A look at what's going on in Trinidad, on H Street, and in the larger area north of Capitol Hill.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Toki Underground Now Accepting Reservations
This could be your chance to snag that elusive table at Toki Underground (2nd floor 1234 H Street) and impress your date with your planning prowess. Toki has just begun accepting reservations, but you must reserve through the site City Eats.
39 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Not very useful if the only reservations available are for 6pm and earlier.
It would be much more helpful if they could have reservations available prior to 7 instead of prior to 6. Not sure who eats dinner at 5:00 other than people with small kids and seniors.
Conversely, I wonder if they'd ever consider going the reservation only route. I've passed that place up many times due to wait time. I've been once. It was good, but definitely not worth waiting two hours or more. I suppose that's part of the buzz though....
7:46, People who have "real jobs" can take the afternoon off when they have guests in town.
I don't really see the incentive for Toki to offer later times when they are already full at those times. However, allowing someone to lock in an earlier slot is beneficial to both customer and restaurant.
Huh. Will someone please let us know when Toki Underground is no longer trendy? Many of us would love to check it out sometime- but not with a two hour wait.
I'm guessing that those us us who ate a lot of ramen while working our way through college might have a different relationship to noodles that the average Toki Underground patron.
I've never had a problem with the wait. Stop by around 6 or so after getting off the X2, put in name and number, head home, rip off the work clothes, relax, and then head over when they call. Thats the whole point of giving them your number, right? So you don't have to actually stand around and wait. Go home and watch dirty jobs or kiss your wife or something.
i went with my husband and small child at 6:30 pm on a Thursday night a few weeks ago. it was almost totally empty. we got in and got out before it ever filled up. BELIEVE, people!!
People with real jobs don't take time off to eat ramen. They just sit around at work and talk on message boards about how they are too important to worry about ramen. I'm glad that I never got a real job, myself.
8:16, I don't know what you mean by real job. I assume it's along the lines of wear a suit everyday and report to the office everyday. Those are both thing many of us do, but I don't think it makes us better people. It just means that our dry cleaning bills are higher.
Congratulations on being so very(self)important. If I have a friend in from out of town I might try to take the afternoon off to hangout (and maybe enjoy some ramen to celebrate). I doubt I'm the only one.
Inked--If you can take a half day for guests, that's great. Some folks with "real jobs" can't. Just sayin'.
Tom A--this is the second (third?) time you've complained about "overhyped hipster ramen" at Toki. So the long wait has prevented you from even sampling it? How about reserving your pique until you actually try the food? It's not your law school instant Cup O Noodle. Perhaps before venting your next spleen you'll deem it worthy of your time like Toki's many regular patrons do. Alternatively, feel free to continue griping about something you haven't cultivated sufficient patience to sample.
Ha ha, real job is someone who has to dress appropriately for work like an accountant or lawyer. Cgenerally something that requires a college degree. Real job is not rolling into work at noon at some joint on H street, NE.
The wait is fine. Put your name in, have a beer or two in the Pug (or elsewhere) while waiting, then enjoy delicious food. Or do ya'll not like hanging on H Street?
PS My real job at the present requires me to work 8-4. In the past I've worked 5:15am to 1:45pm. Everyone's schedule is different.
There is no hype. Toki is pretty good ramen. Go on Sunday through Thursday and waits are minimal, real job or not. We all know that you're going to have long waits to eat on Hst come Friday/Saturday night.
I don't see the use in the current reservation system, I know I don't eat dinner before 6pm.
Don't know if FT has already covered this, but I just noticed that a new burrito and taco place (Chinito's Burritos) is opening at 635 Florida NE. Looks like they could be ready to open in the coming weeks.
This has long been an empty store front, so this is an exciting development. A menu on cards posted outside list $2 tacos and $3 burritos. Website is www.chinitosburritos.com.
Wait, I assumed that there wasn't anything available before 6pm because people had already snapped those slots up. Is it really the case that the system only allows making reservations before 6pm?
I have a real job but I left work at 5:30 yesterday (Monday) to get me some ramen with a friend (who also has a real job). We got there just before 6, only to be informed that they were having a private party and that we couldn't eat til 7. Since we had already anticipated a wait, we just gave our names, sucked it up, and went down to the Queen Vic for some beer to bide the time. Toki called promptly at 7, said to come on down, and our seats at the bar were ready. See how easy things work if you just go with the flow?
ROTFL.... as one who regularly drops hundreds in restaurants, I can say w/o a doubt, this is the lamest idea I've come across in all my years of indulgence. They should just not do this, it looks like they are being asses. 5-6, really? Why not simply have a happy hour special. Another example of H Street myopia.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not saying it's a regular thing, but if a friend I haven't seen in two years comes into town I might take a few hours off to hang out.
