Masa's

[jeffj]

I haven't seen any reviews of Masa's since Gregory Short took the helm so I thought I'd post pictures from our dinner there the other night. 9 courses, different sets for men and women:

Aji

Sushi rice, radish, mirin reduction

Dewazakura “Dewasansan” Sake

Caviar

Blini, lemon crème fraiche

Caviar

Miyagi oysters, sabayon, turnips

2003 Prinz Riesling Kabinett

Sashimi of Yellow Fin Tuna and Hamachi

Citrus salad, chive infused oil, red jalapeno

Yellow Fin Tuna Tartare

Heats of palm, edamame, red radish, lemon-pepper vinaigrette

2003 Willakenzie Pinot Gris

Chilled Maine Crab

Pea shoots, red radish, English pea coulis, mint oil

Diver Scallop

English peas, applewood smoked bacon, romaine lettuce, mint oil

2003 Silverado Vineyards Chardonnay

Norwegian Salmon

White asparagus, braised nettles, navel orange glaze

John Dory

Baby carrots, parsnip puree, crispy spring onions, sauce bordelaise

Domaine Bru-Bache Jurancon Sec

Seared Foie Gras

Toasted brioche, orange marmalade, orange supremes, frisse, orange gastrique

Chilled Artisan Foie Gras

Pickled rhubarb, baby greens, house made brioche

2000 Domaine Roulot Monthelie

Liberty Valley Duck Breast

Braised swiss chard, ruby red grapefruit, confit leg, grapefruit sauce

New England Quail

Shiitake mushrooms, baby turnips, wilted spinach, squab jus

2000 Chateau Loudenne Medoc

Prime Beef Ribeye

Caramelized Anjou pears, braised salsify, marble potatoes, tellicherry peppercorn sauce

Saddle of Colorado Lamb

Glazed cipollini onions, baby leeks, brussels sprouts, lamb jus

Arugula Sorbet

Apple slaw, pear soup

Moro Blood Orange Sorbet

Ruby port gelee

2003 Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

Kefir Lime Sorbet

Vanilla-lime gelee, coconut udon, coconut-lemongrass foam, cilantro oil

Textures of Basmati Rice Foam

Tangerine, rum raisin, crème anglaise

Mignardise

[touaregsand]

Thank you for the photos. Impressive presentation, sensual and layered flavors in almost every course. A fluid, painterly style of plating. As opposed to tight, structured and sculptural. It's looks well thought out, but not "cerebral" to point where there is too much refinement and reductivism.

There are few small things that seem a little repetitive. But not worth commenting on, lest I sound like a hair splitting asshole. I have to mention one thing though: Citrus Supremes, I counted three courses. Other fruits in other courses as well. The chef likes fruit.

[robert40]

The Keller influence in the menu descriptions and photos jumped out at me.

Maybe even too much... Notice the, Miyagi oysters, sabayon, turnips

That dish seemed borderline copycat. No?

Did you notice Chef Shorts own personality coming through in his food ?

Thanks Jeff for another set of fantastic photos.

[eje]

I haven't seen any reviews of Masa's since Gregory Short took the helm so I thought I'd post pictures from our dinner there the other night.  9 courses, different sets for men and women:

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Jeff,

Fantastic photos! Thanks for posting them.

Curious about a couple things.

Did you pick the wines or were they available as part of the tasting menu?

Presenting different courses to men and women seems a little odd. Did the members of your party know this would be the case? You've got me trying to guess which are the "girlie" dishes.

touaregsand, given the variety and quality of citrus currently in the markets, it doesn't surprise me that they are featured heavily. It's that time of the year.

Erik

[touaregsand]

Copycat doesn't bother me at all. Keller never copycats?

Actually when I saw the photos I was thinking of more of Asian influences.

I'm not convinced the citrus works in so many dishes. Even if the quality is great this time of year. But that's just my opinion and you know what opinions are often compared to...

[docsconz]

Beautiful dinner. Nice photos. How did the food taste? Did the dishes work as well as they looked?

I had a Valentine's weekend dinner at a restaurant in which men and women each received different tasting menus built around a theme of aphrodisiacal legend. It was fun, though I wouldn't make a regular practice of the concept. That said I like the idea of having different dishes than my wife so that we could each taste that many more dishes. The problem comes in when I like her dish more than mine .

[robert40]

Copycat doesn't bother me at all. Keller never copycats?

Actually when I saw the photos I was thinking of more of Asian influences.

I'm not convinced the citrus works in so many dishes. Even if the quality is great this time of year. But that's just my opinion and you know what opinions are often compared to...

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I never said Keller copycats. My point being Short worked under Keller for awhile and many of the dishes seem striking similar to the French Laundry.

Edited March 6, 2005 by robert40 (log)

[touaregsand]

I didn't mean to imply that you said Keller copycats. My intent was to ask the question, "Keller never copycats?" My answer to my own question is, "who doesn't?"

