3. Tango is the newest venture in the Smuggler's Inn
building. It's been open about a year, and I was
pleasantly surprised with what it's turned into.
Smuggler's is legendary for it's 70's decor as well as
it's prime rib, and Tango is also retro, but in a different
way. Whereas Smuggler's is dark and cavernous, Tango
is quite light and California-mod. You could picture it
being in an episode of Hart to Hart, if you want to date
yourself the way I just did. The neat thing is, they've
done all these renovations but kept to me what was the
most quintessentially Smuggler's thing about the space
- the gigantic fireplace that's raised about three feet
off the floor.
4. While the space may have touches of the 70's, none of
the staff appear to have been alive during that decade.
Maybe it was just the night we visited, but everyone we
saw was under 25. They were all very pleasant, but
fumbled some pretty straightforward questions. A little
more knowledge wouldn't hurt, and that will likely come
with experience. The menu, like the staff, is modern. All
tapas, all the time. Though there are a couple of 'mains'
on the restaurants in calgary menu, even those are
specified 'small'. This is a chance to share many dishes,
and that's exactly what we did.
5. Of the two platters we ordered, the seafood was our
favourite. On it, the ceviche stood out because there was
no fish in it whatsoever, just scallops and shrimp, which
made it seem more special than a typical ceviche. We also
loved the shrimp fried crispy, not greasy, in a wonton
wrapper crust. The calamari was well done. Surprisingly, I
wasn't crazy about the ahi tuna, which I normally Iove,
but this just wasn't that flavourful.
6. The cheese platter was a nice set of mild varieties (a
blue, a cheddar, a chevre) - nothing too funky. The
homemade preserves alongside were definitely the most
unique thing on the plate. They contained caraway
seeds, which I normally find overpowering, but it
worked pretty well with the raisins.
An update on a traditional Hawaiian pizza was in the
capicolla ham and pineapple flatbread. The spicy and
sweet flavours danced well together, and the crust was
thin, but still nicely chewy.
7. Since we're doing true confessions in this column
already, I'm going to go ahead and admit the Cajun
chicken egg rolls were my favourite dish of the night,
and why. I love Chili's southwestern egg rolls. They are
one of my favourite chain-restaurant menu items
anywhere. Tango's version are what Chili's want to be
when they grow up, creamier and more subtly-flavoured.
They're sided with the same chipotle aioli as the yam
fries we tried, which are a solid, mid-thickness, mid-
crispness fry.
