This was my first time in New York and I absolutely loved it! Me being a country bumpkin I was particularly impressed about how high the buildings there were and how cheap the jeans…As you can imagine,I needed a lot of food to fill up on all the calories I burnt running through the city exploring the hidden corners of Manhattan and Brooklyn and I found some great restaurants most of which were recommend to me by fellow foodies.
I managed to squeeze in an impressive number of excellent breakfasts,lunches and dinners considering it was only a long weekend and in this post I will describe my two dinners at Public in Nolita (Manhattan) and Mas (Farmhouse) in Greenwich Village (Manhattan),both restaurants in about the same price range with starters at around 10-15 dollar and mains for about 25-30 dollars. While the food at Public was very excellent,I was a bit disappointed by Mas which has been described to me by several people as being outstanding.
Public
Public opened in 2003 and got awarded its first Michelin star in 2009. The chef Brad Farmerie has cooked with Peter Gordon and Anna Hansen in London at the Tapa Rooms and Providores among others and his food –an inspired mixture of the influences of different cuisines (he has cooked in France,Hungary,Romania,Spain and New Zealand) with an edge –is delicious. We managed to get in without booking but it seems we were only just lucky as the restaurant filled up quickly with the young and trendy. (just like us of course 
The decor is certainly stylish but subtly so and the exposed brick wall sets a pleasant contrast with the sleek wood furniture and an odd piece of antique such as an old filing cabinet. The service is –like basically everywhere we went in New York –extremely friendly and polite. Quite a difference to London really,they actually don’t seem to be annoyed by your presence or maybe they can hide it better,who knows…Either way,I like this service-orientated culture.
I did not opt for the kangaroo (which I have never eaten and was intrigued to try but RS insisted of it being not very nice and I believed him) but went for a healthy and delicious sounding option:the Lentil Salad (11) with green beans,toasted pecans and avocado with a herb vinaigrette was to die for. Give me food like this and I will be vegetarian with no regrets in no time. Not only the taste was superb but also the combination of different textures was very pleasant:the perfectly cooked,just about al dente lentils,the crisp green beans,the soft ripe avocado and the crunchy pecans.
Also the second starter of Grilled Scallops with sweet chili sauce and a plantain crisp (15.5) was heavenly with scallops that literally melted in my mouth and the subtle,lingering BBQ-taste enhancing the scallop’s own flavour. The chili sauce and salad leaves supported the scallops as the leading act without attempting to take centre stage themselves.
Also the mains were excellent. The Roast Lamb Sirloin (28.00) was cooked to a medium-rare perfection,the goats cheese polenta was subtly seasoned and did not overpower the taste of the meat and the vegetables in saffron were crunchy and delicious. A delight also was the Pork Belly (28) which was soft and succulent and I completely forgot that I usually don’t like pork very much. In fact,I have decided after this meal that I actually love it.
So everything was nice and mellow and we were very happy,this was until we got the bill. I know that we have moved from 10% service charge to 12.5% and we are not far away from 15% but suggesting us to pay 18% and 20%,respectively? I mean the service was good,but it’s not that they gave me a back rub or polished my shoes or anything. And there was not red carpet for me either! I just think this is getting increasingly ridiculous and I am starting to get really annoyed by stuff like this. But at least they don’t put it on the bill straight away,there is something for us to look forward to in London…
Even with this little annoyance,this is a very good restaurant and I would happily go back there when I’m in New York next. Particular thanks to Catty for sending me there,I will turn to you again if I need more restaurant recommendations around the world!
- Food: 8/10
- Ambiance: 7/10
- Service:7/10 (not worth 20% service charge though!)
- Value for money: 7.5/10
- Chances of returning:20%
- Verdict: I agree with the Michelin star,excellent place.
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Mas (Farmhouse) 
We went to Mas (Farmhouse) for the second special dinner,unfortunately this restaurant did not quite live up to our (admittedly high) expectations. The restaurant itself was again very nice (Mas is the French word for a traditional Provencal farmhouse and there really was a big rustic wooden table in the middle of the otherwise modern restaurant) with flawless,polite service and interesting menu. The restaurant is a joint venture of chef Galen Zamarra and sommelier Hugh Crickmore and the food could be best described as French-American fusion.
I have the strong suspicion that the chef had the day off (it was Sunday) because most of the dishes (apart from the desserts) were bordering on bland and even though they were not bad as such they left me strangely unsatisfied. We went for the 4 course menu for 68 dollar consisting of one starter,two mains and one dessert.
Already the amuse bouche was not terribly exciting –some completely unremarkable puff pastry thing. Of the complementary bread,I loved the brown farmhouse bread while the ciabatta clearly had seen better times.
The French-American fusion became evident in form of the Sweetcorn Soup with Scallops. The soup was actually really nice and the scallops well cooked,the problem was however that there was nothing to counterbalance the sweetness of both of the scallops and the sweetcorn.
The second starter of Smoked Trout on Roasted Beets was rather nice too. The combination of smoked trout with horseradish and the lovely soft and tasty beetroot worked really well but lacked the wow factor that I would have expected to find in abundance in a restaurant like this.
The next course was a Poached Maine Lobster with Lobster Bisque. Even though the side dishes such as fennel confit and bell peppers stuffed with crab sounded really exciting and all the ingredients were nicely cooked the dish ended up being bland.
The same lack of big flavours was also found in the mains:Ravioli of Braised Baby Lamb with a Parmesan Foam Zucchini-Mint Puree,Haricot Verts in Pesto and Red Pearl Onions again sounded really ambitious in theory but in practice none of the flavours really came through. Like the other,this was not a bad dish just not great either. The other main of Fried Squash Blossoms with Shiitake Mushrooms and Kabocha Squash Huitlacoche-Black Trumpet Puree,Roasted Eggplant &Almond Milk - what an impressive name for a dish –was particularly recommended to us by our waiter. It was however,with the words of RS,‘pedestrian’. It did not look nice and it did not taste nice either,maybe it would be better to limit the amount of strange ingredients and make the ones used work together better.
I did love the dessert though. Hazelnut-Milk Chocolate Mousse with Salted Caramel Ice Cream &Chocolate Ganache was beautiful and the combination of the sweet milk chocolate mousse,the bitter chocolate and the absolutely delicious salty caramel ice cream was a sensual pleasure.
Also the RS’dessert of Warm Blackberry Compote over a Corn Financier,Sweet Corn Ice Cream &a Corn Tuile was surprisingly nice particularly considering it was all corn. Who would have thought that sweet corn ice cream is so delectable?
The service was again perfect,although the synchronised serving and taking plates (always two waiters were needed to take two plates from our table) was bordering on ridiculous. What a waste of manpower! In the end I am not sure if I would eat there again. The question really is,was I just unlucky?
- Food:5/10
- Service:8/10
- Ambiance:7.5/10
- Valuer for money:4.5/10
- Chances of returning:3% (but 50% just the salty caramel ice cream!)
- Verdict: much too expensive for the quality offered
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