Thought I'd squeeze in a quick restaurant review since I've been slacking on updating my blog once again!
Yesterday, a friend and I went on a free Downtown Honolulu architectural tour, which I will write about sometime soon. After the tour ended, we were in search of food. After much discussion, we unanimously decided to try Tango Contemporary Cafe, which neither of us have tried before, but we both heard good things about.
Tango Cafe is located next to P.F. Chang's, right down the street from Ward Centre. We tried parking in the parking lot behind the Cafe (which is actually part of a condo whose name escapes me). We pull up to the thingy where you push the button to get a ticket. I push the button. Nothing happens. I push the button again. Still nothing. My friend leans over and says, "it's out of tickets!" Sure enough, the digital screen is saying the machine thingy is out of tickets. "Their loss," I say. We end up parking at Ward Centre and walking. We already walked 20 miles on the architectural tour, what's another mile? (Slight exaggeration, but not much!)
Considering it was after 2:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, it was quite crowded, but there were seats available. It took them a couple of minutes to seat us, but we had time to look over the menus posted in little stands near the entrance. Prices were quite reasonable for lunch, ranging about $6 - $14. Many items were $10 or less. We were provided menus and water promptly, and a server came to ask us if we wanted anything else to drink a minute or two later. My friend and I both ordered Italian sodas, mango for her, passion fruit for me. Cream was provided on the side. These cost about $2.75 and were okay. I think my friend liked hers more than I liked mine. Next time, I'm going to try an iced tea.
We both started with the sweet caramelized onion soup ($5.50). This was not exactly like a traditional French onion soup, but it was very yummy, and probably a lot healthier than French onion soup since there wasn't a layer of cheese on top of it. The onions and broth were very tasty, and it was topped with a slice of French bread which was topped with just a little bit of cheese (parmesan I think). This was a nice start to the meal.
We both struggled in deciding what to order and were craning our necks looking at what other people were eating. The couple next to us had a portabello "burger," which was basically a portabello mushroom sandwich and did not involve any hamburger, and a ham, salami, and brie on naan bread sandwich, which both my friend and I considered. I finally decided on a classic burger ($8.25) and my friend ordered the herb butter sirloin steak ($13.50).
We were both pleased with our selections. My burger was served on a really yummy, soft, bun that looked healthy (it had seeds and stuff on the top), but it tasted really good! Mayo was on the bun, and there were onions, lettuce, and tomatoes on the burger. The hamburger itself was very tasty and tasted very homemade. I was offered fries or greens, and I chose the fries. They were thick, but not quite as thick as steak fries, and were nicely salted. I was given mustard and ketchup on the side. There was also a small side of what seemed like a carrot/raisin slaw. I'm not a fan of raisins, but I did eat the carrots which were good. They probably would have been good on the burger.
My friend's steak looked REALLY good, and it impressed our neighbors (with the portabello sandwich and naan bread). At first, they placed the plate in front of my friend which only had fries and something else I can't remember at the moment. As a side note, although I had my camera on me, it completely slipped my mind to take pictures during lunch! Anyhow, another server followed with a cedar plan with the steak on it, already sliced, with the herb butter on top. It looked and tasted yummy! The menu says it's a 6 oz piece, but it seemed bigger, especially since my friend ordered it well done and it must've shrunk quite a bit. Because our neighbors were in awe of the steak, I took the opportunity to ask her (the one with the naan bread) how her sandwich was, and she said she enjoyed it. In the meantime, the guy with the portabello sandwich asked one of the servers where he'd seen him before. Turns out a bunch of the servers previously worked at On Jin's, which has since closed. I got the impression that the portabello mushroom dude was a frequent diner at On Jin's and may now choose Tango Cafe as his new frequent dining spot.
While we were eating our meals, we discussed whether or not we would order dessert because the menu looked so good. Then, our neighbors on the other side received their desserts: one had crepes, the other bread pudding. We were sold. I cut my burger eating short so I'd have room for dessert. My friend ordered the crepes. The waitress thought we would be sharing...how silly. I ordered the lemon creme brulee and a cup of coffee, which they make fresh.
The crepes, I think 3 of them, were served with a warm berry compote and a scoop of vanilla ice creme. The lemon verbana creme brulee was served with berries on the side as well. The coffee arrived with a slight foam on the top, and although it was a bit strong for my taste, it was very good coffee, and it's strength was toned down by my liberal sprinkling of splenda and splashes of cream.
We ended up spending about $50 for all of this, but it was worth it. The food and service were both very good. I probably will just stick to an entree and an iced tea the next time, but this was a splurge since it was our first time and we were also very hungry after our urban hike. I am also anxious to try dinner there, which is slightly more expensive.
A couple of observations: I was ogling some other things that other guests were eating that looked really good, like the salmon salad and trio of sandwiches (the trio can change daily). Our neighbor's bread pudding looked excellent too. They seemed to try to make things slightly healthy here, but in a balanced way -- nothing looked like it would taste like cardboard. I noticed that they use a light hand with ingredients like cheese, and they have healthy options like salads and greens instead of fries. And the sandwich buns have grains in them, but I can tell you that mine was nice and soft and looked like white bread, except it was sprinkled with some oats and nuts on the top.
