Bob & Bob: Toki Rating: Very Good

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AFTER A 22 year run, the curtain went down on The Broadway Grill, and this past April it went up again to welcome Toki, a Japanese restaurant on the corner of Broad and Monmouth streets in Red Bank. The transformation of the space is dramatic, with a contemporary and stylish mix of comfortable grey padded chairs and banquettes, decorator lighting, natural stone, and white birch accents. The ambience says that this is not your run-of-the-mill neighbor- hood Japanese Sushi spot; it is more ambitious and upscale, and the food supports this. There are even plush black sofas in the entrance area for those waiting for a table or takeout orders.
Two already established sister restaurants, Midori Fusion in Highland Park, and Midori Japanese in Piscataway, have allowed Toki to ramp up service smoothly and quickly, with gracious wait staff and a finely tuned menu. The menu is large and covers virtually all aspects of Japanese cuisine: Agemono (deep-fried specialties, think: Tempura); Sushi and Sashimi; Teriyaki dishes with chicken, meat, and seafood; assorted noodle preparations; and Hibachi. (Note: there is no Hibachi table; the dishes are prepared in the kitchen.)
We were drawn to the specials and signature dishes for our dinner so we could see if this newcomer had more to offer than our regular sushi haunts, and indeed it has!
The Tuna Mango Tartar ($14) was memorable: chunks of tuna, fresh mango and avocado, flying fish roe (tobiko), a quail egg on top, and bits of crunchy rice scattered around the plate. It was delicate, but deeply flavorful, with a creaminess and richness from the avocado that played against the sweetly ripe, mildly acidic, mango. This dish is a must. When you order it, ask for a side of the crispy chips to catch every delicious morsel.
We were also very happy with the Crispy Spicy Lobster roll ($14); a pyramid of a kind of lobster salad sitting on top of a disk of crunchy fried rice roll, with artistic swirls of spicy wasabi sauce encircling it on the plate, making for a dish that tasted as good as it looked.
We tried three kinds of sashimi just to get a sense of how this place treats the basics, and found the portions to be generous, the fish fresh: Yellowtail ($5), Salmon ($5), and Squid ($5). There were three pieces in each order, which made it very reasonably priced, however, our opinion was that the prepared dishes were more interesting and unusual than the plain raw fish items, so be sure to try those.
Shumai ($5) is a steamed dumpling which originated in China but is now found in most Japanese restaurants in Japan and here as well, but this presentation was far from commonplace. The six tender dumplings were filled with shrimp, with a perfect ratio of filling to wrapper, making these a light and very tasty one-bite treat.
The Naruto Roll ($11) was a mixture of tuna, salmon, yellowtail, avocado and caviar, surrounded by a cucumber wrapper and formed into a roll which was then sliced, making for a cool, crunchy, and refreshing light dish.The Torched King Salmon Roll ($14) was a novel take on the usual salmon roll. It included spicy crab and cucumber, drizzled with yuzu (citrus) and chili sauce. The serving was again gen- erous, beautifully plated, and the flavors rich and complex. We enjoyed one vegetable dish, the Nasu Niniku ($5), a stir-fried Japanese eggplant, which was meltingly smooth and lightly covered with garlic teriyaki sauce. However, since the skin of the eggplant is usually chewy, we would have liked spoons to scoop out all of the luscious pulp.
We generally like German, Austrian, or Alsatian wines with Japanese food, since the touch of sweetness and acidity in them balances the spice, and salt (from soy sauce,) normally found in many of the dishes. Another good beverage choice would be beer, Japanese or American artisanal, or, of course, any type of sake, which is crisp and very refreshing as a palate cleanser in between mouthfuls, not unlike the ginger garnish on the plates.
If you like Japanese food, and wish to taste more adventurous dishes than the basic ones that are easily found in our area, we suggest trying this new “show” on Broad Street. We think it will have a very long run!

Sacks and Sickles rated Toki: Very Good

TOKI

80 Broad St. Red Bank 732-268-8619

Bob Sacks, wine aficionado, and Bob Sickles,

owner and operator of Sickles Market, will be

reviewing restaurants in this bimonthly column.