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| - I had a dilemma. My foodie friend from NYC was in town and we were meeting up for dinner. I wanted to take him somewhere fun and hip, but not so hip it hurt. I didn't want food that was too precious or fancy; no foams, sous vide, or stuff suspended in gelatin, just honest grub a cut above burgers and fries. And since he was coming from the Big Apple, pizza, Japanese, smoked meat and several other categories of food were out of the running. Ahhhh!
After much research and hair-pulling, I decided on Torito. I remember liking the vibe there during a stop on the Yelp Sangria Crawl, and I'd heard good things about their tapas. It's also in a cool neighborhood. (And on a selfish note, I'd much rather sample a bunch of small plates than stick to the conventional 1 app + 1 entree formula.) So the S.O., foodie friend and I went, and got a table on the backyard patio--bonus!
The food was quite good, much better than you'd expect from such a casual restaurant. Did it knock my socks off? No.* But the service was unobtrusive and we had an awesome time noshing and drinking from their excellent wine list.
FAVES
Pintxos of olives and boquerones (white anchovies)** (10)
Smoked trout, potato salad w/ chive mayonnaise (9)
Flying fish filets with orange aioli** (12)
Patatas bravas and chorizo (10)
Merguez, crispy polenta and tomatoes (12)
GOOD (BUT DISAPPOINTING CONSIDERING ALL THE RAVES***)
Piquillo peppers stuffed w/ salted cod and tapenade (10)
Roasted quail, pomegranate glaze, squash (13)
Braised beef tongue and cheek (12)
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* I wasn't wearing socks.
** These were specials that night and not on the regular menu.
*** As seen on that OTHER site (that rhymes with powpound)
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