Manhattan to Manhassett: City Chic Moves to the Suburbs

8/14/2019 Manhattan to Manhassett: City Chic Moves to the Suburbs

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40 SEPTEMBER 2008 | SanT

Shiny Mercedes and BMW coupes and convertiblescontinue to roll into the Americana Manhasset shopping

center parking lot long ater the ber-sophisticated

boutiques close at 6 p.m. This upscale commercial

hub on Long Islands tony North Shore hosts the nations top

brandsnames like Armani, Escada, and Guccibut its not

the ashion-orward window displays that draw the crowds so

late into the evening. The customers are coming or Gillis and

George Polls modern Asian bistro Toku, the latest addition to

an empire that relies on this auent communitys hunger or

Manhattan-style dining experiences closer to home.

City Chic Moves tothe SuburbsManhattanManha


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SanT | SEPTEMBER 2008

restaurant profle |By Ashley Breno

Toku

Americana Manhasset

2014C Northern Blvd.

Manhasset, NY 11030

516-627-8658

Owners Gillis and George Poll

General Manager Cli Dragonetti

Seats 200

Employees: Management/Kitchen/Dining/Bar 5/20/40/5

Gross Annual Restaurant Revenue

$7 million

Executive Chef Tomoyuki Kobayashi

Sous Chef Jeery Scalla

Food Style Pan-Asian

Average Dinner Check $60

Average Number of Dinner Covers

275

Beverage Manager Charles Kim

Wine List Focus Asian

Wines on List (number o selections)115

Wines by the Glass 11

Wine Cellar (number o bottles) Several

hundred

Average Bottle Price $75

Cases Sold per Month 6070

Bar Focus Asian-inspired specialty

cocktails

Signature Drink Chili Passion Martini

Average Drink Price $12.50

set:

photographs

courtesy

of

archp

hoto

and

janv

anp

ak

photography

Glass, stone, dark wood, and ivory leather unite to create

an environment that is simultaneously modern and warm.

Tokus exceptionally bright and flavorful sushi is prepared

by masters with hand-picked, fresh-each-day fish from the

Fulton Fish Market.


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The island was lacking these sorts o restaurants, older

brother Gillis explains. Filling the gap in the market has led to

tremendous success and the discovery o a ormula or owning

several winning restaurants, all within a ew miles o one another.

People no longer have to stay in the city ater work to get a good

meal, Gillis says. In act, Long Island diners can eat at a dierent

Poll-brothers establishment nearly every night o the week.

All in the FamilyThe intuition that guides this prolifc team did not evolve rom

thin air. The brothers attribute much o their success to having

been raised in a restaurant amily. Their ather, James Poll,

owned successul restaurants in Brooklyn and at Rockeeller

Center beginning in the early 1960s. Working in the amily

businesses and earning restaurant- and business-related degrees

inspired Gillis, George, and middle brother Dean to open

a seaood eatery, Riverbay, in Williston Park in 1980. (Dean,now independent, owns Riverbay and operates the Boathouse

Central Park Restaurant in New York City. He intends to pursue

the lease or Central Parks Tavern on the Green when it expires

this all.) The three launched Bryant & Cooper, a dapper Jazz

Agestyle steakhouse, in nearby Roslyn in 1986. Two Majors

Steak houses, modest amily establishments, ollowed, but it was

Bryant & Coopers overwhelming success that signaled demand

or more sophisticated dining options.

Gillis and George responded by opening a high-end Italian-

Mediterranean bistro, Cipollini, in the Americana Manhasset in

2005. When another space in the same shopping mall became

available, the brothers once again looked or a hole in the North

Shores culinary spectrum. We did not want to duplicate what

we already had, o course, Gillis relates. And we did not have

a special, big, grand Asian place. Toku opened in the summer

o 2007.

Although Gillis and George enjoy the challenge o opening

each new establishment, they admit that launching Toku was aspecial accomplishment. Until Toku, the brothers had operated

within their comort zone. They created classic spaces and

served creative versions o the oods that they grew up on. We

grow up as Westerners. We grow up with Italian ood. We grow

up with steaks, grow up with fsh. We dont grow up with Asian,

describes Gillis. That was new to usand a lot

o unbut a lot o work.

The restaurant runs no promotions. They

neither list specials to increase sales nor advertise,

but the people keep coming back. You have

people in this area who are very loyal to the

company, and they go one night to Cipollini,one night to Toku, the next night to Bryant &

Cooper. Its like this rotating circle, and they

literally eat with us six or seven nights a week,

articulates Kerry Whaler, a manager at Toku.

Gillis and George attribute their customers

loyalty to a proven ormula: Its a pretty place,

eats wonderully, has nice people. Why wouldnt

people want to come back? Gillis asks.

Getting the LookTo create a visual east in the mold o the nations

Asian greatsMorimoto, Buddha Bar, andBuddakanGillis and George recruited local

architect Paul Bentel, who designed The Modern

restaurant at the Museum o Modern Art, and

Cathy Wells, an interior designer and riend.

The result is warm and modern. Through the

chain-mail curtains that screen the restaurants

entrance, guests see sake drums, wooden bells,

and an illuminated onyx bar. Dark wood and

ivory leather walls are hung with paintings by Chinas Li Jin.

A stone bust o a young and slender Buddha presides on the

opposite side o a glass wall that can be closed or private parties

or opened completely to extend the dining room. There are nocutting corners anywhere here. That eeling is almost one o a

kind, Gillis imparts.

