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In 2009, Thomas Chen swapped accounting ledgers for cookbooks, trading his unfulfilling finance job for culinary school and, later, fine-dining gigs at Jean-Georges and Eleven Madison Park. Now the chef takes the lead in the kitchen at this contemporary East Village spot, where he weaves together that classical training with his Asian-American upbringing: octopus in house-made xo sauce and star-anise–braised short ribs with charred shishito peppers. You won’t find any ingredient more than once on the menu, which is broken down into four categories (cold small, hot small, big and sides). As Chen explains it: “The goal is to hit every point—proteins, vegetables, flavor notes—so well they’re only needed once.” 536 E 5th St between Aves A and B (646-883-7811, tuomenyc.com)
MENU
Cold small
Watermelon with ricotta, crispy farro and chrysanthemum
Chicken liver mousse with chicken skin and milk bread
Hot small
Crispy deviled eggs with chili
Oxtail spring roll with bone marrow and cumin
Soft-shelled crab with burrata cheese, tomato and herb-lime sauce
Octopus with pork xo sauce, brown butter and fingerling potatoes
Big
Chicken with charred lettuce, basil and porridge
Skate steak with pea shoots, cauliflower and marcona almonds
Beef short rib with sweet potato and shishito peppers
Scallops with carrot, maitake mushrooms and foie gras sauce
Pig Out For Two: Berkshire pork and spicy peanut noodles
Sides
Brussels sprouts with grapes, pork xo sauce and raisins
Corn with kaffir lime, curry and crème fraîche
Snap peas with peanuts and cilantro
Rice with kale, lap cheong sausage and duck fat
Watermelon with ricotta, crispy farro and chrysanthemum at TuomeFilip Wolak
Crispy deviled eggs with chili at TuomeFilip Wolak
Scallops with carrot, maitake mushrooms and foie gras sauce at TuomeFilip Wolak
TuomeFilip Wolak
TuomeFilip Wolak