Why Come Here? Unique Asian influenced New American cuisine, someone else is paying
On paper, Tuome looks like the type of restaurant I would love. The menu is a sort of an Asian influenced New American with seasonal ingredients. The preparations are unique and there’s even a signature pork belly dish called the “Pig Out” to drool over. The space is cozy and rustic with a good location in the East Village. Service is friendly and we even received an amuse bouche and two complimentary sides. Sounds great right? So why did Johnny Prime, The Cake Dealer and I walk away feeling somewhat disappointed? (and why is a primetime reservation at Tuome so easy to come by?)
Admittedly everything we tried was enjoyable. This includes some excellent creative cocktails despite the fact Tuome only has a wine & beer license. In fact there’s nothing about the meal not to like. The problem is for a $100 a head, I needed to like it more. The biggest issue is the entrees are just far too expensive for the size. $35 for two small chunks of veal? $54 for ten bite size pieces of pork belly? Come on. Their intricate flavors worked better for a bite or two so perhaps they would be better off as smaller plates as well (with prices to match.) Or maybe Tuome would work better as a tasting menu. This would allow the chef to showcase his many unique preparations while making the cost a little easier to swallow and allowing for a miss here and there. Just a thought. Here’s what we tried:
Whipped Ricotta with Taro Chips 
I could probably have snacked on this amuse bouche all night and left pretty happy.
Octopus I have trouble not ordering octopus when it’s available. It pays off here where you receive a tender tentacle with some xo ground pork and a brown butter foam.
Chicken Liver 
A surprise favorite dish of the night. The liver mousse comes topped with maple syrup and the result is incredible. Even if you don’t normally like liver you need to give this a try.
Deviled Egg The deviled egg comes crispy with a chili filling on top. I couldn’t try it due to my egg allergy so this rating comes from the trustworthy palate of Johnny Prime.
Veal 
Juicy hunks of veal in lapsang souchong (smokey tea) sauce. Interesting and enjoyable, but surprisingly unmemorable. And just a little too small for $35.
Pig Out The Pig Out is what Tuome has become known for: 10 chunks of pork belly served with hot sauce and ginger and two bowls of peanut noodles. The belly was well cooked – the fat crispy, the meat moist. It’s tasty with the condiments but we found the meat a little grainy and none of were quite $54 blown away. The noodles were a little too heavy on the peanut too. To be honest I’d be happier with one or two pieces as an appetizer as it got to be a lot of salt and fat.
Broccoli Charred with sichian chili and fermented shallot this is the side you want on your table.
Brussels Sprout 
Mixed with grapes, raising and pork xo they were good but didn’t quite pack the blend of flavors the ingredient list promised.
Beignets 
The only dessert at Tuome, but it was a solid redemption after the big plates. The beignets are served with a red bean ice cream, goats milk caramel and orange marmalade. If you know me at all, you know I broke them open and made little ice cream sandwiches.
Right Amount for 2? Two smalls, two bigs and beignets
Tuome
536 East 5th Street (Avenues A & B)
New York, NY
