1200 Miles

The approximate distance from Algeria to France is 1200 miles. In a historical context, Algeria was ruled by France from 1830-1962 (Thanks wikipedia). Blending in the Moroccan flavors and primarily French ingredients, we have 1200 miles, located in Flatiron. According to the website, the objectives of the head chef is to make a New American cuisine which incorporates his background of French, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Moroccan cuisines. It certainly works as the dishes we had were full of flavors we could not confine to one cuisine.

View from outside

Interior- Classy and sophisticated but not also has a casualness like a French bistro to it

Doors to the back section- the doors could slide (we noticed the tracks on the floor) and create a private room

Private booths for diners who like privacy

There is a platform that leads to the other section of the restaurant, below the platform is the bar

Almost medieval lights- creating a eclectic atmosphere which is representative of the eclectic cuisine

Bread to start with- they bring the small pan basket of bread and a plate with garlic and seasalt; after the plate is settled down, our waiter poured olive oil on the plate. So interesting! I thought we were going to eat bread with salt for a second there!

Appetizer from Restaurant week menu- “Creamy Peekytoe Crab- Melon, tomato, tarragon & lime (quoted from menu)”- Very light summer appetizer, lightly seasoned crab meat is placed on top of a sweet summer sauce.

Grilled octopus salad- I only had a piece of octopus but it’s grilled to perfection, chewy and savory. So good.

Appetizer from Restaurant week menu- “Asparagus salad- Spicy Carrots “En vinaigrette,” yogurt, Shaved chevre” (quoted from menu)”-Simple and tasty.

“Chilled tomato soup- buttermilk marinated peaches, soft herbs” (quoted from website)- Such an interesting combination, the chilled tomato soup has a lot of the sourness of tomatoes but with sweet peaches floating around and the herbs to give it a kick of flavor, it’s really uniquely its own. Definitely try this when you’re there; don’t think you would be able to get it elsewhere.

Entree from Restaurant week menu-“black garlic fettuccini- summer vegetables, chanterelles, pine nuts, grana padano”- (quoted from menu) Italian cuisine! I love fettuccini because of the flatness of the noodles so I am very biased. If you want to be safe and not so adventurous, you definitely can’t go wrong with this. It is one of the more traditional dishes.

Entree from Restaurant week menu-“pan roasted bluefish padron peppers, mussels, long island corn, asparagus pesto”- (quoted from menu)- The fish has crispy skins and the meat is moist- the corn, mussels and peppers has a spicy kick to it. This was the dish that made us think the primary ingredient is French (fish) but the side ingredients (corn, mussels and peppers) are the ones seasoned with Moroccan spices.

“colorado lamb loin- english peas, vaudovan carrots, oyster mushrooms” (quoted from website)- the sauce is uniquely its own (meaning hard to describe since I don’t think I had similar) and the lamb loin is cooked medium rare so the meat retains its juiciness without being raw or overcooked. Don’t get this if you have a big appetite as the portion is a bit small for this entree.

“tea brined chicken- grains and greens, spicy chermoula sauce” (quoted from website)- Another good dish and very reliant on its uniquely spiced sauce

Dessert from Restaurant week menu-“Chocolate Espresso Parfait- Pistachio praline, chantilly cream”- (quoted from menu)-
Mild espresso, strong and creamy chocolate which is not overly sweet and moderate in density so it’s not too heavy. You don’t feel like you’re 1200 pounds after you finish it!

Dessert from Restaurant week menu-“Summer Stone fruit zabaglione, biscotti”- (quoted from menu)- Zabaglione is an Italian dessert made with eggyolk, sugar and wine. The dessert the sweet creamy zabaglione, somewhat tart fruit mixed with peaches and plums marinated in wine and biscotti.

“summer plum tart- honey, vanilla gelato, currant cassis sauce”- (quoted from menu)- For this freshly baked tart, there is a 12 minute wait time. It’s definitely worth it, the tart crust is crispy like a buttery croissant with many layers and the wine marinated tart is sweet but not superfluously so. The gelato melts on the warm tart rather fast so make sure you eat this fast!

Even without restaurant week menu, 1200 miles is fair with prices, given the unique experience and cuisine it has to offer. Our waiter was nice and patient with us as we asked to split the bill into four and then asked to put it back as one for my cousin’s special occasion. I didn’t have a good look at the cocktail menu but apparently it follows the same philosophy as its dishes; uniquely its own with blends and concoctions you would not find elsewhere. The restaurant week menu is from the restaurant’s official menu not a specially prepared menu for the less fortunate.

