MAS (La Grillade) - Wonderful

[Spiritchaser]

Don't have time to write a full blown report but I wanted to say La Grillade was fantastic. Had an early dinner (as soon as they opened at 6:00) past Friday and just have to say they batted a thousand. Quick run down of what we tried:

GF:
- small plate - roasted garlic bulb with grilled bread, nice, creamy, rustic

- appetizer - artichokes "a la chapa" with grilled Chanterelles and hazelnut mayo, smokey with a riff on the classic artichoke/mayo combo, GF said the mushrooms deepened the earthiness of the artichoke

- main - pit roasted acorn squash stuffed with chestnuts and butternut squash - hearty and wonderful

Me:
- small plate - grilled tartine of ricotta, anchovies, charred tomatoes and olives, perfect bite, nice fresh anchovies

- appetizer - wood fired oysters with lemon thyme- shallot butter, insanely good for such a simple dish, grill didn't "cook" the oysters so much as warmed them up and apart a wonderfully subtle smoke, had a half dozen, could have had another half, these are a must have

- main - spit roasted whole Hudson Valley squab, close race between this and the oysters, great game taste, beautifully crisped skin, mouth watering thinking about it

Service super friendly and fun, while still being professional and efficient. Very good wine and beer recommendations.

Only drawback is it was very dark, I would have liked a little more light to better see my food.

I think I may like La Grillade even more than it's parent restaurant MAS Farm house (and that's saying something).

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Mas (La Grillade)
28 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014

[kathryn]

The oysters sound kind of odd to me -- do you recall what variety they were using?

I agree that it is very dark, and the lack of a big bright outdoor sign worries me a little, as that block is kind of quiet to begin with.

[Spiritchaser]

I did ask, and if I remember correctly they were an East Coast variety, Island Creek from Mass. I was very skeptical at first because I normally will only eat oysters raw, but they were fantastic, they stay in the shell and the warm "liquor" was great.

And you are right about outdoor signage, from across they street we couldn't tell it was the place we were looking for, diners could easily walk past and never know it was a restaurant.

[Kurtis]

Thanks for the nice report. Their menu and concept is very appealing. Is there bar sitting that allows some drinks and apps, or table that allows the view of the grill/kitchen?

[Spiritchaser]

You know I never thought to ask, I do remember a bar but I didn't see all of the downstairs area because as soon as we walked in they took us to the upstairs area (not my first choice of where I would like to sit but that's where evryone was being seated).

[Spiritchaser]

Just as a follow up, I checked, no view of grill or kitchen, it is all in the basement.

[Kurtis]

Thanks for the follow up.

Have reservation near the end of the year to try their regular menu; they will have ~$100pp holiday menu on NYE. They did confirmed for me too that all the grilling action is downstairs; I guess the logistics was impossible, but it would have been great to have wood-fired grill be part of the scene.

Any additional reports from here?

[rose water]

Stopped in last week for drinks, then ended up getting more and more food. Service was friendly and lovely--though we had originally intended to get only drinks they brought out amuses for all. Cocktails were fantastic, food was awesome (we got most of the vegetarian apps and sides on the menu).

Agree that outdoor signage was dark/subtle, but no issues with indoor lighting.