It's not really an important point for me. I just wanted to clarify.

[jeffj]

Chef Short’s tenure at The French Laundry and the sample menu on the Masa’s website were the main reasons I wanted to check out the restaurant. Initially reading the menu, I was immediately curious due to how similar in style it was to something you’d see at TFL. I went into the meal with hopes of finding a TFL experience at a slightly less expensive price point and without the same difficulty of booking a table.

While I don’t think the overall experience reached the level of TFL, it was a very strong offering…especially the second half of the meal which was absolutely sensational...nearly flawless. From the poultry course onward, each dish was a true pleasure. Of special note were the main desserts which, for our palettes, were two of the most successful dishes we’ve ever experienced. Visually appealing and uniquely thought provoking, they were light and refreshing…the perfect end to the meal.

With regards to the variation on Keller’s “Oysters and Pearls”…one could not help but immediately begin to draw comparisons the second that dish landed on the table. Honestly, the original dish is such a favorite of mine that I wouldn’t have minded if Chef Short had simply served an exact copy. Unfortunately, his rendition was not quite as enjoyable…it seemed to lack a little dimension and the turnips didn’t add much of anything in my opinion.

The wines listed were from the wine pairing. I commend sommelier Alan Murray for his easy going demeanor, thorough descriptions, and generous pours…he did a wonderful job. However, whenever the wait staff tended to our wine service, the descriptions were lacking and the pours were skimpy. Not to mention one pour which was served so quickly and sloppily that it left a good six inch trail of wine on the table cloth. That was absolutely appalling. But really, in the end, it was the cost of the pairing which left the worst taste in my mouth. At $89 per pairing, I figured the markup to be between 4 and 4.5X. Definitely not worth it in my opinion.

One other thing to note…in a recent review of another restaurant I made the comment that the portion sizes were relatively small. Well the portions for this 9 course meal at Masa’s now hold the record for the smallest size we’ve encountered. Most everything tasted great (especially that second half of the meal) and I just wish I was given a bit more of each dish to eat. Compared to TFL, you’re getting about 65%-70% of the amount of food. Again, because it was so enjoyable, this is not a fatal flaw…just something to keep in mind.

As for the separate men’s and woman’s dishes, yes we knew about the format before arriving at the restaurant. Both of us were served the Aji as the amuse. From then on, the first dish I listed in each pairing was presented to the woman. My wife and I both agree that, hand’s down, the men got the better dishes in this menu.

[docsconz]

As for the separate men’s and woman’s dishes, yes we knew about the format before arriving at the restaurant.  Both of us were served the Aji as the amuse.  From then on, the first dish I listed in each pairing was presented to the woman.  My wife and I both agree that, hand’s down, the men got the better dishes in this menu.

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With maybe the exception of the desserts, it would seem to me that the "male" tasting wsa the more interesting of the two. Is that an everyday occurrence there? Are substitutions permissible?

[Suzi Edwards]

Beautiful photos. Wish I had known about this place last week.

*Plans next trip*

[touaregsand]

The portions do look extremely small to me. They remind of Korean banchan or tapas. Ita-Cho, a Japanese restaurant that specializes in small plates (they've been around for a while in LA first on Vine, then moved to Beverly Blvd a few years ago) serves some bigger plates than some of those courses.

I'm only 5'4" and 117 pounds. I don't think that I would get full with those portion sizes.

It's true that I do eat alot for my size, but still... Even if everything is great, I still want to be full after a meal.

[Hest88]

Thanks Jeff. Great photos. I don't mind small tastings, but I'm assuming that doesn't mean you left hungry?

[touaregsand]

I don't mind small tastings either, sometimes I actually prefer them. We've been doing that in Asia for a long, long time. But those 9 courses seem awfully small even when added up. Maybe a big bowl of rice on the side would be nice?

[jeffj]

Thanks Jeff. Great photos. I don't mind small tastings, but I'm assuming that doesn't mean you left hungry?

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My wife is 5'3" and about 100 pounds and she commented that she was not full from the meal. I wouldn't say that I was famished but I definitely could have stopped for a burger on the way home.

Also, to docsconz's question, yes substitutions are permitted. You just need to let them know about any special requests at the start of the meal. For instance, we requested no chocolate for dessert.

[MobyP]

[old fuddy duddy]Is it me, or does there never seem to be enough sauce? This fella seems to give you enough sauce though![/old fuddy duddy]

[touaregsand]

The whole sauce thing is pretty funny. I think in America "too much sauce" became associated with lack of refinement maybe about 25 years ago, and this impression has never quite gone away. Whereas French chefs never went through this phase (of course French sauces have evolved, but I'll reserve more in depth discussion of the France forum) of fearing the amount of sauce on a plate.

Psst, American chefs, the secret is in the sauce!

