Masa 14, 14th. and Swann Streets in Shaw - Chef Ryan Ratino Replaces Eric McKamey - Closing at the End of Aug, 2019

[dcs]

I had a relatively big portion of pork belly compared to the bun size when I went, but that was when they first opened. I don't know if it might have started out larger, but it was a bit messy to eat so they may have reduced the size.

Portion size appears to be an ongoing topic at this place. Last weekend we had the wagyu beef brisket and got what we thought was a rather large portion. When I inquired of the bartender, he said there had been complaints about the size so they are sending out larger pieces. I would have gladly traded down on the size for more of those oaxaca cheese mashed potatoes underneath. They were creamy goodness. In fact, I would trade the whole dish for another serving of the wok steamed mussels in the chipotle-miso broth with ginger, scallion, and large bacon bits. This is really a steal at $7. If only they would gve some crusty french bread with which to sop up the broth instead of a few measly pieces of flatbread.

[Miami Danny]

Supposed to be the longest bar in DC. However, size is not everything as no one here appears to know how to make a drink. First gin martini with a twist, came with a huge wedge of lime. On the second try, I asked the other bartender if she had ever seen a lime wedge in a martini and she seemed aghast. When she made my second drink, there was no vermouth in it and I asked, "Can you put some vermouth in that?" Her response, "When we send out our Ketel One's, if we put vermouth in it they always come back." "How often has that happened?" I inquired. [blank stare.] Needless to say, the second one wasn't much better. The fried oysters were tasteless and gooey, and the chicken wings, a recommendation from the bartender, were nowhere near as good as those at my various local dive bars. I'm not sure how you mess either of those up, but hey, with an atmosphere that can only be described as soulless and corporate, I guess anything is possible.

[agm]

Supposed to be the longest bar in DC. However, size is not everything as no one here appears to know how to make a drink. First gin martini with a twist, came with a huge wedge of lime. On the second try, I asked the other bartender if she had ever seen a lime wedge in a martini and she seemed aghast. When she made my second drink, there was no vermouth in it and I asked, "Can you put some vermouth in that?" Her response, "When we send out our Ketel One's, if we put vermouth in it they always come back." "How often has that happened?" I inquired. [blank stare.] Needless to say, the second one wasn't much better. The fried oysters were tasteless and gooey, and the chicken wings, a recommendation from the bartender, were nowhere near as good as those at my various local dive bars. I'm not sure how you mess either of those up, but hey, with an atmosphere that can only be described as soulless and corporate, I guess anything is possible.

Wow. Sounds thoroughly unpleasant. That's surprising to me. NQD and I have been to Masa 14 several times since I last posted about it, and never had a bad experience. And the various friends and relatives we've brought have all loved it, so it's not just us. I'm not arguing with your post - I haven't ordered a martini, so I can't speak to that experience, and I don't think I've had the fried oysters, so I can't comment on that either. But I'd love to know which dive bars you're talking about, and I hope you'll have a chance to try some of the rest of the menu. We've had some great meals there.

I will disagree with your comment on the atmosphere - soulless and corporate are not words I would have chosen, so I think that it probably can, in fact, be described other ways. I quite like it.

[Ericandblueboy]

When she made my second drink, there was no vermouth in it and I asked, "Can you put some vermouth in that?" Her response, "When we send out our Ketel One's, if we put vermouth in it they always come back."

How's that a martini? Isn't that just vodka on the rocks? [Don't shoot me - I don't really drink mixed drinks]

[Sthitch]

How's that a martini? Isn't that just vodka on the rocks? [Don't shoot me - I don't really drink mixed drinks]

Not even on the rocks, simply chilled vodka in a cocktail glass - there is a tendancy to call anything in a cocktail glass (also known as a martini glass) as some sort of "tini".

[Divine One]

I will disagree with your comment on the atmosphere - soulless and corporate are not words I would have chosen, so I think that it probably can, in fact, be described other ways. I quite like it.

I agree - this has become one of my favorite places to grab a drink, especially tequila. Never would describe it as corporate in the way that it looks or feels. Generally have very good food experience, especially the okra.

[Heather]

I'm not sure how you mess either of those up, but hey, with an atmosphere that can only be described as soulless and corporate, I guess anything is possible.

I've had two meals there and if anything, I would have described the interior as very like many of the Miami restaurants I've visited, right down to the migraine-inducing techno music. The ambient noise at dinner posed a challenge to our 4-top of 40-50 years olds, but sitting off the left under the overhang helps a lot. We tried about 1/3 of a the menu, but it's been long enough that I don't recall any of the particulars.

Brunch on Sunday was more pleasant - no noise and very good food. The smoked chicken hash with chipotle hollandaise & poached egg, and the creamy cheese grits were oustanding. The chilaquiles were tasty, but I thought the bacon fried rice needed a little more kick from the kimchi. The bartender makes a decent spicy bloody mary, too. 6 drinks, 4 mains & 2 sides came to $85, which we thought was very reasonable considering the amount and quality of the food.

[ol_ironstomach]

Following another massively productive volunteer shift at DC Central Kitchen last Thursday, six of us decided to buck the usual cheap eats plan afterwards, and reserved a table at Masa 14. Out of the blue, Antonio contacted us a couple of hours later and offered to prepare a special menu for us. You just don't say 'no' when a chef makes an offer like that, especially at a place that's routinely absolutely slammed with diners, so after agreeing on some basic guidelines, we left ourselves in his capable hands.

I'm going to leave it to the others to provide most of the commentary on the specific dishes and their ingredients, but it was a pretty special experience. Not a single one of these dishes was on the regular menu, and as DanielK observed, several of them depended on ingredients that don't appear elsewhere on the menu. The flavor profiles throughout stayed true to Masa 14's east-west fusion theme, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if you see some of these find a place on the menu in the future. We were too eager to dig in to accurately record the proper names or compositions of the creations, so my apologies in advance to Chef Burrell and his sous if my descriptions don't do justice to the concepts. Also, I just got this new phone, so apologies to all for the blurry photos...especially the awful photo of the cod, which was of course the most spectacularly plated dish of the evening.

