Not too long ago I decided to plan a “date night” for my wife and me. I started by getting tickets for a show at the Paramount. Then I followed it up by searching for a place to go for dinner. Having just returned from a trip to Thailand, anything Asian didn’t seem right. And I wanted to find a place that was within walking distance to the theater. So after a quick search, I settled on Tango. Tapas sounded like a winner, and I follow them on Twitter, so I figured it was a perfect match.
I had made a reservation at Tango, managing to get in at 6 on Saturday. It was a little earlier than I wanted to go, but the next available time was after 8, so it was the only one that worked for our plans. We were seated at a small table by the window that was back in the corner away from the hustle and bustle of the restaurant. There was a good buzz, but it wasn’t so loud that we couldn’t enjoy a pleasant conversation. We each ordered a glass of wine and then started looking through the menu for the various options. Not feeling super hungry, we decided that we would just share 3 different tapas.
The first plate that we ordered was the Croquetas de Papas. These are a potato croquette that has been fried. They came with a smoked tomato jam and some cotija cheese. I thought that they were pretty good. They had a nice crunch on the outside, and the inside was the consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes. By themselves, the croquettas were a little dry, but the smoked tomato jam added a little bit of moisture, and a lot of flavor. The jam was actually more sweet than smokey, and if I hadn’t read the description, I never would have guessed smokey. But, it was good, and if the amount of jam had been doubled, I think that this would have been a fantastic dish rather than just a pretty good dish.
As we were finishing up the croquetas, our second dish, carnitas del puerco arrived; followed shortly by our third dish, the calarmares. The carnitas was a shredded pork dish, seasoned with cinnamon and chili. It appeared to be slow-cooked and arrived soaking in its own juices. It was accompanied by a spicy salsa verde and flour tortillas (rather than the corn that I expected). The meat was very juicy and flavorful, and not too spicy. I didn’t really detect the cinnamon flavor in the dish, but the chili definitely came through. The salsa verde added a nice little kick that balanced the pork very well.
Finally, we dove into the Calamares. It was sauteed and served in a broth of tomatoes, poblanos, cilantro and lime. The calamari was very tender, but really didn’t offer a lot of flavor. If I was just eating the stew of the peppers and tomatoes, I don’t feel like I really would have been missing too much. That being said, I think that the rest of the stew was good, though I would have preferred a little more heat.
After the last dish, we wrapped up our dinner, and headed toward the Paramount. It was a good dinner, with the carnitas being the best dish, and a good atmosphere, but nothing was really overwhelming or blew us away. I admit, I have been a little biased with my last two tapas dinners being at Jose Garces restaurants, but was hoping for a little more. It was good enough that if someone said they were planning on going to Tango, I would say go for it. But, with all of the different options available in Seattle, it didn’t do quite enough to get me to “must revisit” or “must recommend” status.
Final Verdict – 3.5 Stars