Sure and if I have lunch with Betty White then you're right I may decided to skip the 3+ star places and go to dinner at 5PM at Toki, but in the real world I'll frankly make reservations at dinner time, and Betty and I will enjoy our night together in style.
robby - as a restaurant that regularly has hundreds dropping in, if they opened the reservation system completely, it would be impossible to have walk-ins dine there. and then all of yelp and frozen tropics would be bitching about having to make reservations 2 months in advance for a 25-seat neighborhood ramen joint...
to me, it seems like a happy compromise. if you want the surety of knowing you will eat at a certain time, toki is extending the ability to make a reservation, albeit in limited timeslots. if that doesn't work, put your name on the list, go grab a drink and go back when they call you. like thousands of others have done.
Good try by Toki but they should just keep things how they originally were, no reservation. The place is two small to offer reservation, keep it as a walk-in spot. I usually call before going to find out the estimated wait.
That would be true if it weren't for the fact that several places around town take reservations and still have walks ins, several much higher rated places. This reservation scheme is a bit insulting.
And while I've tried to go there now multiple times and didn't feel like subjecting myself to dehumanizing conditions (waiting around like cattle) to eat at a place or placing my name of a list and waiting in hopes that they call (like a co-dependant person),I figure I'll go where I am respected as a potential customer.
That's just me. Clearly others feel differently, and I'm too insignificant of a factor in this. I wish them well, I wish those who eat their well. I am at a point where I don't need to beg for food, and I won’t start hanging around the door now.
We have our boundaries, and these are mine and no one else’s. Even though I am insignificant to any business with this set up, I matter to myself. Despite what any of you think, human beings have value and should not be treated like cattle, or taunted with hallow reservations. I understand this at times this blog is an H Street love fest, and there’s much to celebrate on H Street, I’m not so sure reservations only from 5-6 are something to celebrate. It seems odd, that this is even news. But then again, I am only one person and I am nothing to H street.
I'm thinking they really don't care. And I think it really wont matter. I may write them a letter, to express this. I magine like you they will laugh and dispose of it. I'm sure it's a nice place for those in the know, on the A lists, or willing to put up with in humane treatment.
I just have too much self respect to stand for it. If that means I am to be made fun of a la SNL so be it.
My money is neither needed nor welcomed. In a way neither am I, or anyone who doesn't simply fall in line.
So laugh, belittle, insult, shame, and ridicule. Some may even consider violence, and, no, I would not be surprised.
There is no value in dissent, or at least its expression.
We seem to be required to drink the kool-aid. And dispose of anyone who wont.
@Robby, seriously man, get over it. Having a beer or 2 at a close-by pub while waiting to get into a deservedly popular restaurant is not "inhumane" treatment. Everyone I've ever come into contact with in my 10+ visits to Toki has been nothing but friendly and professional.
I think the limited reservation time is a smart move...doesn't take away from prime time spots for neighborhood peeps, and allows tourists and others coming in from far flung reaches of the universe like "The Northwest" to plan ahead.
Again, say what you will. Believe how you do. Insult how you must, but to be frank. It's simply not for me. If I have to go to the Queen Vic for a beer to go to Toki, I'll eat at the Queen Vic. Respect your patrons is alls I'm saying. Or don't others will come. Others will be there, and people like me wont. Others matter.
It's how it is, enjoy the reservations and congrats to them on the 2.5 start rating. Despite my understanding, I've been told that's very good. Well told, or badgered, not sure which, it is H street after all. Disent is worthy of an a$$ whipping not respect.
I'm not sure I get the UN thing, maybe you think I'm foreign and are making fun of that. I'm not entirely sure. It wouldn't surprise me. Very few things here do. I am not part of the set around here. Outsiders like me, who think patronage should be valued really are few and far between. I've walked out of restaurants due to bad service. On H, it's always a litany of excuses. "Their new, give them a chance to work out the kinks..." If you complain you are maligned, castrated, insulted and damn near lynched.
It's almost akin to a religion. But it's part of the fabric of the community. We are neither a melting pot nor a mosaic where difference blends or is appreciated for its difference.
I wish you well, keep laughing. To you it surely is funny.
39 comments:
Not very useful if the only reservations available are for 6pm and earlier.
It makes sense if you have a friend in town and want to be sure.
People who have real jobs are still at work before 6 fool.
It would be much more helpful if they could have reservations available prior to 7 instead of prior to 6. Not sure who eats dinner at 5:00 other than people with small kids and seniors.
Conversely, I wonder if they'd ever consider going the reservation only route. I've passed that place up many times due to wait time. I've been once. It was good, but definitely not worth waiting two hours or more. I suppose that's part of the buzz though....
