The Argentos Carne — Restaurant in Denver

Don't be fooled by the mural! The mural that covers the south exterior of this restaurant is a left-over from the days when it was a Salvadoran restaurant, El Tazumal, selling pupusas. The mural was painted by Markarius Williams, and depicts the lush scenery and vibrant culture of Central American - not the treeless pampas that stretch across Argentina.

Don't be fooled by the interior, either. The small dining room has a modern, utilitarian coolness. It looks like it's for hipsters. Blacks and whites, mostly, accented with souvenirs of Messi, the incredible footballer, and a display of Argentinian candy.

You won't be fooled by the food. This is authentic Argentinian street food, as the manager told me, which tends toward sandwiches stuffed with various meats and lots of chimichurri on the side. Not the pupusas shown in the mural (although they do have empanadas, a close cousin in the world of cuisine). And not just for hipsters; when I visited there were hipsters, sure, but also an older couple, too, and three guys stopping in from a nearby construction site.

I ordered the choripan, house-made sausage that is a blend of pork and beef, simmered in red wine, paprika, and various seasonings. All the menu items are made in the small kitchen behind the counter, everything fresh daily - except for their bread, which is still quite yummy. The abundant sauces included chimichurri (olive oil, vinegar, garlic, onion, parsley), criolla (like pico de gallo, but with olive oil), and salsa golf ( a creamy dressing of mayonnaise, salsa, and garlic).

The choripan sandwich was very enjoyable. The sausage was soft and chewy, no char at all, with a pleasant lingering tanginess. It was dressed with lettuce, tomato, and a bit of criolla. The bun was perfect; it seemed as though it had been baked moments before. I ended up using lots of golf, and I used that on my fries, too, instead of ketchup. The seasoned fries - potato wedges, really - were not too crisp, not too soft, but just right. My sandwich was a bit expensive, but it was LARGE. Nine inches and thick. I could easily have taken half home for later... if I had a little more self-control.

P.S. The manager-owner replied to my review, so I want to clarify that when I wrote "Don't be fooled," I meant this in a humorous fashion. I did not think he or his restaurant were REALLY trying to fool anyone! He is very sincere, not to mention hard-working and gracious. I'm glad that he kept the mural from the space's previous incarnation - it's beautiful! - and I like the interior design of the restaurant, too. He also asked why I only gave three stars. That was my mistake, an oversight. I'm upgrading my score to four stars, and will probably give it five if the quality is as good on my second visit. I'm fairly sure that it will be. I hope I can schedule that...

The bathroom was pretty clean. This was the positive point of the visit. We went by yesterday, Francisco, the only attendant in place was agreeable but a tad morose. We bought a dozen meat empanadas and a couple of milanesa de pollo sandwiches. We carried them all away for our trip West over the divides. Both of us are Argentine and we like cooking our Argentine dishes, so we know very well what to expect. This lot was far from good or authentic Argentine. The empanadas were not all meat, maybe just a couple, the rest were a potpourri of definitely nothing Argentine. I ate one fried meat empanada, and another that was too spicy and tasted like some poor sausage. My friend had his milanesa sandwich and one of the other fried empanadas, also a strange sausage. A while after eating the empanadas, both my friend and I felt quite sick. This morning I threw the remnants of more than half the empanadas and my sandwich de milanesa de pollo in the trash. Neither of us will ever return. Mercy on those who choose...

WOW! Just a had a GREATunch here today!

I'd driven by a ton of times and always wondered, but it really wasn't on my radar....speaking with a friend at work this morning, he said he knew of this great sandwich place.. we were off early and decided to meet there.

We looked at the menu online so kinda already decided to get 2 sandwiches and eat half of each...

Both were great....the steak....so tender and juicy and cooked a nice medium rare!

Now, the highlight ended up being the pork, ham, egg and cheese sandwich! Soooo good!

We Got a cup of chimichurri, and the other pepper oil concoction they had as a sever yourself condiment......both were so good and both worked equally as good on both sandwiches.

I also got 3 empanadas to go....as of writing this I hadn't tried them yet, but they look amazing, and while we had lunch there, they must have sold 20 of them so I...