Masa
Location: 439 Tremont Street, Boston (Map)
Chef: Philip Aviles
Opened: 1999
Cuisine: Southwestern
Expect to spend: $40+
Dress: Casual nice
Setting: Chic Mexican cantina minus the tchachkes
Bar/lounge: Yes
Parking: Valet or street if you're lucky
Restaurant's Web site: Masa.com
Foodie Chick Review
Date dined: Thursday, July 19
Occasion: Birthday party
Highlights: Bread and spreads; appropriate considering Masa is a form of dough
Lowlights: Glad I knew about the special offers before I arrived.
Overall: A fun night out for a good meal with decent, though not great, margaritas.
A foodie chick friend of mine loves her margaritas; all my friends love not spending a lot of money. Keeping those two points in mind I chose Masa to celebrate my friend's birthday because they had a July special that included $5 margaritas and a $29 three-course dinner menu.
We arrived to $16 valet parking -- normal for the South End -- and were seated in the relatively empty restaurant during what would be happy hour on a Thursday. (If only Boston had those drink specials.) The dark and tan leather bench seating in the corner booth was comfortable and spacious for our party of five. The room was red-hued, low-lit and warm with the rich colors of spicy foods. I couldn't wait to eat.
The waiter appeared quite serious and reserved for a Mexican-inspired restaurant, where you may be more used to seeing people in sombrerors singing happy birthday to large parties of patrons. He handed over the thick menus to us and walked away.
When he returned I asked for the prix-fixe specials. Looking rather unamused, he retrieved a couple of those menus for us as well.
Now I know it's standard for many restaurants not to advertise such specials, but I really dislike that practice. If you're going to make it known online that you're offering a prix-fixe menu, make it known to all of your patrons and let them decide for themselves what they want to order.
We reviewed the cocktail list in the meantime, as the various margaritas were calling out to us. However, once again, I wasn't sure which of the margaritas were available for $5. I wondered if we happened to order one of the specially priced drinks, without asking which they were, would we still have been charged only $5 or would we have paid full price? Rather than wait till we received the bill to find out, I waited for him to return again and learned it was only the top three margaritas listed.
We ordered our discounted margaritas and it's a good thing they were. The very small drinks were too sweet. Not the greatest I've had, though the Classic would be your best bet.
We ended up not ordering the discounted food. The three-course menu had some good entrees but rather boring appetizer and dessert options. I'd rather get one large, full-priced entree than three downgraded dishes that I don't really want to eat. All of the other foodie chicks agreed. None of us ordered off the prix-fixe menu. I give them credit for getting us in the door though!
What I can say I absolutely loved was the selection of spreads accompanying the large basket of corn bread. Masa knows how to spread it on alright, whether it's with honey butter, spicy bean puree or a peppery cream cheese. I tried to inconspicuously slide all the spreads to my side of the table. It goes without saying that I could have made a meal out of just that.
We definitely did not agree on the success of the appetizer we shared: Chipotle Spinach and Cotija Cheese Artichoke Dip. The flavors were there, and maybe it would have been the best artichoke dip I've ever tried -- as some of the other chicks stated -- but it was overbaked and dry. It was nearly impossible to dip our chips without using a knife. Sort of defeats the purpose of a "dip." We also ran out of chips in about 30 seconds and had to ask our still very serious waiter for a refill.
Quick note on our waiter: I don't mean to say he was not nice, because he was, as he was timely and attentive. He just needed to loosen up IMHO. It's a Southwestern restaurant. Have a shot of tequila and smile.
Being the carnivore I am, I couldn't resist Masa's version of steak frites for my main course: Southwestern Style Steak Frites with Chile Dusted Fries. Ok, I admit it. The chili-dusted fries were irresistable and they turned out crispy and finger-licking good. Perfectly done. The steak was somewhat thin but quite good as it was nicely grilled with a pink center and dripping juices, though I've become a purist and would have preferred less bourbon sauce. That said, I had absolutely no trouble cleaning my plate of all meat, fries and arugula salad.
Unfortunately, I don't know how Masa ranks in the dessert department because we brought in a cake for the birthday celebration. Our waiter was kind enough to discreetly check on which chick it was for before bringing it out, though when he returned he just dropped off the cake and ran while the rest of us sang happy birthday. It was nice that all the patrons joined in with us, even if Mr. Excitement did not.