"beet salad" - beets, watermelon, ???, blackberries, chevre fritter

"hot and sour egg drop soup" - w/ scallop, two kinds of caviar, tiny Japanese rice crackers

"curry black cod" - Indian-inspired: w/ crispy noodle nest, bed of tapioca, ???, peas

[ I absolutely adored this dish, particularly for its Michel Richard-esque combination of textures ]

"fried quail" - Vietnamese-inspired: w/ cellophane noodles, ???, fried quail egg

"sweetbreads" - w/ pickled Boston mackerel, uni, yuzu sauce

[ unusually, a non-fried sweetbread presentation...still terrific ]

"pork belly" - w/ poached oysters, crispy cauliflower, pickled onion, huitlacoche

[ alas, the delicate oyster flavor was rather outgunned by the nice smoke of the pork belly...and oysters tend not to show as well in summer anyway ]

Thanks again, Chef, for taking us beyond the menu offerings. it was a splendid evening.

[Xochitl10]

Yeah, there were lots of reverently silent happy moments during that dinner.

The curry black cod was amazing; probably my favorite dish of the night. There was a tomato-mint broth poured around it after serving that softened the noodles up nicely to mix in with the other stuff. I actually got more of a miso flavor from the cod than the intended tandoori.

Second favorite was the Vietnamese quail. It had some dabs of foie gras that added a lushness to the whole dish when mixed together. Just a lovely bunch of soft, well-coordinated flavors after the stronger cod dish.

Oh, and the goat cheese fritter in the beet salad was crazy good when eaten with a bit of orange and the cumin-yogurt dressing.

Thanks again to Daniel for organizing and Antonio for the fantastic eats!

[DanielK]

The beet salad had both golden and red beets, and I think the missing ingredients in Dave's list were oranges and the cumin-yogurt dressing. Great start to the meal - beautiful on the plate, vibrant in both look and taste. The dressing really brought the whole plate together.

The hot and sour egg drop soup also had a perfectly cooked scallop in it - absolutely silken consistency. I thought the caviar were a little lost here, but also not necessary to the success of the dish. I remember my grandparents used to order "mixed" soup in the Chinese restaurant, which meant egg drop/wonton. The egg drop/hot & sour was a clever and successful play.

I got the full tandoori effect from the cod, and I thought it worked fabulously. Beautiful preparation, and breaking down the nest was fun and allowed the noodles to stay crispy through the dish. I absolutely licked this plate clean.

Each dish so far was better than the last, and they started in a pretty strong place. But the quail was just over the top. That wasn't "dabs' of foie - that was a pretty thick-cut slice. I tried each of the ingredients separately, and the dish was awesome. But when you mixed them all together, it was the textbook definition of a sum greater than it's parts.

The next dish didn't work as well for me with the flavors combined, but let me call out the sweetbreads. Like Dave mentioned, my favorite way of eating sweetbreads is fried. When done right, the crunchy exterior, creamy interior, and just a little bit of richness is addicting. This was the first non-fried preparation of sweetbreads that I can honestly say I *loved*. Forget the Jumbo Slice Food War - I want to see a throwdown between Antonio and Haidar from Proof, who held the crown for my previous favorite preparation of sweetbreads. Oh, and the pickled mackerel was great - I usually avoid mackerel at the sushi bar, because too often that strong oily taste comes off as fishy, but not here. So this dish was kind of the flip of the last - the individual parts were great, but it didn't sing for me as a whole.

Now, Antonio was stopping by with the delivery of each dish, describing the approach and ingredients, and asking about the previous dish. After the 5 courses he stopped by, and I swear with a twinkle in his eye, asked if we had room for one more. I think there was a bit of a movement at the table to resist, until the magic words "pork belly" were uttered. We quickly shooed him back to the kitchen. I'm with Dave - the superfluous poached oyster was lost in the strong flavors of the plate. But PORK BELLY! Crispy, porky goodness, and the strong flavors (save the oyster) did work together to just enhance the smokiness of the pork.

I don't know if any of these dishes will make it on to the Masa 14 menu, though as Dave pointed out, the flavor profiles definitely matched. I am extremely grateful that Antonio (and his "right hand man", whose name I am blanking on) and the staff took such great care of us, and this was a treat that I will long remember.

Even though the regular menu experience here will be different, Antonio and his staff are clearly firing on all cylinders right now, and you owe it to yourself to go check out what they're putting on the plate.

[Antonio Burrell]

Just to let you guys know, I wouldn't just do this for Daniel and the folks I know from here. Anyone can call and note that they'd like a tasting and I'll get back to you for specifics. And you don't have to let me know you're from the board if you don't wanna ;-)

[porcupine]

Sometime around August 18th, I realized it was time to plan a night out for Mr. Porcupine's birthday. I wasn't sure what to do after last year's surprise: a special tomato-themed menu created just for him by Chef Armstrong at Restaurant Eve.

And then I logged on to dr.com and read this:

Following another massively productive volunteer shift at DC Central Kitchen last Thursday, six of us decided to buck the usual cheap eats plan afterwards, and reserved a table at Masa 14. Out of the blue, Antonio contacted us a couple of hours later and offered to prepare a special menu for us. You just don't say 'no' when a chef makes an offer like that,

And this:

Just to let you guys know, I wouldn't just do this for Daniel and the folks I know from here. Anyone can call and note that they'd like a tasting and I'll get back to you for specifics. And you don't have to let me know you're from the board if you don't wanna ;-)

And as it happens Steve really likes Masa 14. So a few emails later, Antonio and I had a date, time, price limit, and some parameters for the meal. The menu read thus:

aperitivos

Chili Crab

Shrimp Toast

Smoked Tuna 'al Pastor"

primero

Salad of Heirloom tomatoes/three flavors/sweet corn/avocado/red onion

segundo

Hiramasa/sea scallops/truffle pearls/truffle soy foam/nameko mushrooms

tercera

Alaskan Black Cod/sweet corn/black bean/clams/lemon verbena

cuarto

Tempura Lobster/blue marlin/watermelon/curry coconut/almonds

quinto

Lamb Loin/lamb bacon/hibiscus/pomegranate emulsion/carrots

sexto

Kobe Beef Ribeye/edamame/chanterelles/smoked eggplant/wasabi pea powder

postre

Mexican Chocolate Flauta/chocolate passionfruit truffle/marinated figs

Seems like a lot going on in each course, doesn't it? Somehow he managed to put everything together so that it all worked. The hiramasa and sea scallops, for example, were presented as a small slice of a luscious terrine, and the truffle flavors were light enough not to overwhelm the seafood. Who would've thought such a marriage of earth and ocean could work?

