Tasty Tuli

So, I finally made it to Tuli Bistro last night. A friend and I dropped by for an early dinner on the tiny, but pleasant patio. This is one of those restaurants I’m rooting for–small but lively, and definitely with its own character.

We shared a chop chop salad that was amazingly fresh and crunchy, with not too much dressing and perfectly cubed salami. Yum. We also ordered the creamy tomato soup, which was thick and extremely fresh, with some undertones of basil and garlic that were perfectly done. (I rarely order any type of tomato soup–I fear flashbacks to childhood experiences with the ubiquitous Campbell’s watery cream of tomato soup. However, this one actually rocked.)

For dinner, we shared the “Chicken Little” plate and the Pacific snapper over andouille sausage risotto. Both were delicious, although we thought the snapper was obliterated by the spiciness of the dish…the snapper came in a hot, spicy blackened style, atop the even hotter andouille-laced risotto for a serious one-two punch. I usually say “the hotter the better,” but I’d probably opt for something a little more understated next time, just because I couldn’t actually taste fish in this dish. 

The dessert selections sounded wonderful: banana cream pie, mango creme brulee, arborio rice pudding, and more. We opted (okay, I opted) for the chocolate layer cake, which was more like chocolate mousse between very thin layers of cake. A fan of chocolate mousse in any form, I thought the cake was wonderful; however, after the richness of dinner, I could only handle about a third of it.

Anyway, if you’re in the hood…check it out. It’s tiny, but offers a respectable selection of salads and small plates with a great neighborhood ambience.