Ah Washington, where armchair entrepreneurs give business advice both to failing restaurants and ones that are always full!
7:46,
People who have "real jobs" can take the afternoon off when they have guests in town.
I don't really see the incentive for Toki to offer later times when they are already full at those times. However, allowing someone to lock in an earlier slot is beneficial to both customer and restaurant.
Huh. Will someone please let us know when Toki Underground is no longer trendy? Many of us would love to check it out sometime- but not with a two hour wait.
I'm guessing that those us us who ate a lot of ramen while working our way through college might have a different relationship to noodles that the average Toki Underground patron.
I've never had a problem with the wait. Stop by around 6 or so after getting off the X2, put in name and number, head home, rip off the work clothes, relax, and then head over when they call. Thats the whole point of giving them your number, right? So you don't have to actually stand around and wait. Go home and watch dirty jobs or kiss your wife or something.
"Go home and watch dirty jobs or kiss your wife or something."
haha
Umm. People with real jobs don't take the afternoon off to eat Ramen. I know it's probably hard to understand for someone who doesn't have a real job.
i went with my husband and small child at 6:30 pm on a Thursday night a few weeks ago. it was almost totally empty. we got in and got out before it ever filled up. BELIEVE, people!!
a person with a "real" job could take the afternoon off to eat ramen, if that's what they choose to do with their life.
People with real jobs don't take time off to eat ramen. They just sit around at work and talk on message boards about how they are too important to worry about ramen. I'm glad that I never got a real job, myself.
8:16,
I don't know what you mean by real job. I assume it's along the lines of wear a suit everyday and report to the office everyday. Those are both thing many of us do, but I don't think it makes us better people. It just means that our dry cleaning bills are higher.
Congratulations on being so very(self)important. If I have a friend in from out of town I might try to take the afternoon off to hangout (and maybe enjoy some ramen to celebrate). I doubt I'm the only one.
tonysmallframe,
Perfect.
I am convinced that the quoted wait times are total bullshit and THEY KNOW THIS, MAN!
Inked--If you can take a half day for guests, that's great. Some folks with "real jobs" can't. Just sayin'.
Tom A--this is the second (third?) time you've complained about "overhyped hipster ramen" at Toki. So the long wait has prevented you from even sampling it? How about reserving your pique until you actually try the food? It's not your law school instant Cup O Noodle. Perhaps before venting your next spleen you'll deem it worthy of your time like Toki's many regular patrons do. Alternatively, feel free to continue griping about something you haven't cultivated sufficient patience to sample.
Ha ha, real job is someone who has to dress appropriately for work like an accountant or lawyer. Cgenerally something that requires a college degree. Real job is not rolling into work at noon at some joint on H street, NE.
Like a tattoo parlor?
The wait is fine. Put your name in, have a beer or two in the Pug (or elsewhere) while waiting, then enjoy delicious food. Or do ya'll not like hanging on H Street?
PS My real job at the present requires me to work 8-4. In the past I've worked 5:15am to 1:45pm. Everyone's schedule is different.
There is no hype. Toki is pretty good ramen. Go on Sunday through Thursday and waits are minimal, real job or not. We all know that you're going to have long waits to eat on Hst come Friday/Saturday night.
I don't see the use in the current reservation system, I know I don't eat dinner before 6pm.
Don't know if FT has already covered this, but I just noticed that a new burrito and taco place (Chinito's Burritos) is opening at 635 Florida NE. Looks like they could be ready to open in the coming weeks.
This has long been an empty store front, so this is an exciting development. A menu on cards posted outside list $2 tacos and $3 burritos. Website is www.chinitosburritos.com.
Anybody have info on this place?
omg tacos and burritos. now i dont have to go to columbia heights
Wait, I assumed that there wasn't anything available before 6pm because people had already snapped those slots up. Is it really the case that the system only allows making reservations before 6pm?
Anon3:39, Correct.
I have a real job but I left work at 5:30 yesterday (Monday) to get me some ramen with a friend (who also has a real job). We got there just before 6, only to be informed that they were having a private party and that we couldn't eat til 7. Since we had already anticipated a wait, we just gave our names, sucked it up, and went down to the Queen Vic for some beer to bide the time. Toki called promptly at 7, said to come on down, and our seats at the bar were ready. See how easy things work if you just go with the flow?
ROTFL.... as one who regularly drops hundreds in restaurants, I can say w/o a doubt, this is the lamest idea I've come across in all my years of indulgence. They should just not do this, it looks like they are being asses. 5-6, really? Why not simply have a happy hour special. Another example of H Street myopia.