My favorites were the smoked tuna (that would be a great addition to the menu) and the fifth course. The watermelon in that dish was grilled to a lightly caramelized state, the curry was just a suggestion, the coconut just rich enough, and the three of those together with a bite of marlin were... amazing. As in, "I'm amazed at the skill and creativity here, not to mention how damn good it tastes!"

The skill was there, too. I can't think of a single flaw. Everything was cooked just right, and the presentations were lovely to look at.

If for the sake of a balanced critique I must write something negative, well, that beef dish was merely very good.

I don't have the descriptive skills to do this menu justice. I'll put it this way: with a few exceptions (Indian food), I favor the simple, clean flavors of extraordinary ingredients (August tomatoes with a touch of olive oil), and yet I found this incredibly delicious.

Possibly the single most important thing: Chef was clearly having as much fun as we were.

[ol_ironstomach, will you post those photos?]

One last thing: don't ask me which was the better between Armstrong's dinner last year and Burrell's dinner last night. They were two different kinds of meals from two very different and talented chefs, and DC is very lucky to have them both.

[brr]

So a few emails later, Antonio and I had a date, time, price limit, and some parameters for the meal. The menu read thus:

Do you mind my asking how much the tasting menu was?

[porcupine]

Do you mind my asking how much the tasting menu was?

I gave him a budget of $80 per person, before beverages, tax and tip.

If you're thinking about doing it, just do it. There's something incredibly fun and special about dining off-menu.

[ol_ironstomach]

As requested, the photos from Mr. Porcupine's tasting menu dinner at Masa 14. I arranged the menu description above each plate.

Unlike the previous tasting here, this time I am inclined to believe that this meal was quite representative of what Chef Burrell might prepare for any foodie who calls up and negotiates a tasting menu for their party. I had absolutely nothing to do with the preparations for this dinner other than looking at my calendar, and was just another unnamed invited guest. Surprisingly, I don't think Antonio recognized Porcupine as the emergency fried chicken courier from the spring picnic until we showed up to eat. Even better: as good as our August meal was, this one blew it out of the water.

Mr. Porcupine's food likes and dislikes did influence the choice of ingredients, and resulted in some inspired combinations. The chili crab app was fairly straightforward until you added the dab of avocado on which it was plated. The tomato salad was considerably more complex than its name suggests, with different tomato types having undergone various combinations of marination and preservation...and then the kick of the chiles hit you.

The three seafood courses were revelatory. The Hiramasa had been compounded with the scallops, but what made this dish for me was the deft combination of earthy truffle and mushroom flavors with a variety of textures. I'm not talking about a facile drizzle of insipid truffle oil, either. It was integrated and earthy without overwhelming your sinuses for the rest of the evening. My meal could have happily stopped here with an extra plate of the same. The black cod was another beautifully flaky interpretation, this time of soft textures completely different from the crunchy combination I had last month. If I had to pick a highlight of the evening, it might (barely) have been the combination of blue marlin and caramelized watermelon in the next dish. By itself, the marlin was a treat, but the little bit of smoke and char brought by the watermelon elevated each bite. A sip of bracingly green Albariño didn't hurt either. Beautiful lamb loin as well. I can't even say that the piece of Kobe ribeye was a miss, but it had a difficult act to follow and couldn't aspire to the same heights (I'd have liked that plate a bit warmer too, but it still would have been 'merely' very good).

The thing to remember is not these particular dishes, but that this kitchen is willing and able to step up to a creative challenge. Having eaten Antonio's food at a variety of places of the past several years, this is a level I haven't seen from him before, and my suspicion is that both Kaz's influence and Masa 14's fusion palette have profoundly resonated with him. You couldn't assemble a meal like this off Masa 14's regular menu, but I like this recent trend in the area dining scene of interesting tasting menus, following in the recent footsteps of Armstrong, Monis, Fargione, Voltaggio, and most recently Cooper.

[synaesthesia]

The happy hour that Masa 14 runs from 5-7pm is a pretty sweet deal, especially for the 'hood. It includes the choice of a spicy tuna or vegetarian hand roll, a fairly sizable portion of mussels, or some other dishes that are less of a value. Margaritas, mojitos and boozy strawberry lemonade are also available for $4 or a choice of a few run-of-the-mill drafts.

[Antonio Burrell]

New at Masa: We started a $35 per person all you can drink/eat prix fixe menu at brunch. Come in eat all the little bites you want, drink till you recover from your hangover and start a new one! Also we will have new menu items starting on the 25th of October, that's Monday for those of you keeping track. That's all.