Nougatine by Jean Georges

I have never been to a Jean Georges restaurant but have definitely heard of it. Located in the Trump hotel, across from Central park at 59th street, it is really the perfect location with a good view. Sitting near the window, I was distracted with the scene outside: green street lights, bicycles and passerby’s; I felt like I was an spectator of a show without a plot.

Aside from romanticizing the scene outside and daydreaming, Nougatine is a casual branch of Jean Georges, so even if you walked in with a simple button down shirt, dressing smartly but casually, it would be fine. The restaurant is actually quite small with an outside terrace. We made a reservation at 9:15; inadvertently didn’t get seated till 9:45pm although they were nice about it (Apologies, updates, offering terrace seats- which we would have taken if the night wasn’t so humid).

Interior- you can see the kitchen in the back and bar on the side

Complimentary appetizer- Corn biscuit with actual corn bits and spicy mayo sauce. Corn is in season!

Tuna Tartare on top of Avocado swimming in ginger marinade sauce and spicy radish on top
Really one of the best tuna tartare I have ever had, tuna tartare tastes really fresh and the mushy avocado with the ginger sauce really brings out the flavor and texture of tuna tartare. If you go, you must definitely try it.

Foie Gras Brule with strawberry syrup and balsamic- Foie Gras is smooth and you can easily slather it on the toast, it is on top of. You just need a dab of strawberry syrup to bring out the contrasting taste (innate saltiness vs sweetness of the syrup) and balsamic for an extra tangy kick.

Proscuitto Wrapped Pork Chop in a bed of glazed mushrooms and sage- I think pork chop is really hard to cook; most of the times, even in really good restaurants, it is too dry. Nougatine tells you they cook it medium and ask if you are okay with it. I am definitely okay with it since it’s still juicy and not rough at all. The vegetable is flavorfully cooked and savory- although a tad too salty on its own but with the lightly seasoned pork chop and thin slices of proscuitto, it works as a whole.

We had planned to go to Nougatine because of restaurant week but the restaurant week menu was limited with choices (2 choices per category). So a friend got the tasting menu and the rest of us shared an appetizer and got an entree. The portions are generous and the tuna tartare is a must try. No photos of it but the honorable mention goes to the lobster burger which comes with french fries; generous lobster meat seasoned perfectly to bring out the fresh lobster taste (forget the mayo! you don’t need it!) and thinly cut crispy french fries. Price is reasonable at around $25 (I don’t remember the price exactly, sorry).

David Burke Fishtail

Funny thing happened at this restaurant on an unassuming Sunday evening. We got there over half an hour earlier, reserved the table under my name and it turned out somewhere in the restaurant there was my doppelganger with the same first and last name. We were close in number also; she reserved for 5 and we reserved for 4. What is the possibility of that? Pretty neat (or my name is just that common!).

Frankly speaking, I don’t look forward to restaurant week as much as I used to after last year. On Thursday I also went to the restaurant at Perry street and was disappointed; more on that in another post later.

David Burke’s Fishtail is located in a row of town houses; upon going inside, you see a bar and some booths, the host is actually near the stairs and there is a kitchen in the back. The main color is red; the kind of red you see on crayfish and lobsters, the vibrant red that encompasses you with its contrasting yellow on decors from here and there. You go up the stairs and you see modern decors; colorful transparent, exaggerated light bulb sculptures, an unused fireplace and mantle, worn out chairs and lights that are reminiscent of Japanese lanterns because of the colors. It’s all done very tastefully, if not playfully.

One thing we liked about this restaurant week menu is, it’s not a refugee’s menu which the restaurant creates just for this event to cut back on the loss. You actually get what is on the night’s menu. More than three options per category which is a real treat compared to other restaurants.

DAVID BURKE’S OWN SMOKED SALMON- horseradish crème fraiche / mustard oil / watercress pancake (from website)
Generous portion, watercress pancake has a very delicate taste; everything goes well together, but it’s not anything you haven’t tasted before.

FRIED OYSTERS creamed spinach / tomato aioli / jalapeño maple bacon (from website)
Creamed spinach was very tasty as it also served a bed for the fried oyster, sweetness from maple bacon and tomato aioli which is slightly sour but mostly sweet brought a new touch to the fried crispiness of the oyster. Well executed.

