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

[ElGuapo]

Ryan Ratino (L'Auberge Provencale, Caviar Russe, Todd English's bluezoo) has recently taken over as Chef de Cuisine, and has a new menu. we checked it out last night and had a wonderful time. (Full Disclosure: Ryan is a good friend of ours, and a fellow Cleveland native.)

[New Chef, New Menu: Washington DC's MASA 14 by me.]

[sandynva]

went there for happy hour recently and was sad to see that the new chef has taken the wok fried okra off the menu. I wish him luck, but boy did i love munching on those during happy hour....

[ElGuapo]

Masa 14's Ryan Ratino is doing a pop-up January 17 at Le Bon Cafe with Lucas Power (Rose's Luxury, minibar, Le Commis):

Join Chefs Ryan Ratino and Lucas Power for a one-night only pop-up dinner at Le Bon Cafe!

Chef Ratino is new to the DC dining scene. After studying at Le Cordon Bleu, Chef Ratino has worked in fine-dining, Michelin-starred restuarants around the United States, including L'Auberge Provencal in Northern Virginia, Caviar Russe in NYC, and with Chef Todd English at bluezoo in Orlando, Florida. He currently is the head chef at MASA 14.

Chef Power is fairly new to the restaurant industry, but he doesn't lack the experience. He's worked for Aaron Silverman at Rose's Luxury and Jose Andres at minibar, The Pines/Willow in Brooklyn, and works part-time with Thomas Madrecki at the Chez Le Commis supper club.

The menu will be as follows-- 
Mignardises 
Oyster, Green Apple, Celery
Chestnut Ravioli en Brodo
48-Hour Wagyu Short Rib, Mushrooms, Huckleberry
White Cheddar, Beet, White Chocolate, Cocoa Nib
Passionfruit, Meringue, Grapefruit, Basil

There will be two seatings: 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm. The meal will consist of five courses with wine pairings. Beverages, tip, tax, and gratuitity are included in the price. (Menu is subject to change.)

There's only a limited number of seats. Hurry and grab your tickets today and see you there! Tickets available at Eventbrite!

Eventbrite Tickets - Facebook Event Page

[Pat]

Has Le Bon Cafe expanded in some way?  They can't possibly have room for this here, can they?

[ElGuapo]

I'd guess that's why they're limiting it to 30 seats...

[Pat]

I'd guess that's why they're limiting it to 30 seats...

I suppose they can manage 15 per seating.  Even that seems like it would be tight.  I haven't been in there in a while, so maybe it's reconfigured, but that is a tiny space.

[ElGuapo]

Chef Ryan Ratino is launching a new, 13-Course Luxe Chef's Tasting Counter starting tomorrow:

Quote

Diners can expect dishes built around a single ingredient—whether Japanese scallops or local lamb—and more experimental fusion than one finds in the main dining room, such as foie gras macarons with koji berry, or lobster risotto capped off with bone marrow.

Masa 14 Launches a Luxe Chef’s Tasting Counter | Washingtonian

[ElGuapo]

We went to the inaugural service of the Luxe Chef's Tasting Counter last night, and we were impressed to say the least. We've known Chef Ryan for several years, and his talent really shines in this setting.

$80pp, $125pp with wine pairings, 13 courses. Attached is our menu from last night.

[CapitalGourmand]

Quote

We went to the inaugural service of the Luxe Chef's Tasting Counter last night, and we were impressed to say the least. We've known Chef Ryan for several years, and his talent really shines in this setting.

$80pp, $125pp with wine pairings, 13 courses. Attached is our menu from last night.

I appreciate your brief review of this tasting. A friend and I are getting a reservation for later this month and are looking for all the intel we can find before we go.

I like the Alinea-esque red circles on the menu. Are they part of the original menu? Or were they drawn on?

[ElGuapo]

Just now, CapitalGourmand said:

I like the Alinea-esque red circles on the menu. Are they part of the original menu? Or were they drawn on?

To my knowledge, they're part of the menu. 

[CapitalGourmand]

The influence of the Michelin Guide is being felt months before its arrival. The tasting menu trend is alive and well in DC, and we may not have seen the end of it. When it was announced that Masa 14 chef de cuisine Ryan Ratino was introducing a chef's table tasting menu experience, I knew I had to try it.

The tasting menu starts with a variety of small bites. In most cases this is my favorite part of the degustation experience. But for this menu, most of the highlights came from the larger plates. Of the small bites, the clear stand out was the oyster, cucumber, melon, coriander. It isn't just visually stunning, there was clearly a lot of thought that went into the composition of the dish. The tea vapor provider herbal notes to what may have otherwise been a simple oyster shooter. It's a technique that Grant Achatz has been using at Alinea for awhile now, and its always great to see another variation.

The asparagus was delicious, but I wondered if a similar result could be achieved with fewer elements. To accommodate my allergy, Ratino substituted salmon for scallop for the salmon, lemongrass, onion, roe, celery. The salmon was soft, no doubt from being cooked sous vide, and well supported by the roe and pickled vegetable medley.

