Mi Tio

8908 Queens Boulevard
Elmhurst, NY 11373
(718) 426-8080

I’ve been going to Mi Tio’s (literally translated, “My Uncle’s”) since before my father died and before they expanded to take over the pizzeria that used to be next door.  The place holds a lot of fond memories and some not so fond… but the food has remained the same over the years.  (I figure the first time I went there was over 7 years ago, since I remember going with my dad while he was still healthy enough to be able to eat red meat.) 

The food here is Argentinian style.. I wish I could tell you that I’ve tried more than a few dishes, but I can’t.  Honestly, the first time I went, I enjoyed the skirt steak so much that every time I go back, that’s what I get. 

On this occasion, my b. and I took my mother for her birthday lunch.  Mi Tio’s is directly across Queens Boulevard from the mall (pretty much both Queens Center and Queens Place, really), so it’s located conveniently for those of us without cars.  Generally, parking is a nightmare in this area but somehow miraculously we found a spot not even a block away.  Guess it was birthday luck for my mom. 

My b. loves his fried calamari, so of course we ordered that to start as an appetizer to share amongst the three of us.  Honestly, when it arrived, I was a bit disappointed at how small it was since the price was about $7.  Not that we could have eaten a whole lot more before devouring steaks, but I thought it a bit overpriced. 

Aside from that, though, I was surprised again at how well they turned out their calamari.  I’m used to fried calamari being very chewy (which is part of the appeal but then, not), but this was so tender, I could bite right through the squid with no chew whatsoever.  We all marveled at how soft they got it.  It wasn’t over fried nor undercooked; and it certainly wasn’t greasy.  They served no lemon on the side, but it needed no lemon to mask any fishy taste whatsoever.  The marinara was fairly standard, but even that, I didn’t need much.  This dish received a thumbs up from all three of us. 

As I mentioned earlier, I always order the skirt steak.  One of the nice things about this place is you can order it in two sizes: skirt steak complete or half skirt steak.  You only get one side with each order, but if you’re with a friend and you both eat like a normal amount, you can totally split the skirt steak complete (about $17.95) and the side and still be full.  Or you can each get your own side by ordering the half skirt steak (about $12.95) but *shrug* you can just look at the price yourself.  That’s up to you. 

A point to note: according to my brother (full review here), you should order the steak one grade up from how you normally order it.  Something about fat… well, just read his review of the same place, it explains about the fat. 

My mother and I decided to split the skirt steak complete- if you look at the picture, that’s half of what they give you.  (That’s basically what the half skirt steak looks like). We ordered medium, and damn it was good.  Skirt or flank steak is not known for its tenderness, but they marinate this cut in this amazing mixture of garlic, oil, perhaps parsley, just overall yumminess.  It practically melted in my mouth, it was so good.  What’s even better is, see the picture at the top of this review?  The two little jars, the green stuff is ‘chimichurri’, a mixture of garlic, oil, and parsley (which is what I based my guess of the marinade on), and this stuff is incredible spread on the great bread they provide but even better slathered on the steak and shoved in your mouth.  Oh, man, it’s good.  The red one includes hot chili pepper flakes, so it’s mucho caliente, something I’m not a fan of at all, so I avoid it. 

One thing I truly appreciate about this place is the option they give you, spicy chimichurri or non spicy.  Since this was the first place I experienced chimichurri, I never knew it’s supposed to be spicy.  Or maybe it’s not? but every time I’ve been to other restaurants and order dishes that include chimichurri, they’ve been spicy.  Not as red spicy as in this picture, but pretty damn spicy that I couldn’t take it (but I’m a total wuss with spicy).  If you like something slightly spicy here, you could always blend a little of the red with more of the green and create your own level of spicy!  When I come here with my family, we almost always finish off the entire jar, and usually need to request more.  Since this time it was only my mom, my b.’s first time, and myself, we just finished the jar but did not need to request more. 

My mom wanted salad with our steak, so we opted for the house salad, which I didn’t like that much.  I highly recommend their french fries (which my b. ordered), or their Russian potato salad, which has peas in it, adding another dimension to the texture which just works, in my opinion. 

The fries are very crispy and yummy, though you may want to add a little salt to them as they come unsalted.  One order is huge, so these you can totally share around the table. 

I was the only one to finish my steak… but in my defense, I was hungry, hadn’t had red meat in a while so the blood on my plate totally appealed to me, and I took the smallest piece.  Despite not finish their steaks, we all opted for dessert.  My b.’d been eyeing a cake in the display case for the past hour. 

It was a black&white chocolate mousse cake, with shavings of white chocolate strewn about the top.  Extremely rich, he was unable to finish the mousse cake, but said it was delicious. 

Not to be outdone, of course I opted for my hands down favorite dessert- tiramisu.  I’d never ordered it from Mi Tio, and honestly, I was hoping they didn’t make it but instead ordered it from somewhere.  My prayers were answered; I don’t know where they ordered it from but I could see they removed it from a bakery box.  It was good, creamy, yumminess, but definitely a far cry from the best tiramisu I’d ever had.  (My b. swears the best tiramisu he ever had was in… Italy.  Sorry, can’t top that until someone takes me there! and it was homemade, his friend’s mother.  Mm, I would love that.) 

My mom decided she was too full and instead ended her meal with a cappucino.  She really likes their cappucino here, although as a non-coffee drinker, I couldn’t begin to tell you why it might be better than elsewhere (except maybe extra cinnamon? because I know a lot of Latin cuisine adds cinnamon to things to bring a certain edge of spice to the dishes). 

Yvo says:  Definitely worth it, the entire meal (with sodas throughout the meal- and they have a wide variety of sodas) came out to $75, including a generous tip.  That’s $25/person for a delicious steak lunch, that we had leftovers to bring home.  My mother says their Monday-Friday lunch specials are great, too, though clearly a little harder for me to appreciate.  I recommend this place if you’re in the area or live in northern Queens and want a yummy, satisfying steak dinner but don’t feel like going to Outback across the boulevard in Queens Place.  Especially if you don’t want to wait, since Outback seems to constantly have people waiting outside it.  If you’re shopping at either mall, definitely head over here for some good grub.  This place won’t win points on decor (they seem to constantly be reconfiguring since the expansion), and won’t be awarded any Michelin stars, but sometimes, it’s not about how fancy you can make a dish, it’s about how well you can execute a simple meal at a reasonable price.  This place has that down pat.