CORNFLAKE CRAB CAKE BALLS mango tomato salsa / red onion / jalapeño (from website)
Using cornflake makes the crab cakes very crispy and probably easier to keep in shape. Again, generous amount of crabmeat and sweet mango salsa makes you long for summer, jalapeno sauce was so light on spiciness I could barely recall it.

SURF & TURF DUMPLINGS lobster / short rib / fennel purée / moroccan glaze / shaved winter vegetables (from website)
It’s not a combination of lobster and short rib in one dumpling; one dumpling contains one meat. I like the lobster dumplings more than short rib since short rib was a bit dry. Overall, it’s an interesting interpretation since I was expecting a ravioli kind of dumpling with thick skin and heavy sauce. The dumplings tasted a bit like Asian fusion with light flavors, thin sauce and thin skin (sounds funny).

NORI & MUSTARD CRUSTED TUNA- soba noodle & shitake stir-fry / tomato miso (from website)
It was very plain in flavors; soba noodle and the-hard-to-find, where’s-waldo-shitake was lightly seasoned. Tuna was crusted but also lightly flavored. It was probably a dish for those with sensitive palate since the rest of us were left in a state of being lost. What happened to the flavors?

SLOW BRAISED SHORT RIB- creamy pepper jack white polenta / lemon caper onion rings (from website)
Salty polenta complements the lightly seasoned rib. Rib tasted a bit dry, overall it was okay but I think my opinion coincides with my dislike of short rib.

GRILLED BRANZINO quinoa & cranberry / butternut squash (from website)
A play on palate and texture with lightly salted Branzino, sweet quinoa and butternut squash. I liked the texture of grained quinoa, the mushiness of butternut squash and how the fish cooked to perfection that the meat fell off at the touch of your fork and it was not rough at all.

Dessert competition
COCONUT CRÈME BRULEE macadamia nut shortbread (from website)- Sweet, very sweet with sweet cookie
DAVID BURKE’S CHEESECAKE LOLLIPOPS FOR TWO- bubble gum whipped cream (from website)-
This one totally threw us off. The whipped cream was shaped like ice cream, so initially I thought it was ice cream. Usually lollipops have bubble gum in the center, so I imagined the taste of the center to be bubble gum, but after a few more tasting, it was verified that the cream on the side was bubble gum flavored. No baked cheesecake in the center with Godiva (I made this up), truffle exterior. Totally weird combination of things which made my head spin and uncertain if the taste was really that pleasant combined.
BANANA CREAM PIE- drunken toffee sauce (from website)
The winner; creamy and light banana flavor with a granola crust and sweet toffee sauce to enhance the sweetness of the banana. Highly recommended.

I like the setting; I think it’s rare to have a chance to dine in a townhouse. To see the layout and how it is utilized as a restaurant is very interesting. I like the spray painted fish with bold black lines and light colors. In terms of food, it’s somewhere along the lines of being mediocre but also wanting to break out of the shell to combine something wholly different. Ambition admired but if execution could be as high as ambition, it would be wonderful.

Cheers.

HABITUAL HAPPINESS st. germain / cointreau / rose water / prosecco / wild hibiscus flower (from website)

Kittichai Dinner & Munny Zipper Pulls

After experiencing lots of misses and disappointments last restaurant week, I let my friend choose a restaurant that had the normal menu on it- not the generic steak, salmon or chicken recipe created for restaurant week by most restaurants. We went to Kittichai located near Soho; I had brunch there before.

The bad thing about that location is, as you walk from the N train station which is the Prince street station, you pass by Kidrobot and I have this small addiction of walking in inconspicuously, heading towards the mysterious Munny zipper pull up boxes, shaking the boxes and listening to the sound and attempting to get a figurine instead of a cute little lightning bolt. The zipper pulls could come in handy; but actually they’re for a friend who loves to decorate Munny (Here’s the link in case your interested/curious:
http://www.kidrobot.com/ShopAll/DesignerToys/ZipperPullsKeychains/MUNNYWORLDZipperPulls1Incheach.html”)

So far, I had bought 3 boxes and was able to get the purple Munny zipper pull!

Anyway, straying from the main story, let’s focus on Kittichai.

Thai ice tea- comes with liquid syrup on the side and milk- tea is not sweeten so it is to taste. Standard Thai ice tea with a cute presentation.

Barbeque baby back ribs, spiced tamarind glaze, fried basil (from website)- ribs is so tender, it falls off the bone. Sweet and full of savory spices with a very light basil taste, really enjoy this dish.

