Toro – Small Plates Packed with Big Flavors

Toro is one of my favorite restaurants in Boston. Fun, laid-back atmosphere, a menu filled with lots of tasty food, and outdoor seating on a warm, summer evening. I always look forward to Chef Ken Oringer’s scrumptious sea urchin creations (which he features in different forms at all of his restaurants)…he’s like Boston’s Uni King! Toro is Chef Oringer’s take on Spanish cuisine. My only pet peeve about this place is that they serve wine in water glasses – call me a snob, but proper stemware *does* make a difference in the taste of the wine.

Tomato and Watermelon Gazpacho – ahhhhh, so refreshing on a hot day. The gazpacho was served really cold (rather than just chilled) and effortlessly balanced the sweet and salty flavors.

Escalivada Catalana – this blend of wood-roasted eggplants, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and olive oil tasted wonderful spread over bread. It was thick, slightly sweet, and whet my appetite for the procession of small plates to come.
Uni Bocadillo – WOW! I relished in the bold flavors of this pressed uni sandwich with miso butter and pickled mustard seeds. Although the uni could have been fresher, it tasted soooooo good with the miso butter…biting through that hot, crispy bread into buttery, ocean flavors with a sharp zing from the mustard seeds. Mmmm!
Za’atar and Honey Glazed Pork Ribs – the sweet honey was a perfect complement to the Moroccan spice. The meat was a bit dry, but still fell right off the bones. The yogurt also added a cooling touch to the dish. Overall, the flavors brought a lightness to the otherwise heavy ribs.
Panza de Cerdo (crispy pork belly with sunchoke, escargot, fava beans and smoked maple crumble) – a fiesta of flavor! So many ingredients and tastes, all enhancing one another. The pork belly was cooked to perfection…meaty and fatty with a super, crispy layer of skin. The escargot was tender and smoky, adding a unique element to the dish.
Erizos en Suquet (Catalan stew of sea urchin, lobster and crab meat) – it was like a rich and thick seafood bouillabaisse. While the taste of shellfish was evident in the stew, it was so salty that the sweet flavors of the lobster and crab meat were lost. I did appreciate the stew’s creamy, unctuous undertone from the sea urchin though.
Toro is my place to eat, drink and be merry in Boston!

BITE METER: Toro – 3.5 bites (out of 5)

Loló restaurant – Lovin’ La Vida Loló

I was supposed to have dinner at Minako, but was greeted by a ‘closed for vacation’ sign upon arrival. So we walked around San Francisco's Mission district in search of something else to satisfy our appetites. Since Loló was on my list of restaurants to check out, we decided to give it a try. To my delight, it was full of unexpected surprises!

Loló is a tiny place (I later discovered a whole other room with a bar that’s hidden by a dark opening in the back). It has a fun and quirky vibe with a bit of retro mixed in – large metal spoons covering one wall, seagulls and motorcycle mirrors on another. And one thing you should definitely do is visit the bathroom (never thought I would say that). I was expecting a small, dark bathroom given the size of the front room. Let’s just say it’s not…

The food is also much more unique and has a broader range of flavors than traditional tapas restaurants. The flavors were bold and bright. I would describe the cuisine as New Latin American with an Asian and Mediterranean influence. The vibrant array of colors in the dishes also made the food as appealing to the eye as it was for the taste buds. [Note: I didn’t have my camera and had to use my phone, so these photos do NO justice to the food. The dishes actually look MUCH more appetizing than they appear in these horrible cameraphone pictures.]

We ordered 9 different dishes, and my favorites were the Tacos Tropical and the Seafood Sope. They were INCREDIBLE!

Tacos Tropical - Damn good shrimp tacos! The crispy panko crust of the shrimp, the zest of the tropical relish, and the creaminess of the chipotle aioli…together created a wonderful explosion of flavors and textures in my mouth.
Seafood Sopes – The star of this dish was the rich seafood sauce of the shrimps, scallops, and green peppers. It captured the sweet essence of the sea, and was balanced by the pepper aioli. The red cabbage slaw was also a great complement.
Seared Scallops – The citrus fennel sauce looks like it’s going to be heavy, but it was light and refreshing. The slices of cucumber under the scallops also accentuated the coolness of the dish.
Duck Confit Tacos – A twist on Peking duck. I liked how thin the corn tortillas were and how they came out fresh and hot. The shredded duck was really oily, but it had good flavor.
Octopus Carpaccio – I can’t help but laugh when I think about this dish. The octopus is sliced so thin that it’s virtually invisible (especially under the dim lighting of the front room). So when this dish came out, we thought it was just a sauce and sat waiting for the rest of the dish to come out. The person who brought our food didn’t speak English, so he just shrugged when we asked what it was. Finally, our waiter told us it was the octopus carpaccio and the octopus was already on the plate. So funny! The pepper flakes overpowered the octopus, so I couldn't taste much beyond pepper and smoke.
Pistachio Encrusted Salmon – The wasabi cream and unagi sauce gave this dish an interesting Asian flair. The flavors worked well, and it came out at the perfect temperature -- hot and crispy on the outside while nicely rare on the inside.
We also had the baked brie, the heirloom tomato salad with feta mousse, and the chocolate fondue for dessert. They were good, but not particularly memorable. I also want to mention their reasonably priced wine list. The average price per bottle was about $40. We enjoyed a bottle of the Chateau de Tours, Cote du Rhone.

Although we ate a ton of food and had dessert, we still headed over to Bi-Rite Creamery for ice cream after dinner (oink, oink!). It was in the neighborhood and I’ve heard so much hype about it. When we arrived, there was a line that extended down the block and around the corner. I thought to myself 'this ice cream better be amazing' if I’m going to wait in this long line. Fortunately, the line moved relatively quickly and the ice cream was delicious! They had an impressive selection of creative flavors – I must have tried about 10 different ones between the sampling and our carefully coordinated orders. Their celebrated salted caramel ice cream was already sold out, but I didn’t feel like I was missing out because I enjoyed the other flavors so much. My favorites of the night include the brown sugar with ginger caramel swirl, the roasted banana, and the malted vanilla with peanut brittle and milk chocolate pieces. (The only flavor that I didn’t like was the mint chip – it had a strong menthol taste). I also appreciate that Bi-Rite uses local and organic ingredients.

Do I think Bi-Rite is better than Mitchell’s Ice Cream? It’s a very tough call...Bi-Rite's flavors are more gourmet and unique, but I like Mitchell’s just a tinsy bit more because their ice cream is creamier and has a more home-made feel to it. However, both places offer such a completely different variety of flavors that my recommendation would be to choose the place based on what type of flavor you’re craving that day. You can’t go wrong with either place!

BITE METER:
Loló – 4.0 bites (out of 5)
Bi-Rite Creamery – 4.5 bites (out of 5)