Toriko: A Yakitori Empire's First International Outpost
Since its inception in 2011, Toriko has expanded into a worldwide operation. Currently, they have 14 locations in Japan and have recently opened their first location outside of the motherland, right in the heart of New York City's West Village.
The ambiance is delightful. I suggest requesting a table at the counter seating. It doesn't get very smoky in the restaurant, despite the grill being in the middle of the dining room. Unlike Torishin, Toriko uses an electric grill, which is shocking to me. I have no idea how they make their skewers taste so good.
During our visit, we were welcomed by a gracious host and a few inexperienced waiting staff. The waiters/waitresses are a bit unseasoned. I saw one waitress spill wine while pouring from the bottle. That wasn't a good sign. Most of the other patrons during our visit were actually Japanese. That was a very good sign.
When it comes to the food, I would suggest ordering the Omakase tasting (see below for more pictures). This is what we did and we loved it! The amount of food is just right and you get to try so many different things. If you prefer to curate your own meal, you can also just order yakitori skewers by the piece.
The omakase tasting is priced at $85 and the Toriko tasting is priced at $70. The omakase tasting is a really good deal. If you want to order individual skewers, most options are about 4-6 dollars each. Some of the more premium items are priced at 6-7 dollars. On top of our omakase, we ordered 2 extra skewers of Gizzard and Chicken Oyster. Another detail that I enjoyed was that Toriko uses fresh wasabi.
Overall, I'm proud to say that I think Toriko is now the best yakitori shop in New York City. I've also confirmed this with a few other food friends whose palates I trust. Previously, I enjoyed Torishin a lot. They're still good but I think I'm getting a much better experience at Toriko. This is the highest quality of yakitori I can get in New York. It's very comparable to the good shops in Japan.
This is the entrance to Toriko. A curious passerby can only steal a quick glance into the restaurant's interior, where all the fun awaits.
First, a series of amuse bouche was served on a square wooden platter. This was the Chicken Bone Soup - surprisingly rich and thick. I liked the tiny pieces of garlic chives.
This Chicken Liver Mousse was actually one of my more pleasant experiences with chicken liver mousse in the city. Sometimes, the liver can taste a bit metallic and bitter if less than ideal meat is used.
Here, the liver was fresh, fatty, and creamy. I loved that it was topped with honey and some raisin. This cut through a bit of the richness and the whole thing was delectable. I could eat that for dessert.
This is Toriko's Chicken with Spicy Sauce. Not bad for a cold dish. The spicy sauce was a little sweet and it had just the right amount of heat.
As part of the amuse bouche platter, this is Spinach with Mushroom and Bonito. It's surprising how a couple vegetables can be so delicious. The bonito (dried, fermented, smoked skipjack tuna) flavor was addicting. This was very light.
Finally, the seared Salmon Sushi came with trout(?) roe. Nicely done.
OK, now the serious fun begins. Their Chawanmushi was absurdly good. This Japanese egg custard with topped with white truffle shavings. But, if you thought things couldn't get any better. It was also made with foie gras. The result was extra fatty and savory in flavor.
I liked that the dish didn't become overly oily either. The egg custard was silky and well-made.
To accompany the incoming yakitori, we were served Daikon with Plum along with some pickled vegetables.
Next, we had some Fried Taro Root. It was topped with a little bit of crab meat. This was hearty and filling. I liked it and I feel that a dish like this is always part of a good kaiseki or course meal.
On it's own, it's just okay. But, as part of a full tasting meal, it's even better.
Now, we're about to start the show. This was the Sabiyaki. It was topped with freshly grated wasabi. Sabiyaki is white meat that's part of the chicken breast and tenderloin area. This part is lean. When cooked properly, it can actually be quite juicy.
Next, we had some Chicken Thigh. The dark meat was packed in flavor. It really didn't need any other flavoring. This skewer was seasoned with soy sauce and ginger.
Above, you'll see the Chicken Breast yakitori. Similar to the sabiyaki, this was made with white meat. But, the key difference here is that there's a bit of crispy skin that is still attached to the meat so you get more smokiness in the flavor.
It goes well with the Yuzu Salt. I enjoyed this one a lot.