Thai organic chicken, Maitake mushrooms, sesame-soy, poached egg (from website)- to be honest, I don’t really remember this dish. The chicken was a bit dry.

Grilled hanger steak, Thai hollandaise, roasted beets, sweet sesame soy dressing (from website)- Savory and flavorful, steak is juicy and delicious.

Coconut creme caramel with a coconut tuile (from web site) – tuile is a wafer made with dough or cheese (from wiki). I think it was a bit hard and the coconuts were too dried. Coconut creme caramel tasted like your standard flan. Not that special.

I like the service at Kittichai. They don’t treat you like inferiors even though you are there for restaurant week menu and did not order any alcoholic beverage. The waitress was friendly and warned me the flavors of the braised pork cheeks were similar to the ribs. If I go again, I would just do appetizer and skip entree & dessert. Portions is a bit small. It’s a cute place for the ambiance and Thai fusion explosions of flavors. And next time I will try to take an alternative route; There are too many goodies at Kidrobot.

Benoit

I was excited to find out infamous French Chef, Alain Ducasse’s restaurant Benoit was on the restaurant week list. Looking at the brightly lit photos online and hearing about his trek to culinary flame, naturally flares up my expectations. Located in Midtown, against the Broadway lights, the bright red light becomes subtle and merely blends in.

Towards the back of the restaurant. We always get the corners for some odd reason 🙂

Lighting is more orange compared to other photos I have seen online- maybe lunch vs dinner.

Another shot

Complimentary cheese puffs and bread- Cheddar Cheese puff that were cold and tasted a little bit like the mini cracker Goldfish- probably because of the saltiness

Butter squash soup- Too much salt and pepper- can taste the vegetable stock more than the squash. Managed to finish the whole bowl of soup but was wishing would end soon. Not a good sign.

Cheese Souffle- Light sponge cake textured cheese- there is a faint cheese taste. A bit bland.

Cod- Salty and a bit slimy kind of texture…

Short ribs- Dry and not marinated enough. Can barely taste the red wine of the sauce. The portion was big but it tasted like they put it in a crock pot and was cooking a lot of this. It was really salty. Sweet mashed potato was good and carrot was sweet.

Souffle – Cold and disappointing. I miss the souffle at this French restaurant in Tribeca. Vanilla ice cream was good.

Lemon Tart- Hard and Sour.

Benoit has raving reviews; so I suspect they might have skimped out on the Restaurant week menu. The place was packed when we went on Thursday. I think Benoit is catered to more traditional styled cuisine and perhaps for stronger taste palate- that’s why we found everything salty. But who knows, I just knew I was severely disappointed to not experience any of Alain Ducasse’s culinary genuis. We didn’t even finish our desserts. It will take some time before we can go there again if we decide to give it another shot.

Russian Tea Room

On top of my most anticipated restaurant list is The Russian Tea room. In fact, it was the first restaurant I made reservations for! I remember browsing through the menu and thinking the prices weren’t terrible until I realized I was just looking at the appetizers! That was mind blowing.

I used to go to the Art Student League so I remember walking pass Carnegie hall and then Russian Tearoom. It seemed like a dream away- my friend wanted to have her bachelorette there- but our friend was then jobless so we decided to go somewhere else. So many missed opportunities so my expectations gradually became skyhigh for this place! It’s a place you keep hearing about but need the right opportunity to go because there is just no justification for the prices otherwise.

When you enter the restaurant, you’re greeted with chandeliers and gaudy ostentatiousness in all its glory. The host was friendly and asked us if it’s okay to be seated on the second floor; she also asked us if we had any questions. Grasping the opportunity, I asked for a little history lesson about the place. She said the place was built in the 1920s (hence the Klimt baroquial goldness evidence in the interior)originally as a bakery. After WWII, the shop was changed to a restaurant and the second floor was built; it is called the bear lounge. There is the Fabergé tree on the scond floor- I asked her what that is and she said I’d see it.

At first, I wish she had explained it to me but upon seeing the tree- I understood why it’s hard to describe.

Bear aquarium- According to the waiter, there are fish in there and they take it out if you order fish for dinner. The aquarium rotates 360, so you can see the bear at all its angle.

Fabergé tree with Venetian glass eggs- very majestical- I told my friend I felt like this place was unreal and I was in a mystical dream. Love it.

The ceiling is like an artwork in itself with all brightly composed colors through opaque glass. Very expressionistic; it seems to be an extension of Munch’s the Scream with its cool colors and brushstrokes stirring emotions.

