011 edition of steak night went “up to 11”, as the full crew was there along with two special guests, PK and Balanaby.
The evening started at Guthrie’s for drinks, upon entering I thought perhaps they have an indoor pool because the stench of chlorine or some other chemical permeated the air. Drinks were compliments of Hans and Cole and the ever controversial rule number 4. Thanks for the cocktails gentlemen (notice the spelling Scotty).
Tango Sur is not a steak house, it has four cuts of steak on the menu but it is not a steak house in the traditional sense. The vibe, menu and crowd are vastly different from the many steak houses downtown that we have visited in the past. The empanadas were the highlight of the meal. I went with the ribeye that was topped with olive oil, garlic and parsley sauce, which was overwhelmingly salty and just ok. The steak was served with some run of the mill mashed potatoes. Thoresen didn’t need to be walked thru the sides because there were no sides for the group to share. Overall not really impressed with the food or the service. Although I guess that is somewhat expected given the relatively inexpensive price tag. It was nice not paying for everyone else’s wine for a change.
I finally won at credit card roulette…sort of. Winning at credit card roulette on this particular evening is like having sex with the hottest girl in your high school 10 years after graduation when she is no longer hot. Sure you slept with her but it’s not the same. Well I won but so did 9 of the 11 people there, it’s not the same as winning on another night. That being said it’s better to have sex with her then not have sex with her at all, so to speak.
As always steak night is one of the best nights of the month. The large crowd for dinner and after dinner drinks adding further to a great evening. I had a blast. The company is second to none. However in my opinion Tango Sur is not the right venue for steak night. Steak night should be in a steak house. A place with a liquor license, it’s own bar, plenty of sides, and the ambiance that comes with that.
Daddy Gimms is in the batter’s box for June.
Tango Sur, may I have anotha!
They say that with great risk comes great reward, and certainly Mr. Holinger’s efforts this week would back that statement up. In what was a much anticipated “off the beaten path” steak night, I’d argue to say the change of pace was a welcome breather to what had become the steak night doldrums for this group.
While the pregame imbibing was up to par, and alas, free thanks to those who ignore the easy rules and have to pay up early and often, the real entree of the evening was the establishment….which was more than ready for us when we arrived and chock full of young women seeking eligible men. While the service was rather furious but not at all fast, the food and table we received did not disappoint. Thanks to the fellas who brought the wine I drank and to Jon Glick for once again making the steak night feel normal by showing up late while typing his blackberry. The reverse credit card roulette was much enjoyed by myself as I was the the “last man out” before the Cole/Glick combination was to go down in history as the first losers of the pay the other way of steak night.
Not one for pulling punches, I just have to come right out and say it – terrible choice; for a Steak Night, anyway. I was pretty geeked up about the May 2011 installment of Steak Night. We had a full house and two guests, one Balanaby and Von Kleinschmidt, which put a lot of pressure on Holingwa to deliver. If it was my decision, I would have gone with a five star steak house of Tavern, Joe’s or Capitol Grille quality. Tango Sur is clearly not of the same ilk.
I like Tango Sur’s atmosphere (as a restaurant, not necessarily a venue for Steak Night, Steak Night deserves mahogany and leather bound books…) and I like Tango Sur’s signature dishes. Being Steak Night and all, I felt compelled for some reason to go Rib-eye. Really my own fault. I could have told you what I was going to get before it came. This piece of meat was easily the worst Steak I have had since inception of this fine evening. I don’t think it was even USDA Choice meat. Clearly I made the wrong decision as a signature steak for two seemed to be the play. I am just happy I filled up on a ton of empanadas and sweet breads which were all delicious. I tried to be bold and make a run for the blood sausage but could not handle it.
I do have to give Hollingwa credit however, because I had a fantastic night. Way more fun then the previous month, that is for sure. Good times, great crowd, enough drinks to leave me crippled until 5pm the following day…. and all for free (thanks Cole and Glick).
Would I do Tango Sur again? Sure, why not. Would I do it on the First Thursday of any given month, ever again, for the rest of my life….not a chance.
This is why “Steak Night” is rightfully more about the friends, than the food. I had a wonderful time with gentlemen (man), but that’s where the goods of the night cease. Save the empanadas (although some question their efforts), the food is nothing special. Actually, it was one of the worse “steaks” I’ve had in a very long time. Which is a true shame because in the past the one thing you could always depend on from the Sur was a decent cut of meat and the low tab. Come to think of it, the only thing that now remains is the low tab (which Glick and I were fortunate of losing the rights to paying). 4 out of 10.
This was my second Chicago steak night experience. The first being Joe’s last August. Oddly enough the night at Joe’s happened to be my “birthday” although my actually birthday fell 3 days after Tango Sur. Two very different restaurants and very different experiences. It was a pleasure to have the full group plus PK out this time
I’ll start by calling Tango Sur a courageous pick by Holinger. Although not what I would consider a steak house, it did fit the bill of at least 4 cuts on the menu. I ordered the rib eye and it kind of sucked. Empanadas were good but not a steak house item. I also tried sweetbreads and blood sausage for the first time. I surprised myself by liking the sweetbreads although I will probably never try blood sausage again. That probably looked better on the way out (Rick I apologize to your toilet). The women were certainly better than those at a steakhouse and if I did it all over again I would have taken a seat looking out at the restaurant and the women, not at the wall.
I would go back to Tango Sur for dinner but not for steak night. I’ll rate it as a 6 as a restaurant but a 2 as a steak night choice although I didn’t pay so no complaints here. See you in August