[zoramargolis]

Couldn't get in to our first choice, Estadio--1 1/2 hour wait for a table. No thanks. So we headed over to Masa 14 and got a table with a shorter wait. Our first time there. Antonio was reported to be out sick, but his team did a great job, with one notable exception. All of the flavors popped. We ordered spicy beef and pork meatballs--tender and tasting like albondigas soup, with spicy sauce standing in for broth. Our daughter is going all-veg now, no meat or seafood at all, so she had a veg handroll, which she liked a lot. Her fried okra was fantastic--hot and crunchy with a ponzu dipping sauce. Fried salt and pepper calamari were simultaneously tender and crunchy, stir fried with scallions, julienned ginger and hot peppers. Crispy chicken wings were flavored with 5-spice and had a sriracha-based dipping sauce-- perfectly cooked, hot in temperature and spice and very satisfying. Her vegetarian fried rice was delicious--tasting for all the world like pad thai noodles, and she left nary a grain of rice in the bowl. We sent back the one disapointing dish--black cod, which came to the table nicely seared but inexplicably both overcooked and cold all the way through. The manager came over and expressed bafflement that such a thing would be possible, since "everything is cooked to order." It tasted like a dish that had been left sitting for a half hour after it was cooked. They offered to re-cook, but we had another dish coming and were getting full, so we asked that it be taken off the bill. (It wasn't, and they had to recalculate the bill after I pointed it out.) Our final savory dish was pork belly steamed buns--served like tacos, with the bun standing in for tortillas. I would have preferred tortillas, I thought the buns were a little bit gummy, but J. liked them. The meat was deliciously succulent and the drizzle of lime juice and cilantro was just the ticket to cut the richness. We had a toffee flan "smore" and spicy molten chocolate cake with strawberry sorbet for dessert, and enjoyed both dishes. Their wall of tequilas is impressive indeed, but we opted for a draft Eggenberger pilsner that was refreshing with the spicy food.

[sandynva]

Her fried okra was fantastic--hot and crunchy with a ponzu dipping sauce. Fried salt and pepper calamari were simultaneously tender and crunchy, stir fried with scallions, julienned ginger and hot peppers....Her vegetarian fried rice was delicious--tasting for all the world like pad thai noodles, and she left nary a grain of rice in the bowl. .

i had both of these dishes last night and would agree. the okra, as always, was delicious. without the sauce they're delicately sweet, and with the sauce they're completely different-tangy and a tiny bit spicy, and the portion is generous. The rice is delicious and somewhat richer than you might expect it to be. The wok seared cauliflower was wonderful too--the cauliflower is roasted or fried so it's carmelized and nutty, then tossed with a ponzu/chili/shallot sauce. i definitely wanted more of this item. The service was very attentive and paced the meal well. I look forward to my next visit!

[Pat]

We stopped here last night before a show at the Black Cat. I expected it to be very busy and it was. After waiting an hour for a table, we grabbed two seats at the bar when they became available instead. We ordered four dishes, which came out very promptly. Everything was good.

The standout was a shrimp and noodle dish that doesn't seem to be on the online menu . We were very hungry at that point, and this was fantastic, but I didn't pay close enough attention to ingredients to describe it in any detail. My husband isn't fond of shrimp, but he thought this looked so good on the menu that he ordered it anyway. We devoured it (I took extra shrimp ). He also ordered the crispy chicken wings, which I didn't get any of, and seemed pleased with them. He doesn't like fried okra, so I got a whole order to myself. They seemed to be breaded a little unevenly but that didn't adversely affect the taste. I liked them both with and without the dipping sauce. I also ordered the beef tenderloin, which was wonderfully tender. I liked the potatoes too.

It would be great to get back here at sometime that is not 8:30 on a Friday night so I can enjoy the experience a little more .

[Night Owl]

Was there last night, too, with a friend and oinked out with great pleasure...

Salt & pepper calamari - Great smoky "wok hei" flavor, a switch from the curry crispy calamari they used to have.

Crisy crab wonton rolls - A guilty pleasure... crispy thin shell, light and creamy with huge knuckles of jumbo lump inside. The chock-full-o-chili ponzu sauce is fantastic.

Peking duck flatbread - The flavor was fine, but the flatbread was soggy from the hoisin and there was an inexplicable and huge pile of bean sprouts on top.

Pork belly steamed buns - Meh...

Wok-seared cauliflower - Very tasty.

Chocolate flan - Lapped this up... It had a s'mores-torched melty marshmallow on top and was swimming in that light, delicious caramel sauce.

Great service, as always. Fun, as always.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Antonio was serving up duck gyoza tonight at the DC Food Fight, and it was superb. Last year at the spring picnic, his fried chicken (and fried Twinkies) were hits. We are not worthy of his greatness....

[DanielK]

Maybe he changed mid-stream, but I thought it was lobster/crab stuffed gyoza?

[New Foodie]

Antonio, I would love to bring a big group to Masa 14 for brunch to celebrate my 30th birthday, but wanted to make sure you could accommodate a crowd. How many people is too many? And when should we make the reservation?

I'd love to kick my 30s off with a tasty and boozy "Sunday Funday" and thought Masa would fit the bill!

Anyone else been to the all-you-can-eat/drink brunch and have anything to report?

[hillvalley]

A friend and I had a great off the menu meal this weekend. I gave chef a few perameters and he created a wonderful meal. Unfortunately, due to drinks with the meal, I don't remember all the detail. I do know we had a great meal and the family sitting next to us drooled as each course came out.

The highlight of the meal was scallop crudo with three eggs. Thin slices of beautiful scallop on top of just a bit of mustard. Each slice was topped with either caviar or sea urchin. Two quail eggs laid in between slices of the scallop. A chili oil was drizzled over the dish when it was brought to the table. The idea was to break the yolk of the quail egg and mix it gently with some of the mustard and oil to make a Caesar salad like dressing. I have to admit to being weary when Chef drizzled chili oil over the delicate scallop, caviar and sea urchin. They were such delicate flavors and I wasn't sure how the chili oil would play off of them but of course he knew what he was doing. Each bite of scallop was brilliant; the bites of caviar were just great (words are failing me right now) and the bites with sea urchin were the perfect example of umami. Without knowing ahead of time, Chef used my three favorite eggs and the scallop was the perfect vehicle for them.

The other dishes included a Jewish girls version of mussels, complete with bacon and pork rinds, a beautiful piece of fish (black cod?) in a delicate broth (I wish I remembered the details because it was great too) and duck. We finished the meal with the cheesecake which was light and airy. It was a great night that didn't break the bank but allowed for just a bit of indulgence.

[New Foodie]

We went to Masa 14 yesterday for a Sunday Funday brunch to celebrate my 30th birthday and it was a great time. Things started off a bit rocky when we got our table and sat for 15-20 minutes with no one but the water guy coming by to fill our glasses (the hostesses told us twice someone would be right with us, but it was then another 10 min). However, once our waiter made it over, things definitely started to get better. We had a party of 16 and Andre did a great job keeping up with our ridiculous amounts of food and drink.