I'm starting to really love offal (internal organs). It's also easier to identify the level of quality when it comes to offal. When it's bad, it's really bad. When it's good, it's really good. Here, we have Chicken Heart. If you like chicken gizzard, you might like heart. It's similar in flavor. The heart tastes meaty, lean, and a little more musky/gamey.
Chicken heart is fairly cheap to buy if you want to make some for yourself. Don't eat too much of it though because there's still a lot of cholesterol.
Toriko's chicken heart yakitori was seasoned with some smoked salt. Nice.
Toriko's Chicken Neck was really good. I always like the pieces with a bit of cartilage because of the added crunchy texture. The meat is also a bit more tender and has a higher fat content.
This part of the meat does really well over a grill even if it's electric.
We placed an extra order of Chicken Oysters, or Sot l'y Laisse. What is a Chicken Oyster?? No, it's not a chicken that lives underwater as a bivalve mollusca. Its French name translates to "the fool leaves it there" because inexperienced carvers often miss this part. The chicken oysters come from two small, round pieces of dark meat near the thigh and towards the back of the chicken.
Chicken Oysters are often considered the most flavorful part of the bird. Sometimes, you even get a little bit of cartilage in the middle of the oyster. They're fantastic.
Toriko's chicken oysters were seasoned with yuzukosho. Perfect. If this is available on the menu, always get it. Please. Do it for me. Do it for yourself. Do it for your parents. Do it for the chicken.
I almost always order Gizzard. Again, I don't eat a lot of it because there's a lot of cholesterol and I'm trying to watch my intake. But, it's tasty and it's one of my key tests when determining the quality of a yakitori restaurant.
Cooking gizzard can be easily messed up. If the meat is poor in quality or not cooked properly, it's easy to spot. The meat can be tough. The fibers in the meat can be overly chewy. Or, the flavor can be bland or unpleasant.
Toriko's gizzard was awesome. The texture was perfect. When you bite into the meat, there's a unique crunchiness to it. The flavor also has a deep, dark-meat taste.
I honestly didn't even know that Cherry Tomato was an option for yakitori. As part of the omakase tasting, these beautiful orange flavor bombs blew my mind.
The interior was so warm and juicy that it almost seemed like a concentrated tomato soup. Each bite is explosive.
Next, we had some Okra with Bonito. These were good but I wasn't surprised. I can appreciate a few vegetable skewers to counter all the rich, meaty flavors of the yakitori skewers.
The last meat skewer was Tsukune. This chicken meatball was also cooked yakitori-style. It's usually covered in a sweet soy sauce. The meat was so tender it almost fell apart while eating.
In Japan, it's common to enjoy this with a raw egg yolk, which is used as a dip.
Above, you'll notice Toriko's Mozzarella and Fried Bean Curd dish. Yes, it's straight up cheese and fried bean curd. It reminds me of the good cheesy part of a pizza, where it's a chewy and a bit charred. I loved it.
As if we weren't satisfied yet, Toriko ended the main event with some Miyazaki A5 Wagyu. It was topped with freshly grated wasabi, similar to the ones in Japan.
The meat was cooked very nicely as you can see in the picture above. Even after being cooked, you can still see all that nice marbling goodness.
The wagyu was roughly a 2oz. cut. But, it was just enough. Look at how beautiful it looked.
Similar to lot of Japanese tasting meals, the final entree is a heavier carbohydrate-focused dish. This is to ensure that you're full by the time you leave. She got the Oyakodon.
This is a traditional Japanese dish, where onions, chicken, and egg are simmered in a dashi-based sauce then placed over a bed of rice.
I got the Toriko Shio Ramen. The egg was cooked perfectly, as expected. Look at how gooey it was.
The orange rind was a nice touch. The ramen itself was clean and had just the right amount of fattiness.
For dessert, we had some Soba Buckwheat. It reminded me of a panna cotta. The flavor was stunning. On top, we enjoyed the dollop of Peach Jelly and Yogurt Foam.
We didn't drink too much but we tried their Watermelon Jam cocktail and some Kagua Beer. I liked the beer but I thought the watermelon cocktail tasted a bit like soap.