More in south american explorations and comparisons:
We went to Las Tablas Steak House last night and there were interesting differences between it and our usual Argentinian Nandu meals which I am not sure whether they are cultural, or restaurant specific.
First the Empanada at Las Tablas (only one kind, with ground meat, rice, and potato, egg, are rolled in cornmeal (yellow) and look shaped my hand (like the inside of a fist). They are tasty but a bit drier than Nandu (which comes in puff pastry/dough and are deep fried as shown above) -- Nandu also has a variety including corn, shrimp, spinach, and ham and cheese in addition to the beef.
The chimchurri also seemed to be a bit waterier than Nandu, or perhaps with less garlic or vinegar? Maybe just due to this being a very busy saturday night and they needed to stretch it!
The appetizers also included cheesy corn bread, cheesy corn bread with chorizo, and cheesy corn bread with cheese.
We got one of each
The cheesy corn bread looks a bit like a sope. A white cornmeal griddle fried disc. Inside there was a dry white cheese. This was sort of dry on its own, very delicate cheese flavor.
The cheese corn bread with cheese, was covered with cheese and tomatoes and onions. This was (bland) white gooey cheese -- and the salsa and cheese made this almost like nachos. All the delicate taste of the arepas were lost in the toppings, but it did have more flavor that way and that plate was left clean.
The chorizo con arepa was lovely, moist on the inside and charred on the outside and nicely spiced (not too hot) with some herbs that brought out the sweetness of the meat. This was chorizo in the portugeuse tradition (a meat sausage almost like a bratwurst) and not the mexican breakfast meat with paprika/red pepper. Very nicely paired with the corn cake. I thought this was a fine sausage, and the highlight of the meal!
For entries, I ordered the Churrasco medium rare (NY strip with chimchurri and fried plantains). The fried plantains were key (I am not a big fan of potato or yuca). So the steak I ordered did come with the plantains and a yuca piece, but the rest of my sides never arrived, so I could not cross reference what they thought they served me. Looked a bit more like a ribeye to me than a strip. was cut thin (maybe half an inch) and grilled with the marinade (so no real sear on the steak, but a nice sauce left on the grill). Perfectly fine, and a large serving of the steak. I think everyone that got the steak was satisfied.
We usually get the shortribs and sweetmeats at Nandu, so there's really not a direct comparison here. Depends what kinds of cheap meat you prefer to have marinated, salted and chargrilled
The other main entree we got was char-grilled pulpitos, which came out too heavy on the char. They were burnt, rubbery and with no flavor other than the char. A dissappointment since I love the flavor of Iberico's octopus and was really hoping for a moist garlicy plate of baby octopi. Another friend had a better batch which he claimed were moister and less burnt (after he finished his own and reached over to see why there were some left on our plates. He took a taste and found out why).
The vegetarian paella was a creative inclusion on a south american steak house menu that was well received by the non-meat eater in the crowd.
Saturday was clearly a rough night for the staff -- very busy, and the quality was inconsistent. The BYOB at Las Tablas may contribute to its popularity. Almost every person brought their own bottle of wine (and in a nice gesture we saw a party on their way out donate an undrunk bottle to an empty-handed couple who were waiting in line for a table.) The closest liquor store is Jewel on Ashland, so plan ahead.
Las Tablas
2965 N. Lincoln Ave