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“Mas”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	West Village	Moderate	Great

MAS

Way back when, in another life, I was the opening manager of a restaurant called Isla, which is the space that is now Mas, so it was quite a trip to be there three years later, as a writer, in different skin so to speak, and to see the remarkable newly designed digs.

The work of designers David Netto and Kate Kaiser, Mas is a sleek, but warm space that manages to be at once rustic and earthy, and modern and elegant. The restaurant has a soft sexiness to it, dressed up in sheer curtains with rich slate gray walls, deep blue suede banquettes tossed with tapestry covered pillows, with century-old, salvaged wood beams lining the windows, and raw exposed stone walls. Mas is a beauty. The place is a labor of love and the collective vision of chef Galen Zamarra (former chef de cuisine at Bouley Bakery and a James Beard Rising Star Chef), and partners Hugh Crickmore (sommelier of Marseille) and Tom Wilson (bar manager of Nice Matin).

The food here is going to knock your socks off. So consider yourselves warned; bring extra socks.

Zamarra is a young (he is all of 28), feisty, and visionary chef who manages to think outside the box, but no so far that you are afraid to dig in to your meal. Dinner can be a la carte, or in the form of a pair of tasting menus (Chef’s Tasting - $68, Seasonal Tasting - $48). At Mas you will find beautiful family-farmed ingredients played with in unexpected and thrilling ways. A thin slab of white tuna gets flashed in beurre noisette and served with crispy wild ramps ($12). A buttery-soft circle of Cooperstown lamb saddle is wrapped in spinach and served with a spiced eggplant moussaka and fresh tomato harissa ($29). An organic hen is poached with truffles and saffron, so its meat is soft, and saturated with flavor, and served Bradley’s savoy cabbage ($22). A delicate dish of roasted duck, sliced into rare, pink medallions, is paired with shear slices of smoked duck giving the dish a nice contrast in flavors and textures; it is showered with candied pistachio nougat ($28). An unexpected favorite was the whipped veloute of mango and parsnip topped with three plump roasted mussels ($11). My bowl was shiny and clean by the time it made its way back to the kitchen.

There are multiple wonders on this menu—like the Neversink River Brook Trout filled with fennel, wild ramps and pearl onions ($11), Hudson Valley Squab baked in clay with truffled duck pies (on the chef’s tasting menu), a ... [more, click below]

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Posted: April 4, 2004

Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

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