Tolo

You’ll walk right past Tolo without realizing there’s even a restaurant there, but I urge you to double back because it’s worth it. My friend Amanda is a book editor in the lifestyle space, which means she’s heavy in the food and wine world. One of her authors/buddies has a fabulous wine bar and his longtime sous chef recently broke away to do his own thing. And let me tell you: chef Ron Yan’s own thing is great.

The food is wonderful, but I must start by praising the wine list, which was curated by Parcelle. They know what they’re doing and have built a perfect selection. Now let’s talk food. We got a ton of stuff to share – everything just sounded too good – and with a lot of small plates on the menu, this is an ideal sharing spot if that’s your thing. We tried the smashed cucumber with wood ear mushrooms, raw tuna with sesame and sweet soy, seaweed fries, rice cakes, string beans with minced pork, and the scallops (as a large plate). Everything was perfect, but I have to say I’m still thinking about those string beans. That’s something you’ll find on most Chinese menus but when I tell you these were executed PERFECTLY, I’m not exaggerating at all.

We didn’t get the fried chicken because we simply didn’t have room, but it’s one of the chef’s specialties so keep that in mind for your visit…which you should definitely do soon. The menu isn’t huge, but it’s tight. They’ve figured it all out for you.