***** Many years ago, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at La Tasca Tapas in Arlington Heights. During these years our world has gone through many changes and businesses have either failed or succeeded. Tonight, we were going back to Arlington Heights to see the changes at Metropolis Theater ( see my review of their “9 to 5: The Musical” at Theater) and figured, why not park and dine, then walk to the Metropolis? La Tasca is only one block, door- to- door.
For those of you unfamiliar with the word, Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold ( like mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as chopitos, fried baby squid). There are also large plates and of course paellas.
La Tasca has been serving Arlington Heights and the surrounding area for many years and has even added a series of wonderful burgers to make sure that everyone can have a nice dinner. Let’s face it, there are always those in every family that will only eat burgers and of course, kids are big on chicken fingers and mac n’ cheese, so they have those as well. We were there for Tapas and our server Maya assured us that she would make sure we knew what was “hot” and what was “not”!. She was perfecto!
We started our tasting with a few Tapas Frias ( cold dishes). The seafood plate was the Ensalada Pavo Real ( endive, smoked salmon, red onion, caper, chive and egg) which was delicious and an assortment of meats and cheeses called Embutidos. The Manchego cheese was tasty and the variety of meats were juicy and tasty. While these are small plates, there was enough for four of us to dig in.
Next came the Tapas Calientes ( hot) and we had a wide assortment of these.. One of my favorite dishes is Delicias Andaluzas (bacon wrapped dates in a red pepper butter- to die for) and these were the best of the best that I have ever tasted. our other “hot” plates were the Queso De Cabra Al Horno ( herbed goat cheese baked in tomato basil sauce, toasted baguettes with tomato, garlic and olive oil puree), followed by Pulpitos A La Gallega ( gamician-style charred octopus, paprika, olive oil, oregano, lemon and red potato) and Gambas Al Ajillo ( 
sauteed garlic shrimp, wine, olive oil and chiles- a little kick, but if you can handle the kick, well worth the adventure).
The rest of the meal was from the meat menu: Pincho De Solomillo ( beef tenderloin & mushroom skewer with shoestring potatoes and sour cream- an unexpected delightful flavor), and then two different lamb chop plates; the Chuletas Romesco (charbroiled chops in aspiced Romesco roasted red pepper and almond sauce) and Cordero ( charbroiled but with Shishido peppers).
For dessert ( postres) we shared three items. The flan de caramelo was amazingly silky, and the Tarta de Queso ( vanilla cheesecake, chocolate glaze with a cookie crust and a raspberry sauce) were amazing, but my favorite was the Plantanos al Caramelo ( sautéed banana, homemade ice cream, caramel and pistachios ),worth the drive to Arlington heights, just for this dessert!
They also have larger plates, but to be honest, the portions are great for sharing and one of the beautiful parts of dining in a tapas restaurant is the opportunity to try some new flavors and tastes. I did see one of their burgers go by so I must show you that for those who have someone in their party who prefers to just order the burger.
La Tasca Tapas is located at 25 West Davis Street in Arlington Heights, with plenty of parking. They have two different dining areas and a bar that can offer you some of the best wines and beers to go with their fabulous menu.
They are open every day for dinner ( week-ends for lunch)
Monday-Thursday 4 p.m.- 10 p.m.
Friday 4 p.m.-11 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 11:30 a.m.- 10 p.m.
Their phone is 847-398-2400 website www.LaTascaTapas.com
Enjoy! I know we did and found that tapas dining is fun too!
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