Writing With My Mouth Full

Mas (farmhouse)

39 Downing Street off Bedford
212/255.1790
about $255 for four, with several drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

I reserved the bar for four people at 7:30pm and because it was before prime dinner time, we were seated right away even though it was a Friday night. We sat elbow to elbow, looked at each other via the mirror behind the bar and passed our plates to one another to share.

The people behind Mas pay attention to details most New York restaurants forget about these days. I couldn’t help but ooh and aah at everything. I loved the Red Berry Dinnerware from England, the knives with pearl handles and the Terrazzo placemats. A skewer stick holding a sliced lemon made squeezing it in my basil and strawberry cocktail easier. And you know how else you can score a point with me? Have some hooks under the bar for my purse! It’s surprising how only a few bars in the city think of doing this. Every time I brush my hand under the bar, I want to feel a hook I can use, not old gum. The olive walls and warm lighting made the space cozy even though an entire glass wall exposed guests to the street traffic of the West Village.

We started with wahoo, or ono, sashimi in olive oil, cilantro and lime. The Portuguese sardines were served with a Parmesan cheese sablÃ© cracker, reportedly made in-house, and caramelized onions, both of which controlled the fishy taste. While some of us enjoyed the Maine lobster and the fresh oysters and scallops, I split the $36 braised pork belly in a cider reduction sauce served with purÃ©ed apple and cabbage. Cranberry beans, which are only named for their red speckles, accompanied the dish and gave it a heartier and nuttier taste. To cap the bill at $200, we ordered and devoured the gooseberries and fig in hibiscus soup and the yogurt panna cotta with grape juice and apricots.

The staff seem knowledgable without being hokey. Our bartender was extra nice. He poured us a glass of an Alsace dry reisling to match our fish appetizers from the goodness of his heart. When one of us expressed an interest in tasting some whites with his dinner, he served three different types in small parts, which included one from Reuilly, but only charged for one glass.

Chef Galen Zamarra’s experiences with David Bouley and Alain Passard probably defined him as a chef, but Mas is where he proudly shows off the skills he learned. Mas, or French for farmhouse, was over my budget, but it was also a feast to my design sensibilities. Mas also means more in Spanish and after my first visit, I wanted more. If you want to impress or be impressed, Mas is the way to go.

Prosciutto and Arugula Pizzetta

If you’ve been visiting this site long enough, you know I spend a lot of time and money at Di Palo on Mott and Grand Street. I never wait less than 30 minutes except if I order ahead of time and arrange for a pickup. I usually just come in, pick a number from the machine at the door and wait for my turn to taste some new cheese or cold cuts and add to my usual order of prosciutto, spicy sausage, olive oil, illy coffee and Callipo tuna. During my last wait for 45 minutes, a dinner idea popped in my head and I ended up buying everything at Di Palo except for the fresh arugula I picked up at the grocery store on my way home. They also carry bread from Sullivan Street Bakery so I didn’t have to go out of my way–their focaccia rosemary bread is one of my favorites.

Ingredients:
1 square focaccia rosemary bread
fresh mozarella
Italian prosciutto, sliced paper-thin by the meat guy
fresh arugula, rinsed, pat dry
olive oil

1. Preheat oven at 350Âº. Prepare pizzetta on a baking sheet wrapped in aluminum foil. On the focaccia bread, lay the mozarella slices first and then top with prosciutto. Drizzle some olive oil. Lay the arugula and then some more prosciutto again.
2. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, enough to melt the mozarella and toast the bread.

Fennel and Beet Salad

Adapted from Mary’s Fish Camp

Ingredients:
1 bulb fennel, sliced thinly
1 bunch red beets, rinsed, pat dry
shaved aged goat cheese
lemon juice
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven 350Âº. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Set aside. When cool enough to handle, peel with a paring knife and slice in rounds.
2. Meanwhile, soak fennel in a bowl with lemon juice. This is to keep the fennel’s color.
3. When ready to serve, drain fennel and combine with beets, salt, pepper and olive oil. Using a peeler, shave off some goat cheese on top.