Paranoma view!!

Borscht Soup- Sweet and light with a complment of mini flakey many layered mini croissant and cream on the side

Cheese Crepe with light egg souffle- Delicious and egg custard souffle melts in your mouth. Taste is very delicate.

Filet mignon with mashed potato & carrot- The filet is cooked with really good wine sauce on the side; mashed potato is slightly sweet and carrot is sweet and organic.The portion is a bit small but the meat they use is very tender.

NY style cheesecake- light and smooth.

Chocolate pyramid with raspberry- Dark chocolate with powdered sugar; not too sweet and raspberry inside pyramid blends in sublty with the dark chocolate. (Heart drizzled syrup!)

Cappucino- This has to be one of the most expensive cappucino I have ever paid in my life. It was $8. The only time I remember paying that much was going to the Continental in Florence with my cousin so we can get a good view of the city with its red roof tops. Not to disappoint for strong coffee drinker, I felt like there was 3 shots of espresso in this coffee. You can imagine how I was bouncing off the walls all night.

Beautiful ornament I saw in the basement- no idea what it is but my eyes were attracted to it!

Russian tearoom is definitely a memorable experience. It makes me feel like I had teleported to a time and era lost in history where imagination is the interior and reality; it is the polar opposite of the modernistic interior or the natural vintage interior we are so used to in a lot of places. It reminds us that royalty still exists, there are still diplomats everywhere, some artistrocrats hiding and once in a while, our dream might be interrupted by a large group of people celebrating bachelorette party.
Out of all the restaurant week experience I’ve ever had, this was definitely the best. For one, I think they are very smart in knowing how to maintain the quality of food without losing out too much. Instead of huge portion- bang for your buck, they made small portioned dishes but with delicacy and quality. This place is great and quite impressive. Love it. Splurge if you have the money to!!

The Lambs Club

Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian’s New American restaurant, The Lambs Club is located inside Chatwal hotel in the theatre district. There are two floors and two bars. Entering the premise on the first floor, you would noticed retro red seats and fireplace on the side, artifice of Mad Men era.

We went for restaurant week so technically they will only seat you at the Lambs Club bar which is this small section on the second floor. However, we were lucky the bartender was friendly and got us seats on the first floor. Although I am normally an introvert, I got curious about the restaurant and chatted a bit. According to the bartender, a lot of food network’s celebrity chefs frequent there and she has seen a lot of Zakarian (just not on Mondays that much, for those of you, stalker-fans). She also got to try the restaurant week entrees before they were released! Perks of working there!

First floor- When you first walk in, you feel like you moved into a movie set because of all the lighting and unrealistic red cushion seats.

Signature painting in the center of the dining room- recognize anyone?

Fireplace to make it romantic!

Started off with a non-alcoholic beer because I had to wait for my friend at the bar- wanted to study also, so figure this will do me least harm. Asked bartender what is a non alcoholic beer exactly and it turns out it still contains alcohol but they shorten the last part of fermentation so it won’t be as alcoholic!

Soft warm bread with scallion, poppy seeds, black and white same- this was really good and buttery (even without the butter on the side).

Warm Vermont Burrata (a type of cheese)- Burrata tastes like fresh mozzarella cream, salad has olive oil with parsley, fresh bits of basils, and a hint of garlic. Arugula salad and the prune divides the dish into sweet and salty; the fresh burrata neutralizes the acidity of the olive oil, delicately balancing the saltiness with the sweetness.

Crudo of Hamachi- Crudo means raw in Italian. Hamachi sashimi is what it means essentially. Can taste it is slightly flambe, it is still very freshly raw, there is a hint of lemon and when you eat it with the thinly sliced jalepenos, you get this citrusy and refreshing olive oil taste sashimi. Very delicately delicious. Love the combination of flavors.

Arancini Di Riso- Crispy risotto balls- deep fried with bread crumbs and parmesan on the outside, it’s very melty creamy in the inside.

Cod- Grilled on top, mashed potato on the bottom- the fish tastes fine not like the usual rubbery undercooked or dried overcooked. However, it is a bit salty.

Short Ribs- Noticed on the menu, they listed cocoa & curry, out of all the ingredients from the sauce, the one that is most dominant is definitely the port wine. I do not taste cocoa or curry. It’s bbq on the outside and juicy and tender in the inside. Very light on the seasoning of the meat so it retains its natural taste.