We all did the $35 all you can eat and drink option and certainly managed to get our money's worth. I think we figured out that between all of us at the table we ordered at least one of everything on the menu (including the drinks included with brunch). The bloody mary was nice and spicy and I preferred the regular mimosa, but a lot of people at our table enjoyed the Masa mimosa (with mango and blood orange juice). The Lemon Lager was also a nice, refreshing beer/lemonade and we thought would be a good spring or summer choice.

I won't give a run down of everything we ordered, but I think my five favorite things I tried were the:

Masa Breakfast Pizza / house bacon / egg yolks / gruyere cheese / pico de gallo / arugula - the egg made things messy, but really lent a lot of flavor to the dish. The flatbread itself was tasty with just the right amount of crispness

Smoked Chicken Hash / caramelized onions / poblano chilis / chipotle hollandaise / yucca / soft poached egg - the chipotle hollandaise on this was amazing and had a nice spicy flavor

Pho Beef Sandwich / eye of round / siracha-hoisin aioli / Thai basil / bean sprouts / pickled onions - both my +1 and I thought this was our favorite plate of the day. I could easily see myself stopping by to have this sandwich and a side dish for brunch when we didn't feel like gorging ourselves on the all you can eat. The siracha aioli made for a really excellent heat level and the bean sprouts offered a nice crunchy contrast

Crunchy Shrimp / chipolti aioli / seasame / scallion / masago - the tempura shrimp went well with the spicy aioli

Chilaquiles / corn tortillas / chorizo / queso cotija / soft scrambled eggs / salsa verde - we have been loving chilaquiles since we had them in Mexico on our honeymoon, and although these weren't quite as good as south of the border, it could tide us over in the U.S. The salsa verde covering the plate was good enough to scoop up and eat by itself at the end.

There honestly wasn't anything we tried that we didn't like. It's hard to go wrong with Masa's brunch menu. We were all very impressed with everything coming out of the kitchen. Even the sides I tried (home fries and wok seared cauliflower) had a lot of flavor. It was certainly a gluttonous and indulgent meal, but well worth it to usher in my 30s. I'm looking forward to going back! The bar is enormous and was packed shortly after 11am, but would be worth trying to snag a seat if you can't get a reservation.

[DanielK]

Will wait for others (1000yregg, looking at you) to post pictures, but remember that offer from Antonio to call ahead with a budget and just let him cook?

Um, yeah. Why haven't you called yet?

Whoa. Still full (and drunk). Better review tomorrow.

[1000yregg]

What a glorious meal Antonio presented to us last night. Lots of piggy goodness. Thanks.

Loved the kidney, the scrapple, and the fried egg yolk the best.

Pictures and descriptions HERE

[DanielK]

The actual menu:

Shared appetizers:

Flash grilled shishito peppers / bonito / goat cheese / sherry vinegar

Chicharrones

House made pork sausages / hot mustard

Lightly grilled kidney

1: Pork scrapple / crispy softshell crab / ramps three ways / mustard

2: BBQ Pork Cheek Hash / fried egg yolk toast / spring garlic

3: Ramen / pork broth / cracklings / ribs / morel mushrooms

4: Crispy Pave of Pork Saddle / baby vegetables / peppercress

Dessert: Dulce de Leche Ice Cream / candied bacon two ways

[Antonio Burrell]

So....we've been doing this Lechon Asado Sunday's thing at Masa now for about 4 weeks. It's an family style sunday supper centered around a roasted pig, four changing latin asian sides, three salsas, tortillas and a dessert. It is $25 per person and can be ordered individually. Here's the cool news.....psstsss.....(super hushed voice) we are serving fried chicken as part of the meal. That is all.

[DonRocks]

We are serving fried chicken as part of the meal.

Eh?

[Antonio Burrell]

Eh?

we do two different meat, usually pork and beef. I don't want to do beef anymore so I'm sliding the fried chicken in there instead. think of it as commonwealth sunday roast, but better cause I get to cook what I want ;-)

[csirwillis]

we do two different meat, usually pork and beef. I don't want to do beef anymore so I'm sliding the fried chicken in there instead. think of it as commonwealth sunday roast, but better cause I get to cook what I want ;-)

Antonio wanted to let you know that I sent 5 awesome looking women over there tonight for drinks and music, I told them to ask for you..

[DonRocks]

Antonio wanted to let you know that I sent 5 awesome looking women over there tonight for drinks and music, I told them to ask for you..

Let the man have a night off! He's old!

[Antonio Burrell]

Let the man have a night off! He's old!

I may be getting old lol but I still have it!!

[csirwillis]

I may be getting old lol but I still have it!!

next time I will send over 10 valley girls, then we'll see if you still have it

[agm]

Goooooood fried chicken. The rest of the meal didn't exactly suck, either.

[Heather]

Hannnah & I stopped by for happy hour last night. My happy hour-priced $4 (four bucks! can you believe that?) strawberry lemonade and mojito were quite good. Happy hour menu also includes four $4 small plates; last night the choices were red curry mussels, fried okra, and two of the sushi handrolls.

The okra presentation is different than the last time I tried it, sliced thin and lacquered with a crisp smooth batter. It was all crunch and sauce, with very little of the okra taste and texture. That is probably a selling point for most people, but I would prefer bigger chunks. We also ate pork and beef meatballs, mussels, fried rice with shrimp, crispy shrimp, and the pork buns. Everything was good to very good, but all needed less sweet and more fire. Next time, I'll be asking for hot sauce..

[Pat]

Hannnah & I stopped by for happy hour last night. My happy hour-priced $4 (four bucks! can you believe that?) strawberry lemonade and mojito were quite good. Happy hour menu also includes four $4 small plates; last night the choices were red curry mussels, fried okra, and two of the sushi handrolls.