Related post/s:
Visit Mary’s Fish Camp

Spiced Kohlrabi

I keep seeing this weird bulb in Chinatown but no one could tell me what it was. I asked the vendor and all I got was a OneDOLLAH! So I asked my dependable Chinese friend, Shao, and she said her mother calls it choi tao but she wasn’t sure what Americans call them. A visit at Telepan answered my question. Our friend’s chicken dish came with cauliflower and kohlrabi. I’ve never heard of kohlrabi before so when I got home, I Googled it and lo and behold, it was that Sputnik bulb!

The name comes from two German words that mean cabbage and turnip but its flesh is like the stem of a broccoli. You peel off the tough outer layers and cut the flesh in an angle to get slices like that of an apple. Shao’s mom uses two bulbs to include it in a pork and vegetable stir-fry. I found an old zucchini recipe that I thought would work with the tender flesh of a kohlrabi.

Ingredients:
1 kohlrabi, peeled, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed, sliced
1 tsp cumin, grounded
1 tsp fennel seeds, grounded
1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
1 red chili
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Toast bay leaf until fragrant and remove. SautÃ© garlic. Add kohlrabi and spices. Set aside some of the ground spices for garnishing. Cook until soft, stirring constantly, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Serve in ramekins and sprinkle with a little lemon juice and remaining ground spices.

Telepan

72 West 69th Street off Columbus
212/580.4300
about $450 for four, with champagne and wine, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

I was walking around the upper west side one afternoon when I saw the spoon, knife and fork Telepan logo. I crossed the street to check out the menu posted outside and made a mental note to return and eat there. Months elapsed and I forgot the name and location. I just kept thinking of that logo. Enter Arabella who told me a recent dinner at Telepan was one of her best meals in a long time. The Dr.’s friends were visiting from Seattle so I booked a table for four without making the connection. When it came time to eat, I walked up 69th Street and noticed the logo that’s been bugging me for some time. I knew then I was meant to eat at Telepan.

Our meals were deliciously memorable. The first thing that caught my eye was the price: $59 for a 4-course prix fixe menu, $95 with wine pairings. To me, this was an incredible deal because it’s not often New York City restaurants offer an affordable price when they pride themselves in changing the menu daily with seasonal and fresh ingredients. An amuse of swiss chard with cheese and a dainty cup of mushroom soup was served before our meal. Here’s the rest of the rundown:

Yellowtail sashimi on faro tabbouleh with cured tuna and mint
I’ve made tabbouleh before but this was so much more pleasing to the tongue. I thought matching it with yellowtail was incredible. The tabbouleh held the texture while the fish melted in my mouth. The touch of mint flavor provided the dish with spunk. I love matches made in heaven.

Hen of the Woods mushrooms with poached egg and frisÃ©e
I’ve also used Hen of the Woods mushrooms before and even managed to poach an egg. I remember how fragrant the mushrooms were. Eggs served during dinner is trendy but I have no problem with that. Simplicity is key.

Buttercup squash gnocchi with sage, wild mushrooms and pine nuts
Not to be confused with butternut squash, this cute version was served with orange gnocchi. We couldn’t tell which was pasta and which was squash meat at first but I am still amazed at how edible the squash skin was. I thought this was delightfully autumn.

Seared foie gras and foie gras-stuffed apple with duck prosciutto, cider glaze and walnuts
I haven’t had foie gras in a while so without question, this was my mid-course selection. The bitterness of the watercress stopped it from being too decadent (is there such a thing?) and yet a dollop of the cider glaze made it delicately sweet.

Duck breast with pomegranates and gold rice, duck confit and baby turnips
The duck breast was nicely seared except for two slices that had an unappetizing tint of brown and gray in the middle. We weren’t sure what made them so but we left them untouched and ate the rest.

Pancetta-wrapped monkfish with shell beans, roasted garlic sauce and black kale in herb oil
I’ve been in a fish mood lately even though I rarely order it unless it’s sushi or sashimi. Monkfish is my choice though because it’s meatier and it doesn’t flake and fall apart. Plus, how can I ever say no to pancetta-wrapped anything? This was definitely something that made me look forward to winter–a very comforting dish.

Pear with phyllo dough
This was my dessert choice. The phyllo crumbled softly while the stewed pear held its own fleshiness. I could have used less of the cream and sauce, but that’s just me without a sweet tooth.

Fig and rum panna cotta
The panna cotta was just pure booze. I think I would have like this better if it was coffee-flavored so it didn’t have to compete with the natural sweetness of the beautiful figs.