I always thought Mas (farmhouse) was a gift from The Restaurant Gods. The kind of place that reminds you why New York is the ultimate city for dining and food-forward living. I mean…eating off beautiful china at 3AM is just the kind of experience I lust for that is completely doable in New York, and not in many other places. Well, doable, that is, until last weekend…
In case you aren’t aware, Mas has stopped serving until 4am every night of the week. I am devastated. Seriously. This fucking sucks. That’s right, no more 3AM caviar service and rye cocktails. The restaurant has ended its reign as The Sexiest Gourmet Spot Post Midnight. And I am in mourning. I’m left with memories of the scandalous, fabulous late night rendezvous that included banquette snogging in between courses of roasted scallops in sweet corn soup and duck confit and plum tarts with tomatillo and grapefruit compote. There was the beautiful, soft lighting and the fantastic, discreet service…all right, I know this can all still be enjoyed, pre-the 2AM witching hour, but it just won’t be sexy in the same way. How can it? It’ll be 8PM.
I’ll still go for the service—the wait staff is unfailingly friendly and knowledgeable; they were even pretty perky at 3:30AM in the morning when Amanda would grill them about whether or not the tea selections are loose-leaf (they are) and Celest was requesting that her gin gimlet be served up and with fresh lime juice only. Of course they always complied on this point; their cocktails are simply divine (a man-friend of mine who is known for being a real New York “scene-ster” insists that the vanilla bean Old Fashioned is the single best cocktail in all of Manhattan).
For me, Mas has been that unique location special and fancy enough to hit up for a real ‘event dinner’ (I had my twenty…birthday there last year), and yet laid-back enough to pop in at the end of a long, eventful evening for a nightcap, or (my favorite) a cheese plate. And, it’s always been my standby spot for a coy, let’s-have-one-more-drink-before-I-agree-to-let-you-take-me-to-your-house-and-peel-my-clothes-off kinda stop by…But the last time I was there was several weeks ago, when we were still having that Indian summer in the city, still enjoying the long-lasting evening sunshine, followed by only slightly cool nights. That evening at Mas, I did the more innocent, cheese plate and dessert visit, having migrated from a late-night sup with friends at Barbuto (where we had a fantastic heirloom tomato salad, thinly-sliced, raw summer squash with walnuts, and swordfish that had a good charcoal flavor but was cut a little too thin for my taste. And was a little on the dry side.) We’d had a great dinner and shared a nice bottle of Nero D’avola. Then, I got restless. I wanted cheese in the worst/best way.
When we arrived at Mas, we were warmly greeted by Thomas, the snappily dressed manager with whom I am on a first-name-basis ever since the aforementioned birthday dinner, when he honored my party by seating us at the “farm table”—the one in the middle of the dining room that’s primed for theatrical groups like mine, who know their way around a wine list and a seasonal tasting menu. This night, however, we were seated in one of the cozy, corner banquettes, directly across the room from a couple having that other kind of Mas experience. They were sitting very close. And sucking down oysters.
My friends and I ordered two desserts, both recommendations from our adorable young waitress, whose smile said “six months out of the Midwest; I love New York! But can’t believe I’m serving foie gras at this hour…” The first was a plum soup, topped with a scoop of white chocolate ginger ice cream. The consistency was somewhat like melted sorbet, topped with less-melted sorbet. The flavor of the plum was lovely, but it was super sweet, with no contrasting flavors. The other dessert was better: a cornmeal cake topped with blueberry compote, finished with a lemon coulis and a cream cheese sorbet. It was a great contrast of textures! Then, we shared the cheese. Because Amanda and her cow’s milk allergy, were with us, we stuck to three goat and/or sheep’s milk selections. Unfortunately, the cheese was not quite served at the proper temperature (the chevre was too cold!), but the bread selection (with cheese they serve semolina raisin bread, and a dark wheat nut loaf with raisins and dates) was very nice and very fresh for arriving at the table minutes after 3AM.
If only I had known that would be my last, great after-hours Mas experience. The desserts were enjoyable, the china glorious, and the cheese hit the spot. Aahhh!! I’m crying into my keyboard as I type this ode.
Well, I guess I’ll be clocking more hours at the classic late-night gourmands’ haven, Blue Ribbon. Guess it’s not a bad fallback, but what can I say? A girl likes being spoiled by options…especially at 3AM.
Mas (farmhouse) ($$$$$)
American (New)
39 Downing St, @ Bedford St
