Boston - November 11, 2005

No Bull

Toro Opens

Sure we’ve got a respectable little Chinatown. And a damn fine Little Italy, to boot.

But Boston won’t be a truly international city until it has three things: better tapas, better late-night living, and much better bagels.

Well, pull back the gauntlet on the first two. Monday’s opening of Toro may just put us ahead of the pack.

Ken Oringer, the kitchen wizard behind the city’s best raw fish (Uni) and most elegant New American (Clio) has gone Spaniard on us with this much-anticipated new resto. With a passion for authentic, intensely flavored tapas in one hand and legendary culinary bravado in the other, Oringer’s cooking up everything from simple plates of paella and pimentos de piquillo rellenos de txangurro (crabmeat-stuffed peppers) to mejillones (dry-roasted mussels with sea salt, olive oil, and sweet butter) and sepia a la plancha (cuttlefish with chickpeas, swiss chard, and grilled bread).

Many of the mini-plates are astoundingly cheap (as in a couple of bucks) and geared toward pleasing crowds who are there to nosh deep into the wee hours of the morning.

Which means you really won’t be needing those bagels after all.

Toro, 1704 Washington Street, South End (617-536-4300).