Holly and I spent an amusing afternoon at the auto show at the Javits Center and were starving by the time we left. There's not much in the immediate area but just a short 15 minute walk down 10th Avenue gives you access to tons of really interesting and fun restaurants. Toro is most well known for its location in Boston and they just opened one up here on the fringe of the Meat Packing district. It's kind of hidden and the entrance is really on 15th street and 11th ave instead of 10th ave. Unfortunately we couldn't get a reservation but we walked in at 6:30 on the dot and we easily got a seat at the communal table which was great. I always appreciate a restaurant that leaves tables open for walk-ins.
The space here is beautiful and very airy. It's got a modern vibe and fits right in with the Meat Packing area but it seemed a notch less pretentious than most of its peers in the neighborhood. The menu is mostly tapas and a few paellas dishes as well. The waitress recommended 2-4 dishes per person so we met in the middle and got 5 dishes. The menu has your typical tapas dishes like tortilla Espanola and potatoes bravas but they also have more adventurous dishes that include uni, bone marrow, and tripe. We kind of decided on a mix of dishes: Bocadillo de Erizos ($13), Tuna tartarte ($15), Maiz Asado con alioli y queso cotija ($10), braised lamb ($15) and the asparagus ($16). The Bocadillo de Erizos is a small pressed sandwich with sea urchin, miso butter and pickled mustard seeds. Amazing. You could definitely taste the sea urchin but it wasn't overwhelming or overpowering and it still had a nice creamy consistency to it. I loved it. The tuna tartare came in this funny sardine can and on the menu it said that it was served "with stuff that we really like." So that actually turned out to be coconut milk and green curry flavoring - so yes it was stuff that I really liked. It was delicious. Next came the braised lamb and asparagus dishes. The lamb meat fell cleanly off the bone and was a nice balance of meat and fat (although it could have been a smidge less fatty). The asparagus was cooked nicely with the right amount of crunch to it and the actual vegetable was plumb and hearty - not some kind of wimpy, sad skinny stalk of asparagus you sometimes see in the grocery store. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it was covered with hot aioli and cured egg yolk - so yeah, that kind of made the dish pretty unhealthy but they were still nice additions to the dish. Last came the grilled corn.. I expected it to be one corn on the cob but it was actually 2 large cobs cut in half and drenched in farmer's cheese, aioli and red chili pepper. I mean I love that combination but it was literally way too much of the condiment on it - I would definitely not recommend ordering it if you are on a date because you'll most definitely get cheese all over your face. But if you're in the comfort of good friends, then by all means go for it. Of course we saved room for some dessert and since it's a Spanish place we had to get the churros - which were nice and warm sugary. I just wish they gave us more than 3 sticks.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by my experience here given it's trendy location and kind of lukewarm Yelp reviews. Although it was tapas style, most of the dishes were actually pretty decently sized and I definitely left pretty full. The menu's got great variety - so you'll find something for everyone there. The table next to me got the bone marrow and beef cheeks and it looked fantastic, so I definitely want to order that the next time I'm there. Total bill: $78/pp with tax, tip and 2 drinks each
Photo Credit: Yelp
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