Tolani

The Chairman of the Board of the African Parks Foundation of America is also a huge supporter of the New York Philharmonic. So on my recent trip to New York, he arranged a seat for me in the box at Avery Fisher Hall to hear Music Director Alan Gilbert conduct Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in D major, Ron's favorite. Not just any seat mind you, but one in The State Box where the big wigs sit.

Along with Mahler's symphony, the evening also included the US premiere of the Clarinet Concerto by Korean composer Unsuk Chin. The concerto was performed by the NY Philharmonic along with the composer's muse, solo clarinetist Kari Krikku. Here is a review of the concert from the New York Times.

at Lincoln in 2011 before a matinee of "War Horse"

Ron further suggested I stop in to Lincoln for dinner and a cocktail before the concert.  I did stop in to meet a friend for the suggested cocktail. However, I did not have dinner there.





 

Not because the food is not excellent at Lincoln. It is. But that very day a post had appeared on my Facebook timeline, "The top ten African restaurants in New York."

Top 10? I didn't think there were even 10. But enough to choose a top 10? So I opened up the post and read through the list. Ethiopian, Senegalese, Moroccan ... and South African. And the South African one was on the upper west side very close to where I was going at Lincoln Center. So I checked it out for dinner first.

Tolani is located on Amsterdam Avenue between 79th and 80th. And while it is owned by native South African Stanton Du Toit, the menu was not strictly South African.  It was quite diverse and very international in flavor. Yes, there was both a Seafood Potjiekos and a Prawn Peri-Peri & Mielie Meal on the menu, but there was also a Fish Taco and a Lemon Infused Crispy Cornish Hen.

The chef is Cesare De Chellis who spent many years training in his native Italy. So while it is true that there were South African Karoo lamb meatballs on the menu, these meatballs were made the Italian way with lamb replacing the veal and mixed with pork and beef. I have not seen that anywhere in South Africa!

The wine list was also international and quite diverse and happily included a nice selection of South African wines. And if you are really hungry, they do offer a six course Chef's Tasting Menu with a curated wine pairing. Finding Tolani was a happy coincidence indeed.