Description
Mas (la grillade), a West Village offshoot of Mas (farmhouse), poses the question of whether a restaurant can successfully champion a single cooking style: grilling. Chef Galen Zamarra uses oak, apple, and other hardwoods in every dish to add rich, subtle complexities. Restraint is certainly the culinary leitmotif, but it works by challenging the notion that simple equals boring. An appetizer of artichokes with chanterelles and hazelnut mayonnaise recalls an autumn afternoon in a forest, earthy with a hint of smoke, while squid stuffed with bay leaves is gently musky and delicate. Among the mains, try the smoke-roasted Violet Hill Farm chicken or the meaty sweetbreads with maple-parsley glaze. Note, however, that entrées consist exclusively of the protein and nary a sprig of parsley more. Prices also run steep; this is campfire cooking for the one percent.