The restaurants lighting system, rom Lutron Inc., is tied to

an astronomical clock. Settings change automatically based on

season and time o day. The systems setting harmonizes with

the natural light during the day to emphasize energy, while

the evening setting plays on the candle glow and gives the

dining room a shadowy, tranquil eel. It changes the ambience

signifcantly rom day to evening, says Tokus General Manager

Cli Dragonetti.

Gillis (left) and George Poll agree that a touch of extravagance goes a long

way in creating a memorable dining experience.


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For the sophisticated pan-Asian menu, Gillis and George

hired Tomoyuki Kobayashi as executive che. Although he was

born and raised in Japan, all o his proessional experiences

have been in French restaurants. My grandmother [and] mymother taught me how to cook Japanese ood, but I use French

technique, Kobayashi declares. Together with Gillis and George,

Kobayashi visited restaurants three or our times a week during

the seven months o research that preceded the restaurants

opening. You have to see a lot. You have to try a lot. And then

you have to work with good people who have the background

to decipher what these things are made o and how its going to

work in the kitchen, Gillis remarks.

On the MenuThe dinner choices rely on a mix o innovative and classic pan-

Asian dishes. Its a sharing type o menu, so the ood alwayscomes to the table when ready, describes Whaler. It encourages

a more social atmosphere. Our ood doesnt sit in the window,

and it is easier or the servers. Appetizers include Foie Gras

and Pineapple Skewers ($12) and Kurobuta Pork Gyoza ($11).

Entrees range rom Kung Pao Chicken with Peanuts, Zucchini,

and Hot Chilies ($19) to Miso Black Cod with Shishito Pepper

Salad and Bonito Shavings, which is a avorite or $26. We like

to have our ood cost around 33 to 35 percent, Gillis discloses.

We have some expensive items, and we have some that are not

as costly, so it balances out.

A lunch menu was added in February. The only major change

since the restaurants opening, it rests on 15 dierent salads

designed to share. We have a lot o ladies up here shopping

every day, so we wanted to have it a little more conducive to

what theyre interested in at lunch, Gillis relates. And i its a

price-conscious person, they can select rom a variety o items at

one fxed price. The sushi bar, available with lunch and dinner,

relies on the best ingredients and recognized sushi ches. Fish

is hand-chosen at the Fulton Fish Market and delivered daily.

Maki rolls range in price rom $7 to $12, and the ches selection

comes in three sizes or $35, $75, or $100.

Behind the bar, sake, wine and 16 Asian-inspired cocktailsshare equal billing. Beer, shochu, and shochu cocktails round

out the drinks menu. One o the most popular cocktails is the

Chili Passion Martini: Stolichnaya vodka, passion ruit puree,

resh ginger, and orange and cranberry juices mixed with seeds

o red chile pepper ($14). The Long Island Green Tea mixes

Zen Green Tea Liqueur, Cointreau, and Bacardi Silver Rum.

The wine list incorporates 115 selections rom every major

wine-producing country. Riesling and sparkling wine are oten

recommended or their compatibility with resh fsh and oten-

spicy Asian are.

More than a dozen sake drums and three hulking

nineteenth-century wooden monastery bells lend their

understated beauty to the authentic space.


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The Main IngredientAlthough the style-ood-sta equation certainly contributes tothe groups success, the true secret is its devotion to absolute

consistency. And thats where a lot o restaurants get tired,

Gillis reveals. The trick to maintaining consistent perormance,

according to the Polls, is having many layers o observation.

On the frst line o deense against slippage are the owners

themselves. Their restaurants proximity allows them to check in

at each nearly every day. Commenting on the Polls commitment

to detail, Whaler notes, Everything is supposed to be put on the

table the exact same way every single time, and they come in,

and they make sure. Theyre here. They say

hello to guests, have lunch, check the ood,

make sure the music is playing the right way,

check in on the reservations or the night.

The second line o deense that guards

against inconsistency is Tokus experienced,

loyal, and proessional sta, which has mas-

tered the details taught by Dragonetti andother managers and provides superior hospi-

tality shit in and shit out. To make sure ev-

eryone is cued to provide excellent service,

Dragonetti holds daily sta meetings that last

rom 15 minutes to an hour. He emphasizes

individuals specifc profciencies, rather

than spooning out generalized cheerleader-

like motivation. I always tell my waiters that

the most important skill set is their language

skillshow to describe a dish and how not

to, Dragonetti says. He coaches sta mem-

bers to make specifc drink suggestions asthey greet each table and encourages them

to recommend items that the customer has

never tried. The mastery o each detail adds

up to what Dragonetti reers to as the wow

actor.

And last in the line o guardians o con-

sistency are the guests themselves. We have

customers that come so oten and become

so close to us. They care so much about our

success that theyre very open to tell us i

something might have been dierent than

beore, Gillis says. They tell us to take a look at it. I I eel thattheyre right, Ill address it. He continues, Everyone is check-

ing out the restaurant all the time. Our customers are checking

on it, we are checking on it, the people that are checking on it

all the time are checking on it . . . Gillis trails o. Its work.

Were all working hard, but having people be happy rom their

experience in your restaurant is very ulflling, he concludes.

Kobayashi drizzles his octopus carpaccio with ponzu

sauce and fried leeks with sizzling scallion oil.

Mango tofu pudding with coconut coulis is served in

a steaming Asian teapot.

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Manhattan to Manhassett: City Chic Moves to the Suburbs