The okra presentation is different than the last time I tried it, sliced thin and lacquered with a crisp smooth batter. It was all crunch and sauce, with very little of the okra taste and texture. That is probably a selling point for most people, but I would prefer bigger chunks. We also ate pork and beef meatballs, mussels, fried rice with shrimp, crispy shrimp, and the pork buns. Everything was good to very good, but all needed less sweet and more fire. Next time, I'll be asking for hot sauce..

I'm a little late writing up a visit from last week, but I found the fried okra on the happy hour menu to be pretty flabby and not offering much crispness at all. The pieces were not terribly thin. I can't recall how it was prepared the time I had it before that, but this time it definitely lacked something in comparison. I was surprised to see that they took it off my bill after I commented on it. It wasn't inedible or anything so I didn't expect them to do that. That seems like a sign of good service to me.

I also enjoyed both of the hand rolls at the $4 price and an order of the Thai mussels. The mussels were my preferred dish of all, and the $4 margarita was a nice indulgence. Beer is my usual order.

My husband met me for dinner (table service) a little later and we delved farther into the menu. I adored the broiled oysters with sriracha butter and kimchi. I could have eaten multiple orders of these, but I'd already filled up on the happy hour food. My husband got salmon, which I assume was the tamarind salmon from the online menu. The bite I had was flavorful and moist. I'd order that for myself. He polished his serving off and I only got the one bite. He also got the gyoza, which he seemed to like, but I didn't try them. He ordered some banana cake for dessert. I was full and only had coffee, but I tried some of the caramelized banana garnish on the plate, and it was delectable. My husband also had a strawberry lemon non-alcoholic drink that he quite enjoyed. The server helped him figure out exactly what he wanted.

I don't get here much, but it's become my go-to place before shows at the Black Cat, given its immediate proximity .

[JoshW0615]

After enduring a grueling 2 hour Metro commute last Tuesday, I was hungry and looking for a bar I could sit at and relax with some drinks and wine. Although not my favorite restaurant, this usually meant heading to Masa 14. However, I'd already missed their happy hour and decided to walk down 14th to see what I could find. After walking past Bar Pilar (closed), Cork (no seats), Pearl Dive (no seats), going up to Black Jack (no seats), and Estadio (no seats), I trudged back to Masa since I had made mental note of the near empty bar when I walked by earlier (now I understand why I end up here so much).

I already knew what I'd order for an entree, so I ordered a margarita and settled in with a menu to pick something new to start with. It had rained early in the day and was a bit chilly, and I ended up with the Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup ($6). While the broth, mushrooms, and tofu components were all good, the chive shrimp dumplings were a bit doughy for my taste and lacking in shrimp.

One quick note about service here: I've always had great service in the dining room, but at the bar it can be hit or miss. There are a couple of friendly-enough bartenders here, but some of them I've never seen crack a smile.

For the entree, I went with my standby: Carne Noodles with snow peas, smoked briskit, shrimp, and poached egg ($11). Although billed as a small plate, I could've just eaten this dish and been satisfied. It’s a very healthy portion of noodles, mixed in with some super smokey and tender brisket, then topped with a poached egg. If you're not a fan of smokey foods, stay away, as it's almost overwhelming. The egg, as always, was cooked perfectly, and I broke the yolk, mixed everything together and dug in.

Although in my experience the food at this restaurant can be inconsistent, if you know what to order and/or it's a good night, it rivals most of neighbors on the 14th street strip. Plus, if you haven't tried it, the $35 all-you-can-eat-and-drink brunch is one of my favorite restaurant experiences for friends visiting DC (but we're the table that manages to continue eating and drinking from 11am-330pm, which is probably not the norm).

[jiveturk21]

In short, this place is pretty freakin good, if not great.

Between dinner and dessert, we ordered a total of 15 different dishes (some we ordered more than one of) without any clunkers in the bunch. I can't say that I loved the yucca fries, the shrimp ceviche or either of the flatbreads that we tasted, but I was also blown away by the cauliflower, the pork belly steamed buns, the black cod and all four desserts (banana cake, salted caramel chocolate flan, pumpkin cheesecake, opera cake). Add to that good service, good pacing and a fun atmosphere (even for a dreary Monday night) and you have a winner.

I also loved the fact that they have half priced bottles of wine on Monday night. The one negative, however, is that the wine list left a lot to be desired.

[Pat]

melting pot: manila at Masa 14

melting pot: manila

available February 2012 - regular dinner service only

Masa 14’s Melting Pot series explores the evolution of local cuisine across Latin America and Asia, as foreign cultures mixed and melded across each region. Melting Pot: Manila highlights Spanish influence on Manila’s culinary landscape, dating back to the 15th century, when Manila became the center of Spanish activity in the Far East.

Last night, Goldenticket and I were fortunate enough to sample the “Melting Pot: Manila” menu that they’ll be featuring at Masa 14 for the month of February [disclaimer: gratis]. For those historically inclined, it’s a fascinating study in cultural influences on cuisine. It’s also just good food, highlighting the fusion cuisine that is the hallmark of the restaurant. They’ll be doing three more case studies after this one. They’ve clearly invested a lot of effort into getting ready for the inauguration of the series, which is tomorrow (February 1st).

Chef Burrell has put a great deal of thought into the conceptualization of the dishes, many of which refer to his own family preparations of certain foods, but nothing seems at all overthought or overwrought. It really felt like I was eating family home cooking.

We had half portions of the all the menu items, which were generous in size. If the actual portions are double this size, they will provide quite a good value for the prices charged. (See online menu linked above for the prices.) The dessert seemed as though it might have been a full portion, or maybe that’s just because I was stuffed at that point.

Not having extensive knowledge of Filipino cuisine, I didn’t have preconceived notions about how the traditional versions of most of these dishes would be prepared, so I had no particular expectations going into the meal. YMMV, as they say.

I’d have a hard time picking a favorite of the courses, but I have to say that I *really* loved the fish dish (bangus). It was a good example of the re-interpretation of a classic dish that Chef Burrell did well across the menu, featuring a wonderful combination of flavors and textures and highlighting creative technique.

Photos will follow.