[MaxH]

Chef Short’s tenure at The French Laundry and the sample menu on the Masa’s website were the main reasons I wanted to check out the restaurant.  Initially reading the menu, I was immediately curious due to how similar in style it was to something you’d see at TFL.  I went into the meal with hopes of finding a TFL experience at a slightly less expensive price point and without the same difficulty of booking a table.

Just as a historical note, for anyone here who doesn't recall: Before the French Laundry with Keller, the Bay Area had Masa's with Masa himself, and he was a local legend. Then Masa was murdered in (?) 1985, and the restaurant has continued under various chefs. And some outstanding wine experts --

... I commend sommelier Alan Murray for his easy going demeanor, thorough descriptions, and generous pours…he did a wonderful job.

To offer a further example of Murray in action, one Bay Area co-operative wine-tasting circle does a dinner annually at a restaurant, which assembles a menu to go with special wines. (Group members are wine trade, one or two winemakers, and experienced enthusiasts.) A few times in recent years this dinner was at Masa's, and Murray had joined the restaurant shortly before one of them. Besides his relaxed and knowledgeable professionalism, while opening and checking our wines he spied two counterfeit Burgundies on the basis of cork or capsule labeling (I don't have the details at hand right now) slightly off the usual for those particular wines. This was later confirmed. (The wines had been bought on the secondary market from a reputable firm by a winemaker who knew them fairly well, by the way.) It was a good "catch" and a credit to his expertise. Edited March 8, 2005 by MaxH (log)

[touaregsand]

Do you know if the cuisine was mostly French under Masataka Kobayashi or was it French/Japanese?

I found this.

[MaxH]

Do you know if the cuisine was mostly French under Masataka Kobayashi or was it French/Japanese?

I found [link].

I don't know myself -- French, I am only guessing -- nor did I get a chance to dine there when Masa was alive. One who did described him as "irreplaceable" to the region, after his untimely death in a family fight of some sort. There was press about the restaurant when Masa was there (though how much of it is transcribed online now, I don't know). The link above has some history (and by the way, is also thick with pop-ups too and Who Knows What Else) but it seems to dwell on more recent, post-Masa days.

An element of Japanese influence on traditional European cooking as practiced in the Bay Area surfaced around the 1980s and I gather was popularized by the California Culinary Academy (CCA) in SF, which trained many fine-dining cooks in the area. All the recent graduates seemed to want to slip Wasabi into otherwise minimalist reduction sauces by the early 90s, that sort of thing. (This had no connection to Masa, that I know of.)

-- Max

[MaxH]

I think in America "too much sauce" became associated with lack of refinement maybe about 25 years ago, and this impression has never quite gone away. Whereas French chefs never went through this phase

The sentiment seems to have history in France also, where I'd thought it originated. (See quotation below, from the source).

(I appreciate a good sauce too, some of my best friends are sauciers.)

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Sometimes, in the middle of the conversation, [Dodin-Bouffant] would rise, walk over to the favourite shelves of his library, select therefrom a rare volume of the Almanach des Gourmands, open it with the deft gesture of a habitual book-handler, and say: `Grimod de la Reynière wrote: “Sixth year. Chapter on bindings. The immoderate use of roux and coulis has formed all the charlatanism of French cuisine for the past hundred years.” ‘

-- from Marcel Rouff, The Passionate Epicure; La Vie et la Passion de Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet, Delamain, Poutelleau et Cie., 1925. English translation by Claude [sic], E. P. Dutton, 1962. LCC number 62-7803.

[touaregsand]

The link above has some history (and by the way, is also thick with pop-ups too and Who Knows What Else) but it seems to dwell on more recent, post-Masa days.

I noticed that too. Sorry about that, but it was the only thing I found with a very hasty search.

The sentiment seems to have history in France also, where I'd thought it originated

Oh yes, I was talking more the fact that it seems more pervasive in the States and it has lasted longer. The French aren't immune to trends either. My husband worked at a venerable Bouchon in Lyon (a long time ago) anyway, he recalls that when he started there it was pretty classic Lyon fair, generous portions, sauces and all that. Towards the end of his tenure there the plates were more like 2 peas served on an oversized plate with a huge spoon sort of thing. Now it's apparently doing "contemporary/modern Lyon in touch with the seasons and rhythms of nature"

[zeitoun]

Greg Short? Anyone knows what happened to Richard Reddington?????

[samgiovese]

Greg Short? Anyone knows what happened to Richard Reddington?????

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Reddington is in the process of opening "Redd" in the former Piatti space on Washington St. in Yountville. His partners are the Auberge du Soleil group.

Edited March 9, 2005 by samgiovese (log)

[MaxH]

Alan Murray at Masa's is in the news today for passing the Master Sommelier exam. (The others in the Bay Area this time are Brian Cronin of Gary Danko, Randall Bertao of Parcel 104 in Santa Clara, and Reggie Narito of SJ's Le Papillon, Saratoga's Plumed Horse, and Southern Wine and Spirits.)