They also serve breakfast, which I hope to try someday. Give this place a try, and tell your friends about it. But not too many friends. We don't want TOO many people to find out about it and crowd the rest of us out!
Tango Cafe is located next to P.F. Chang's, right down the street from Ward Centre. We tried parking in the parking lot behind the Cafe (which is actually part of a condo whose name escapes me). We pull up to the thingy where you push the button to get a ticket. I push the button. Nothing happens. I push the button again. Still nothing. My friend leans over and says, "it's out of tickets!" Sure enough, the digital screen is saying the machine thingy is out of tickets. "Their loss," I say. We end up parking at Ward Centre and walking. We already walked 20 miles on the architectural tour, what's another mile? (Slight exaggeration, but not much!)
Considering it was after 2:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, it was quite crowded, but there were seats available. It took them a couple of minutes to seat us, but we had time to look over the menus posted in little stands near the entrance. Prices were quite reasonable for lunch, ranging about $6 - $14. Many items were $10 or less. We were provided menus and water promptly, and a server came to ask us if we wanted anything else to drink a minute or two later. My friend and I both ordered Italian sodas, mango for her, passion fruit for me. Cream was provided on the side. These cost about $2.75 and were okay. I think my friend liked hers more than I liked mine. Next time, I'm going to try an iced tea.
We both started with the sweet caramelized onion soup ($5.50). This was not exactly like a traditional French onion soup, but it was very yummy, and probably a lot healthier than French onion soup since there wasn't a layer of cheese on top of it. The onions and broth were very tasty, and it was topped with a slice of French bread which was topped with just a little bit of cheese (parmesan I think). This was a nice start to the meal.
We both struggled in deciding what to order and were craning our necks looking at what other people were eating. The couple next to us had a portabello "burger," which was basically a portabello mushroom sandwich and did not involve any hamburger, and a ham, salami, and brie on naan bread sandwich, which both my friend and I considered. I finally decided on a classic burger ($8.25) and my friend ordered the herb butter sirloin steak ($13.50).
We were both pleased with our selections. My burger was served on a really yummy, soft, bun that looked healthy (it had seeds and stuff on the top), but it tasted really good! Mayo was on the bun, and there were onions, lettuce, and tomatoes on the burger. The hamburger itself was very tasty and tasted very homemade. I was offered fries or greens, and I chose the fries. They were thick, but not quite as thick as steak fries, and were nicely salted. I was given mustard and ketchup on the side. There was also a small side of what seemed like a carrot/raisin slaw. I'm not a fan of raisins, but I did eat the carrots which were good. They probably would have been good on the burger.
My friend's steak looked REALLY good, and it impressed our neighbors (with the portabello sandwich and naan bread). At first, they placed the plate in front of my friend which only had fries and something else I can't remember at the moment. As a side note, although I had my camera on me, it completely slipped my mind to take pictures during lunch! Anyhow, another server followed with a cedar plan with the steak on it, already sliced, with the herb butter on top. It looked and tasted yummy! The menu says it's a 6 oz piece, but it seemed bigger, especially since my friend ordered it well done and it must've shrunk quite a bit. Because our neighbors were in awe of the steak, I took the opportunity to ask her (the one with the naan bread) how her sandwich was, and she said she enjoyed it. In the meantime, the guy with the portabello sandwich asked one of the servers where he'd seen him before. Turns out a bunch of the servers previously worked at On Jin's, which has since closed. I got the impression that the portabello mushroom dude was a frequent diner at On Jin's and may now choose Tango Cafe as his new frequent dining spot.
While we were eating our meals, we discussed whether or not we would order dessert because the menu looked so good. Then, our neighbors on the other side received their desserts: one had crepes, the other bread pudding. We were sold. I cut my burger eating short so I'd have room for dessert. My friend ordered the crepes. The waitress thought we would be sharing...how silly. I ordered the lemon creme brulee and a cup of coffee, which they make fresh.
The crepes, I think 3 of them, were served with a warm berry compote and a scoop of vanilla ice creme. The lemon verbana creme brulee was served with berries on the side as well. The coffee arrived with a slight foam on the top, and although it was a bit strong for my taste, it was very good coffee, and it's strength was toned down by my liberal sprinkling of splenda and splashes of cream.
We ended up spending about $50 for all of this, but it was worth it. The food and service were both very good. I probably will just stick to an entree and an iced tea the next time, but this was a splurge since it was our first time and we were also very hungry after our urban hike. I am also anxious to try dinner there, which is slightly more expensive.
A couple of observations: I was ogling some other things that other guests were eating that looked really good, like the salmon salad and trio of sandwiches (the trio can change daily). Our neighbor's bread pudding looked excellent too. They seemed to try to make things slightly healthy here, but in a balanced way -- nothing looked like it would taste like cardboard. I noticed that they use a light hand with ingredients like cheese, and they have healthy options like salads and greens instead of fries. And the sandwich buns have grains in them, but I can tell you that mine was nice and soft and looked like white bread, except it was sprinkled with some oats and nuts on the top.
They also serve breakfast, which I hope to try someday. Give this place a try, and tell your friends about it. But not too many friends. We don't want TOO many people to find out about it and crowd the rest of us out!
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