The first course was

lumpia de dizon

pork / shrimp / scallion / sweet chili sauce

These came with condiments for eating, including butter lettuce (for wrapping around the lumpia), scallions, hot peppers, basil, and a variety of other items. The chili sauce for dipping offered a perfect balance of spicy and sweet.

The rest of the courses were

pansit palabok

clear noodles / blue crab / boiled egg / chicharonnes

The composition of this was lovely on the plate. There was some peanut flavor in the sauce but it was not dominant. This dish included some pork belly, which I shy away from, since it’s often way too fatty, but this had a delicious but not overwhelming amount of fat. The dish also had some shrimp. Note: There are many rather major components in these dishes that are not listed on the menu, so asking your server for extra information would be a good idea if you don’t like surprise ingredients.

bangus

steamed whitefish / snow peas / country ham / golden raisins

This complex construction mimics the traditional dish in which a whole milkfish is stuffed with its own meat. Chef Burrell used fluke in this case, but the specific type will change on the basis of availability. The thing that struck me upon cutting into this was how the ham adhered beautifully to the flaky, tender fish. It did not break away as the fish was eaten. It was served over a bed of vegetables, including peas and corn. Scallions and snow peas were shredded over the top, so uniformly that I was having trouble telling them apart visually. I really wished I could have finished this, but at this point, I was realizing I needed to pace myself. I will be going back to try this again.

beef kare-kare

seared beef / toasted rice / coconut milk / peanut sauce

This preparation involved sous vide [paging Mr. Rockwell]. The meat was tender but had a distinctive texture and was not mushy. According to one of our tablemates, the traditional version is a stew. The rice on this retained some crunch but was moist from the sauce, so it was just the right amount of toasty. This is traditionally made using oxtail but here was short rib that had the bone removed for service. This also included some baby bok choy, which I love. We were warned by a server that the half of a Thai chile on the plate would result in a “10-minute burn.” While I’m not a chilehead, I was curious. Adding a small piece of the chile (without seeds) to the meat gave some heat but was not overwhelming.

dessert

suman sa ibos

glutinous sweet rice / coconut milk / caramelized mango

The dessert was my least favorite course, artfully constructed but a little too cluttered on the plate. The cylinder of rice in it was the best part, just slightly sweet, with maybe a little cinnamon. I was too full to eat much of it at that point, though. Chef Burrell modeled this dessert on something his wife makes. He also pointed out that Filipino desserts tend to the savory, things like purple yam ice cream in a hamburger bun, so I suppose the sweetened rice and fruit are aimed to an American palate that expects sweet desserts.

The dessert was actually less sweet than the

cebu martini

light and dark rums / pineapple / coconut water / calamansi [Filipino citrus] nectar

on the drinks menu. This was the only one of the drinks I tried. It was quite sweet and the flavors just didn’t seem to be combined well enough. I don’t know if this was shaken, stirred, or what, but drinking it was a bit of a roller coaster ride. At points, I would get all of the ingredients in one sip, and it was good, but otherwise, it was hit or miss as to what ingredient flavor would come through. This seems to need some tweaking, or at least a different approach to mixing the components. I should have tried the shandy. That seemed to be the consensus favorite of our table on the drinks menu.

calamansi shandy

calamansi nectar / house-made sours / san miguel lager

It wasn’t hard to twist my arm to get me to this dinner, since I enjoy the food and experience of Masa 14. I’m interested to see what else they do with this series.

[Edited by goldenticket to add photos of dishes. Pardon the poor quality, my camera phone doesn't do the beautiful presentations justice.]

[goldenticket]

Pat did a great job describing the dishes and the concept of the Melting Pot series. I really enjoyed everything that we were served and do plan to head back with friends to try some - or maybe all - of the dishes again. As Pat mentioned, we were both guests of the restaurant for this preview dinner.

The lumpia were lightly fried and not at all greasy, as has been my experience with other fried items at Masa 14. I liked the coarseness of the pork/shrimp filling, which provided a textural counterpoint to the crispy wrapper. On the condiment plate, I particularly enjoyed the spicy pickled cucumber batons, as well as the fresh mint. As Pat noted, the dipping sauce didn't shy away from a bit of heat.

The pansit was a fun mix of ingredients, including a piece of hard-boiled egg, which Antonio told us is the most common source of protein for many Filipinos. The pork belly was excellent; tender, full of great flavor, and not too fatty.

I'd have a hard time choosing between the bangus and the kare kare - both were very interesting and showed off some creativity in the interpretation of traditional dishes.

Pat quite aptly described the beautiful pairing of ham and fish in the bangus. The crunchy scallion and snow pea salad had a little hit of lime zest that brightened it up a bit. The only thing I didn't see on my plate were the golden raisins, but the corn and peas added sweetness.

I really liked the peanut/coconut sauce used on the kare kare, as well as the toasted rice. The disc of rice, cut from a log of sticky rice, was flash fried to give it a bit of crunch. I also like bok choy and appreciated the green it provided to the plate (visually and nutritionally), along with the green beans that were found beneath the beef.

The lack of/minimal sweetness in the dessert was a selling point for me. I love the texture of sticky rice and the caramelized and fresh mango offered natural sweetness, at the diner's discretion.

I tried both the martini and the shandy. The calamansi tasted similar to yuzu, offsetting the sweetness of the coconut and pineapple.

The shandy was very pleasant, refreshing and light. The lager wasn't an obvious component and I enjoyed the citrus quality of the drink.

This was a fun and interesting meal, made even more so by Chef Antonio's personal connection to the food and history of the dishes. I, too, will be looking forward to future iterations of the Melting Pot menu.

[Tujague]

Bob has been jonesing for some Filipino food, so we decided to make the Manila menu our pre-Oscar meal. I'm somewhat accustomed to Filipino home cooking and have liked much of it, but I came away from this with at best mixed feelings (Bob liked it better than I did). We ordered all the menu items but the dessert, and I found only the bangus to be an exceptional dish, which others have described well. The lumpia were perhaps a bit greasier than goldenticket described but not off-puttingly so. Our pansit seemed to missing the hard-cooked egg, and I found the pork belly, which I usually like, to have a strangely bitter or burned flavor that didn't sync well with the other ingredients. The kare-kare was okay flavorwise, though our piece of meat seemed to have more bone than flesh, and much of that was fatty or tough. The cebu martini was pleasant, but as Pat noted, the flavors didn't fully come together.

