Must eat Mas
I’m in NY prepping for my next film project and guess who was in the big apple? Producer Teddy Zee who cast me in Saving Face. We missed him at the Saving Face reunion in San Francisco last month. He said he was busy with work, but according to his FB status, he went to a Lakers game. Hmmm.
Well, since I had a fantastic dinner a couple of nights ago at Mas La Grillade with friend and designer Wenlan Chia and restaurant owner Katie Zamarra, I decided to try Mas Farmhouse, Catie and hubby chef Galen Zamarra’s first restaurant. It’s so well hyped online that I figured it was a “Manhattan Must.”
Here’s the exterior of Mas. Love the design aesthetic already! The organic wood is rustic, slightly mysterious but the inside is elegant yet comfortable.
Teddy and I decided to do the four course tasting menu and just told them to bring us one of each of their courses. You can select any other options from the pretty diverse menu which is impressive and our server said they could make everything to order and accommodate dietary needs. Show-offs.
They brought us these two tasting plates. We had so much food I lost track of what each thing was, but the top one was shrimp and this second one was simply…delicious.
Wild Chive Aioli with Spring Vegetables, Hard Boiled Quail Egg, Steamed Fluke (perfect consistency!) and Baby Mizuna.
Wild Porcini Soup, Poached Black Trumpet Mushrooms & Parmesan Foam
Rainbow Trout Stuffed with a Wild Ramp, Pine Nut Mousse, Cauliflower Puree.
Atlantic Halibut wrapped in Swiss Chard.
The Softshell Crab, compliments of Catie.
Roasted “Belle Rouge” Chicken with a Terragon Shallot.
Housemade Pork and Sauerkraut Sausages with a Spring Onion Fondue.
This Panna Cotta and Sorbet was served as a palette cleanser.
Teddy ordered the hazelnut mousse, not pictured very well, I was in a food coma, I couldn’t even raise the camera, my brain was like delirious at that point. But this was hands down – the dessert winner.
The portions were quite substantial and as a foodie, let me just say that when I try a tasting menu, I have really high expectations and Mas delivered. Nouveau French is hard to do. Chef Galen Zamarra is cooking for a sophisticated palette and his food composition while refined still tastes like food. It’s not just a science experiment. It’s not a surprise he’s a top rising chef. Galen came over to greet us but my snapped photo made us look like we were in an low budget indie. Sorry Galen! Food delirium. But don’t worry, I will be back.
Here’s Wenlan, left, and Katie, right during our dinner at the newly opened Mas La Grillade. (If you’re there, try the whole El Dorado. It can feed a small family. Grilled to perfection.)
Thanks for squeezing us in Katie. Mas Farmhouse is generally booked months in advance so plan ahead or sit in the front bar area which was what we did and loved it. We ran into a few other LA industry execs squatting our table. I guess everyone knows where to go for mas.
