Tomo Asian Bistro: Putting the "zen" back in Zena

Patience and Zena: officially now in the same sentence, but only this once.

Deep breath as I entered Tomo, located in another attractive strip mall in Slingerlands. It smelled good. The place was busy, and got busier, a surprise early on a Tuesday night. Once seated I gingerly turned over a few grungy menus and ordered hot tea, which came quickly but not with the sugar and a spoon I had asked for. I waited to see our server again, and I asked again, and waited, and asked again, and finally got what I wanted but by now the tea was lukewarm, but then again, so was the next refill. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...............

Close your eyes. Center your ch'i.

Busy sushi chefs

The Hot and Sour Soup ($2.50) was rich and delicious, with lots of variety (mushrooms, tofu, scallions, etc.) and a gentle hit of heat - it a generous serving at that. It thought it needed more sour so I asked for extra vinegar (eventually) when I got the server's attention. I'm sure by this time she must have found me quite annoying (she was busy working the whole dining room solo) - most people do, but I digress. Two deep breaths. Focus on the soup.

Regular Rolls special with miniature wasabi

Now where was I. Right - food. On Tuesday you get (3) rolls for $10 - a real deal. The Spicy Salmon, California and Tuna rolls ended up being a lot of food, and mostly very tasty. True to form, I took three deep breaths, impatient to eat more, and had to ask for more wasabi, once I had someone's attention, but it came quickly. Zena loves heat, FYI.

Thai Curry with Beef - colorful!

FF loved her Thai Curry with Beef ($11) - baby corn, mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, water chestnuts - nice variety, nice sauce - nice balance of heat and sweet and salty. Jaguar enjoyed her Panang Curry with Beef ($12), a different curry, lots of broccoli, peppers, and coconut. Both were presented in large bowls - very attractive. So we recommend the curries - brown rice is available for an extra $1, which we appreciated.

Panang Curry with Beef - lots o' broccoli

Tomo seems popular with the locals, and is very affordable. I think the food is really good. Sigh -  (three deep breaths) -  the waitress was lovely and patient, unlike yours truly, but she could definitely have used a hand. That is NOT enough, though, to keep me away next time I'm in the food desert known as Slingerlands. (:

Zena, Goddess of Fire

Gratis pineapple chunks finish the meal