I came away wondering if the Sunday-night kitchen staff was sort of a B squad that wasn't fully adept at the preparation of these dishes, especially the pansit. I also had a sense that while they had some of the flavor profiles that you will find in most Filipino buffet places, they didn't quite translate well into these more refined versions--they seemed stuck in an awkward place between rustic and nouvelle. Nearly everything just seemed slightly off to me. I sensed the potential and appreciate the effort, but in the end, this wound up being a miss in my book.

[Barbara]

I guess I'll go first on the Vegetarian DR.com dinner this evening: Our "official" events photographer was there and I'm sure will post tonight or tomorrow. Let me just say that the food was really surprising, coming from the King of Picnic Fried Chicken and his pork-centric special dinners. Antonio managed to come up with food that was surprisingly (at least to me) creative and delicious and, more importantly, made me cry "Uncle!" before I had finished everything. This, mind you, without a single starch that I could discern. That means there was no rice, potatoes, polenta, pasta, or any other "filler" that makes up the bulk of most vegetarian plates. No bread, either. Amazing. I have to admit that my heart sank a little when I saw that one course was Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup. Brought back sad memories of some gloppy stuff from Ruby Tuesday's some years ago when I had no choice in the matter. Antonio's soup bore exactly NO resemblance to RT's. Yes, there was broccoli and cheese, but the broccoli was raw (I think) and I could taste the cheese but not actually see it. Plus, it was cool--much appreciated on this stiflingly hot night.

If every restaurant had a tasting menu like this for the non-meat eaters, it would go a long way to making this kind of food part of the mainstream. Very happy we were able to go to this. And, I hope he will do this again with a completely different menu. That's a challenge, Antonio. Dame Edna is going to see that fabulously simple carrot puree a lot in the future.

[TheMatt]

Yes indeed, the Vegetarian Dinner was a great success. Like Barbara, I thought the Broccoli and Cheese Soup was a highlight. A cold soup that was broccoli first and cheese second. In fact, it was probably the most broccoli-y food I've ever had...more so that straight broccoli. My other favorite of the night was the Baby Carrots and Beets dish. It sounds banal, but Antonio was able to draw out the carrot flavor in an impressive carrot puree that I'm going to try and try until I get it right, and the beets...oh, the beets. There were some roasted beets that were amazing!

All in all, probably one of the best set dinners I've had in a long time. I really hope some of these dishes make in on the Masa 14 menu somehow!

[Antonio Burrell]

Sometimes you sit back and you begin to reflect: what's been good, what's been bad and what's toed the line. In that time of reflection you begin to see new goals, new dreams on the horizon, new ways to grow all the while remembering the past.

Remembering the very first service and the rush that came with feeding the first of many people.

Remembering the cast of characters that were my first crew. Some came, some went, some came back again but they were always my 'guy's'.

Remembering the first review, first complaint, first broken piece of equipment.

Remembering breaking in two GM's, four assistant managers and two bar managers.

And now, a new chef. After three years, I will be leaving Masa 14 and looking for that next set of goals and promises to be fullfilled. Adios Masa buenos suerte!

[Pat]

Good luck, Antonio. I'll be interested to know where you end up next.

[catharine]

Wow, what a huge loss for Masa 14! Congrats to you, chef, and good luck. Can't wait to see what's next but I know it will be great!

[bettyjoan]

Well, I realized I hadn't seen Masa 14 pop up with a new post in a while, so now I understand a bit of why.  We had guests over yesterday, but we couldn't make a reservation because we were taking things pretty easy and weren't sure when we'd want to eat.  When we finally ventured out, Red Hen had a 2-3 hour wait, so we went over to 14th Street - we first tried Lupo Verde, but they quoted us an hour and a half.*  So, we wandered to Masa 14 and got a table right away (maybe that should have tipped me off?).

First and foremost, our server was all over the place.  I mean, she may have been a delightful person, but it was like watching someone on amphetamines - not only did she talk VERY quickly and check on us compulsively, but her attention span left something to be desired.  For example, she was in the middle of describing a dessert (in response to our request for a dessert menu, she said it would be more fun if she described them verbally) when she stopped and said, "Oh my god, look at that dog!"  Sure enough, there was a dog right outside.  Okaaaaaay...  She spent more time placing our cocktail napkins exactly how she wanted them than almost anything else.  Very strange experience.

The food all sounded much more interesting than it tasted.  I got the scallop and watermelon salad and the pork belly steamed buns.  The salad had so much promise, but the melon somehow turned the whole dish into a watery mess, and the scallops (which were the smallest sea scallops I have ever seen) were just kind of there - no real addition of flavor, and they didn't have a good sear at all.  The pork buns were tasty, but nothing special.  The chicken "chicharrones" was cooked nicely, but I have no idea why they call the dish anything having to do with chicharrones - it was pretty weighed down and there wasn't anything crispy going on.  The one highlight of the meal for me was the soy-glazed okra - it was crisp and not greasy and very flavorful.

The first item (the chicken, I think) was on our table not 5 minutes after we ordered, which should have given me some clues.  The other food came out in a similarly rapid fashion.  For the portion size and price, I was disappointed that the dishes didn't even seem to be cooked to order.  One of our companions enjoyed her chocolate terrine dessert, but my dulce de leche cake was dry and flavorless (though the gingery mango on the plate was tasty).

To be sure, I was not impressed.  Next time, I'll insist on making reservations.

* Right as we were walking to our table at Masa 14, which was about 15 minutes after we initially talked to the hostess at Lupo Verde, she called me and said our table was ready.  We would have stayed (and had cocktails at the bar while waiting) if she had given us a more realistic estimate of the time!  I was a hostess for a long time, so I understand the challenges of determining wait times, but I think they are losing out if they consistenly quote like this.