
I know it’s gimmicky, but I can’t help checking out the Buenos Aires Grill every couple of times I’m in Seattle. I’m a sucker for a dark bar and a big glass of Malbec anyways but combine it with tango dancing and I’ll admit – I don’t even care what the food tastes like.
Imagine my surprise then, when a coworker took me to Tango Restaurant. Seattle has more than one Argentine restaurant and we don’t have any?! Not fair. The blow was softened by the fact that there is no actual dancing at Tango, and the food is not truly Argentine:
The tango dance was flavored by ingredients of dance from Spain, Cuba and South America. At Tango Restaurant we use the history of the tango as a guide for our latin infused food and drink.
The food, however, is delicious. We were hungry so we ordered a paella – the meat one, Con Carnes Rioja – with veal stock, peppers, onions, paprika, linquiça sausage, pork tenderloin and I think ours had lamb even though it’s not mentioned on the menu. It is a huge mess of food and takes some time to prepare. While we waited, we sipped a decadent pinot noir and were systematically tortured by the man sitting beside us at the bar, reading a kindle. Boquerones, traditional Spanish tapas including sardines, stuffed cheese, cured meats, spiced pork and more came parading past and small plates piled up around him while we drooled and I made a mental checklist for next time.
But the paella did not disappoint at all. It is a huge mess of a meal, under no circumstances to be attempted by a solo diner and comes out piled high with fragrant rice, peppers, sausage and meat. What I had assumed was chorizo while I was eating it turned out to be linquiça when I went back to look at the menu online. And, not being able to find a suitable definition on the internet, sent an inquiry to Tango. They called back within minutes to explain that linquiça is a cured Portuguese sausage made with garlic and paprika. I was so very impressed and now I’m planning a trip back down so I can try it (along with all the tapas) again. Given that it is meant to feed 2-4 people and we barely made a dent though, I’m going to have to bring an entourage or stay somewhere with a fridge so I can make sure nothing gets wasted.
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Tango
1100 Pike Street, Seattle






