The highlight of the meal was the aged dairy cow, preserved cherry, chanterelles, leek, radicchio. Ratino has a background in classic French, and this with this dish he gets to  demonstrate his skill. Layers of radicchio are slowly cooked down into a paste to make a puree. The bitterness of the radicchio and the tartness of the preserved cherries are an excellent contrast to the fatty, aged beef.

Overall, I was impressed . It's clear that some of the dishes are in need of refinement, something Ratino was refreshingly honest about. I got to have a lengthy conversation with him towards the end of the meal. We talked about everything from the arrival of Michelin to DC to our favorite restaurant experiences to Flynn McGarry. This guy is a true food nerd. What stood out most is his passion and dedication to his work. He has a vision to transform Masa 14 into an even greater restaurant. If this meal is any indication, he certainly has the potential to do so.

Here are some highlights of the meal. I've split the pictures into two posts so that I could fit all of them in.

[CapitalGourmand]

Part 2

[ElGuapo]

City Paper took note of Chef Ryan Ratino's efforts to change Masa 14's nightclub reputation:

"But now, some diners are making new, and unexpected memories, at Masa 14, one of 14th Street’s first nightlife hubs. Instead of typical club grub, they’re delighting in foie gras and black truffles on house brioche, and later, dry-aged dairy cow with chanterelles and huckleberries. These dishes fly out of Chef Ryan Ratino’s kitchen and land with grace—and the occasional liquid nitrogen cloud—in front of diners at the chef’s counter that launched in May. The 26-year-old’s resume includes stints at Michelin-starred Big Apple restaurants Caviar Russe and WD-50, plus a term as executive chef at Virginia’s L’Auberge Provencale."

Dine Dance Revolution: Can Nightlife Hubs Be Respected For Their Food?

[ElGuapo]

Chef Ryan is now serving beef from retired dairy cows. 

[ktmoomau]

2 hours ago, ElGuapo said:

Chef Ryan is now serving beef from retired dairy cows. 

Well that is interesting.  I know people who milk herefords, but they are traditionally beef cattle and have sold them at auction for beef (some of the 4H kids do this).  I have never heard of anyone eating a holstein or etc that was milked.  I knew that people were selling dairy calves (steer) for ground beef and cheaper cuts now because of the decline in demand for veal.  That is one of the most interesting articles I have read in a while.  I might print that out and send it to my Amish nanny, get her to convince someone in Garrett County to age some holsteins.    

[farmer john]

My family were dairy farmers for years before switching to just beef a couple years back. I have eaten plenty of Holstein in my time but those would've all been roughly year old steers rather than retired dairy cattle. Fat content is lower than angus for sure as they are bred to make fat-laden milk rather than fat-laden meat. Flavor is pretty much the same otherwise when comparing cattle of similar age and diet. An older cow would certainly be a bit tougher and possibly more "gamey" so the need to age it makes sense. Given a choice of Holstein and angus I would take angus every time. (Beef only needs to be 50% angus to be salable as angus btw so more of you have likely eaten at least partially dairy cow meat than you think.)

[ktmoomau]

We had brunch at Masa 14 (not my pick) for a friend's birthday.  I understand as an AYCE and AYCD brunch that they are likely not tasting their food, perfecting dishes.  That being said a lot of dishes had a lot of promise, but most of them were REALLY oversalted.  And the kitchen was so backed up- I feel like if you are going to do this, you need a few more cold dishes that make this more manageable.  The cornbread was really good with jalapeno and sausage.  The jicama salad would have been great with about 1/3 of the salt it had in the dish, I assume this was made beforehand so why wasn't it tasted?  The buns were really good, they would have been better with some of the jicama salad in them as slaw (so long as it isn't over-salted). The sushi was fine, but I thought cream cheese overwhelmed the dish and it would have been better with more egg, no cheese, as the egg wasn't discernable.  The chorizo hash had way too little chorizo. The roasted cauliflower was good. The pork belly sandwich had no texture and the pork belly was therefore too chewy and dense, it needed to be crisped.  The sliders were fine, not special, tasted like mcdonald's mini burgers.  The "parfait" with greek yogurt was great.  The carrot cake was awful, the sugar had not dissolved in the frosting and it was way too sweet and didn't have the tangy balance that good carrot cake has.  It was also super unclear what dishes had how many pieces so sometimes we over ordered, sometimes under.  For instance the plantains were two pieces of plantain, the cornbread came out one time as four pieces, one time as three. 

Also, the runner had no idea where food was going, and so they were pretty much auctioning off dishes, and with an AYCE brunch that meant lots of tables ordered the same things and so when asked if they ordered X they said yes.  Then people complained to the waiters because they weren't getting their dishes.  Then the waiters put in new orders, so sometimes you got too much food.  The whole thing in my mind was a hot mess.  They gave us a discount, so maybe it is normally not like that.  Anyway, I am sure dinner is much better, but it didn't make me want to go back for dinner.  

[dracisk]

Closing at the end of August.