-Robby
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I'm not saying it's a regular thing, but if a friend I haven't seen in two years comes into town I might take a few hours off to hang out.
Sure and if I have lunch with Betty White then you're right I may decided to skip the 3+ star places and go to dinner at 5PM at Toki, but in the real world I'll frankly make reservations at dinner time, and Betty and I will enjoy our night together in style.
robby - as a restaurant that regularly has hundreds dropping in, if they opened the reservation system completely, it would be impossible to have walk-ins dine there. and then all of yelp and frozen tropics would be bitching about having to make reservations 2 months in advance for a 25-seat neighborhood ramen joint...
to me, it seems like a happy compromise. if you want the surety of knowing you will eat at a certain time, toki is extending the ability to make a reservation, albeit in limited timeslots. if that doesn't work, put your name on the list, go grab a drink and go back when they call you. like thousands of others have done.
100s at restaurants. What a baller
Good try by Toki but they should just keep things how they originally were, no reservation. The place is two small to offer reservation, keep it as a walk-in spot. I usually call before going to find out the estimated wait.
tiffanyc:
That would be true if it weren't for the fact that several places around town take reservations and still have walks ins, several much higher rated places. This reservation scheme is a bit insulting.
And while I've tried to go there now multiple times and didn't feel like subjecting myself to dehumanizing conditions (waiting around like cattle) to eat at a place or placing my name of a list and waiting in hopes that they call (like a co-dependant person),I figure I'll go where I am respected as a potential customer.
That's just me. Clearly others feel differently, and I'm too insignificant of a factor in this. I wish them well, I wish those who eat their well. I am at a point where I don't need to beg for food, and I won’t start hanging around the door now.
We have our boundaries, and these are mine and no one else’s. Even though I am insignificant to any business with this set up, I matter to myself. Despite what any of you think, human beings have value and should not be treated like cattle, or taunted with hallow reservations. I understand this at times this blog is an H Street love fest, and there’s much to celebrate on H Street, I’m not so sure reservations only from 5-6 are something to celebrate. It seems odd, that this is even news. But then again, I am only one person and I am nothing to H street.
Best Wishes,
-Robby
"I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!"
lol robby...i'm thinking the staff at toki underground would be grateful you came to that conclusion. enjoy your 3+ star restaurants.
I'm thinking they really don't care. And I think it really wont matter. I may write them a letter, to express this. I magine like you they will laugh and dispose of it. I'm sure it's a nice place for those in the know, on the A lists, or willing to put up with in humane treatment.
I just have too much self respect to stand for it. If that means I am to be made fun of a la SNL so be it.
My money is neither needed nor welcomed. In a way neither am I, or anyone who doesn't simply fall in line.
So laugh, belittle, insult, shame, and ridicule. Some may even consider violence, and, no, I would not be surprised.
There is no value in dissent, or at least its expression.
We seem to be required to drink the kool-aid. And dispose of anyone who wont.
It's sorta sad and in no way funny, but laugh.
@Robby, seriously man, get over it. Having a beer or 2 at a close-by pub while waiting to get into a deservedly popular restaurant is not "inhumane" treatment. Everyone I've ever come into contact with in my 10+ visits to Toki has been nothing but friendly and professional.
I think the limited reservation time is a smart move...doesn't take away from prime time spots for neighborhood peeps, and allows tourists and others coming in from far flung reaches of the universe like "The Northwest" to plan ahead.
Again, say what you will. Believe how you do. Insult how you must, but to be frank. It's simply not for me. If I have to go to the Queen Vic for a beer to go to Toki, I'll eat at the Queen Vic. Respect your patrons is alls I'm saying. Or don't others will come. Others will be there, and people like me wont. Others matter.
It's how it is, enjoy the reservations and congrats to them on the 2.5 start rating. Despite my understanding, I've been told that's very good. Well told, or badgered, not sure which, it is H street after all. Disent is worthy of an a$$ whipping not respect.
Carry on, carry on.
@Robby:
Have you considered sending a copy of this letter to the UN Commission on Human Rights, as well?
(To be fair, you did tell us to laugh.)
Oboe:
I'm not sure I get the UN thing, maybe you think I'm foreign and are making fun of that. I'm not entirely sure. It wouldn't surprise me. Very few things here do. I am not part of the set around here. Outsiders like me, who think patronage should be valued really are few and far between. I've walked out of restaurants due to bad service. On H, it's always a litany of excuses. "Their new, give them a chance to work out the kinks..." If you complain you are maligned, castrated, insulted and damn near lynched.
It's almost akin to a religion. But it's part of the fabric of the community. We are neither a melting pot nor a mosaic where difference blends or is appreciated for its difference.
I wish you well, keep laughing. To you it surely is funny.
-Robby
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