TooSso

TooSso is a small Pakistani restaurant in my neighborhood. It hasn't been open that long but it is always packed, especially on the weekends. And usually when I go there, I'm the only white girl in the place. In fact, I'm the only non-Pakistani.  So you know it has to be good when the natives are packing the joint out! And it is...

  Its a small cafe style place; its certainly not a fancy sit-down place but I wouldn't say its fast-food.  They make everything from scratch, and while I'll admit I don't know much about Pakistani food or culture, it seems pretty traditional as far as the flavors they offer.  Its a limited menu but sometimes those are the best...do a few things very well instead of many things mediocre. The atmosphere is colorful and fun with one wall covered with bottlecaps of all different kinds and another wall with a bar area that has milk cans for stools. And the aromas...I love the aromas of Middle Eastern cuisines with all the unique combination of spices!!

Their main menu consists of rolls, bowls, and specials.  The rolls have your choice of filling (potatoes, beef, chicken, or chickpeas) wrapped in a hand-made roti, which is like an Indian tortilla, along with a variety of spices and herbs and onions and chutney. I think my favorite is the Zeera Aloo which has the potato filling.

The bowls have a lot of the same fillings but its, obviously, in a bowl with basmati rice and a yogurt sauce. The specials are things like Chicken Tikka which is chicken marinated in a yogurt sauce and on the weekends they even serve a breakfast dish called Halwa Puri. I'm not 100% sure what that is exactly but I think puri is a deep fried Indian flatbread and halwa is something sweet and its served with potatoes. Um, potatoes...sweet...bread...yes please, I'm in!

The Pakistani cuisine is deceptively spicy hot to me. You think, beans, potatoes, rice...how spicy could it be? Well, be ready to call the fire squad! Especially if you're like me and don't tolerate a lot of heat well.  I love all the flavors but sometimes the heat is so intense I have to take a break from eating for a minute. The heat from this cuisine starts off slow. The first bite or two, you think, ok its not too bad. But the more bites you take, the hotter it gets! The only thing that helps is a big gulp of a delicious Mango Lassi!

I love Mango Lassi's! If you're not familiar with what a lassi is, its a sweet yogurt smoothie drink. The dairy helps curb the heat a bit. So you'll need to get one of these if you don't want your tongue on fire! And they happen to be super yummy!