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2800 Sage Rd A-100
Houston, TX 77056
713-629-8646
www.tangomalbec.com

121110 — Tango and Malbec, another restaurant lighting up the stream of tweets on my phone and computer. Since I was headed out to the Galleria, I decided to make this my lunch destination today. I am damn happy that I came here today.

As I ventured into the parking lot, i was a bit worried about the lack of cars and customers in the immediate parking lot. For a Saturday during what I consider to be “late lunch” time, there were certainly no cars in front of the restaurant. This was eerily similar to Valentino and Samba Grille. Valentino failed to impress, while Samba Grille was a great late lunch for my girlfriend and I. This left me wondering what route Tango and Malbec would sway to. As we entered the restaurant, there was no one to greet us at the host stand. As we stood there for a few minutes I decided to go inside to the bar to confirm if lunch service was still going on. They happily showed us to any table of our choice and were instantly greeted with bread, and water.

We looked over the lunch menu and inquired about the executive lunch at a bargain of $15 for the three course meal. That wasn’t quite the route we wanted to go, so Annie ordered the Ensalada de Mango (Mango, avocado, red onion served with Mango vinaigrette) and the El Nadador (Roasted Salmon served on a bed of spinach and salsa fresca). I decided on some a beef and a chicken empanada as well as the Beef Chivito. I loved the empanada’s, flaky crust with piping hot meat that smelled wonderful. Annie wanted to satisfy her Mango fix after watching the Iron Chef battle with Gadsby and Plinio last night, which manifested itself in the Ensalada de Mango. I had this image of mixed greens with slices of avocado and mango hastily placed on top. I couldn’t have been further from that idea. What came out was this gorgeous tower of onions and mangos with a drizzle of mango vinaigrette. Wonderful. The same could be said about her salmon, gorgeous colors a top the salmon as well as underneath. I was completely in love with what my girlfriend had. As for my dish, while I loved the components, french fries, eggs, bacon and beef, I just wasn’t in love with the dish as a whole. Something was lacking, that wasn’t in my girlfriend’s dishes.

I’ll have to come back for dinner before I give a final decision on the rating, but if I keep along the lines of what Annie ordered, I’ll be back in that happy place at Tango and Malbec.

3.5/5: Fresh Mango Salad and great Salmon make for a great lunch before the hectic shopping season at the mall.