Honey Pistachio cake- Reading the description on the menu I was really looking forward to this. Eating it, I became disappointed. Cake was hard and frozen. Besides being hard and frozen, I couldn’t describe the taste. Yogurt was sour and blackberries were sour, so it doubled the sourness next to a ice brick cake. Not cool.

Milk Chocolate Mousse- Ice cream is standard chocolate ice cream. The passion fruit sauce drizzled on the side did not do anything for the dessert. However the winner is the outer layer of milk chocolate; this milk chocolate tastes like something you’d get from La Maison Du Chocolat. Nice aftertaste and strong cocoa flavor. The mousse is average at best.

The Lambs club started off with really good appetizers but ended with mediocre desserts. Sadly dessert is the last part we eat and the dish that keeps us happy at the end usually. We see tons and tons of potential just from consuming the first dishes, however something is missing here. And for an expensive restaurant inside a hotel, the waiter service definitely needs improvement. For dessert, the waiter brought us 2 pistachio cakes and when we told him the order was wrong, he took the dishes back and sighed loudly. I understand customers are annoying but some etiquettes are expected at a highly regarded restaurant like The Lambs Club. It’s not worth it to lose it just because of a petty annoyance. They did give us an extra dessert for free (the pistachio cake we did not like).

Mas (La grillade)

Located near the Bermuda triangle (one of many) of west village is Mas (La grillade). The restaurant serves New American food; French portions and unique combinations of fresh ingredients. Walking into the restaurant with black signs, it seems to be receding and blending in with the street image, it is hidden and you have to look twice before you can actually locate it; the sign has thin white fonts against dark black borders.

Entering the restaurant, there is nothing flashy about it; it is humble and clean. There is a wine vault with countless bottles of wine in a glass room. Awesome to look at although we are not lovers of wine at all.

Near the center, to the left you can see the glass room with bottles of wines. The waiter is very meticulous; we watched as he carefully sets the table- making sure the forks and knives are placed perfectly aligned!

Classic and humble, there are beautiful paintings on the wall.

Bread with butter- the bread is warm and chewy. Love warm bread!

Grilled Shrimp salad- Shrimp is fresh and does not have frozen taste, it is seasoned lightly but perfect and is cooked to just the right state- Shrimps usually cook quickly so if it’s overcooked, it might be dried. Salad dressing has vinger dressing that complements the grilled shrimps and veggies taste very fresh.

Buttersquash soup with bit of sour cream- Soup is very delicious; smooth and rich. It has shitake mushrooms, bits of apple pieces and croutons in it. Eating it while it’s warm is great!

Mahi Mahi with bok choy and arugula- Mahi Mahi is a bit overcooked but still retained its juiciness and has miso like sauce on the side to complement it. Bok choy and arugula are fresh and cooked just right; feels very healthy and organic.

Duck Confit with brussel sprouts and spinach- Duck confit had crispy skin but did not feel greasy. The fig on the side (hiding underneath the duck) pairs with the duck perfectly; the cranberry sauce on the side (hiding) also tastes good with the duck (fig is better though). Brussel sprouts and spinach are not salty and tastes ok.

Cake with pomengrenate seeds and cinnamon ice cream- Cinnamon ice cream tastes plain by itself but when the dessert is eaten as a combined entity, it tastes very good. Cinnamon ice cream on lemon cake with grapefruits on top; it tastes citrusy from grapefruits, a bit sour from the pomengrenate seeds and a tad spicy from cinnamon. Perfect combination. So delicious!

Housemade Earl grey and Guinness Stout ice cream- Earl grey ice cream displays the more floral side of earl grey as the black tea taste is very faint; if you eat it continuously it will just taste sweet; you need to have a clean palate to taste the delicate flavors. Guinness stout is interesting; alcohol hits you from the first taste but as you wait for the aftertaste, it tastes a bit like chocolate!

Mas (La grillade) prided themselves by “seasonal menu of New American Cuisine prepared using locally grown and sustainably raised foods cooked solely over wood fires of oak, apple, and other hardwoods.” (Quoted from its webpage)

The dishes are definitely well thought out and the combination of flavors are excellent. I would definitely recommend going if you are in the area and want a special meal for a special event. The chef definitely knows his ingredients and combines freshness with innovative execution of ingredients. I would never imagine the sourness of pomengranate would go well with spiced cinnamon yet it worked perfectly in the dessert. Definitely recommend this place! Prices are a bit steep but a worthwhile place!! There is this attentiveness to details from plate settings to the actual dishes that is hard to find.