Following dinner we abandoned our cushy booth and headed over to the bar for more drinks, but by 8:00 it was so crowded that there was not space enough to stand, let alone chit chat and drink. The live music would be starting soon. We would have stayed had there been room, but we chose to walk over to The Beehive instead, leaving our cars with the Masa valet. Shortly thereafter I would regret talking up the 'Hive so much to the chicks with me. More to come in my next entry.
Chef: Philip Aviles
Opened: 1999
Cuisine: Southwestern
Expect to spend: $40+
Dress: Casual nice
Setting: Chic Mexican cantina minus the tchachkes
Bar/lounge: Yes
Parking: Valet or street if you're lucky
Restaurant's Web site: Masa.com
Foodie Chick Review
Date dined: Thursday, July 19
Occasion: Birthday party
Highlights: Bread and spreads; appropriate considering Masa is a form of dough
Lowlights: Glad I knew about the special offers before I arrived.
Overall: A fun night out for a good meal with decent, though not great, margaritas.
A foodie chick friend of mine loves her margaritas; all my friends love not spending a lot of money. Keeping those two points in mind I chose Masa to celebrate my friend's birthday because they had a July special that included $5 margaritas and a $29 three-course dinner menu.
We arrived to $16 valet parking -- normal for the South End -- and were seated in the relatively empty restaurant during what would be happy hour on a Thursday. (If only Boston had those drink specials.) The dark and tan leather bench seating in the corner booth was comfortable and spacious for our party of five. The room was red-hued, low-lit and warm with the rich colors of spicy foods. I couldn't wait to eat.
The waiter appeared quite serious and reserved for a Mexican-inspired restaurant, where you may be more used to seeing people in sombrerors singing happy birthday to large parties of patrons. He handed over the thick menus to us and walked away.
When he returned I asked for the prix-fixe specials. Looking rather unamused, he retrieved a couple of those menus for us as well.
Now I know it's standard for many restaurants not to advertise such specials, but I really dislike that practice. If you're going to make it known online that you're offering a prix-fixe menu, make it known to all of your patrons and let them decide for themselves what they want to order.
We reviewed the cocktail list in the meantime, as the various margaritas were calling out to us. However, once again, I wasn't sure which of the margaritas were available for $5. I wondered if we happened to order one of the specially priced drinks, without asking which they were, would we still have been charged only $5 or would we have paid full price? Rather than wait till we received the bill to find out, I waited for him to return again and learned it was only the top three margaritas listed.
We ordered our discounted margaritas and it's a good thing they were. The very small drinks were too sweet. Not the greatest I've had, though the Classic would be your best bet.
We ended up not ordering the discounted food. The three-course menu had some good entrees but rather boring appetizer and dessert options. I'd rather get one large, full-priced entree than three downgraded dishes that I don't really want to eat. All of the other foodie chicks agreed. None of us ordered off the prix-fixe menu. I give them credit for getting us in the door though!
What I can say I absolutely loved was the selection of spreads accompanying the large basket of corn bread. Masa knows how to spread it on alright, whether it's with honey butter, spicy bean puree or a peppery cream cheese. I tried to inconspicuously slide all the spreads to my side of the table. It goes without saying that I could have made a meal out of just that.
We definitely did not agree on the success of the appetizer we shared: Chipotle Spinach and Cotija Cheese Artichoke Dip. The flavors were there, and maybe it would have been the best artichoke dip I've ever tried -- as some of the other chicks stated -- but it was overbaked and dry. It was nearly impossible to dip our chips without using a knife. Sort of defeats the purpose of a "dip." We also ran out of chips in about 30 seconds and had to ask our still very serious waiter for a refill.
Quick note on our waiter: I don't mean to say he was not nice, because he was, as he was timely and attentive. He just needed to loosen up IMHO. It's a Southwestern restaurant. Have a shot of tequila and smile.
Being the carnivore I am, I couldn't resist Masa's version of steak frites for my main course: Southwestern Style Steak Frites with Chile Dusted Fries. Ok, I admit it. The chili-dusted fries were irresistable and they turned out crispy and finger-licking good. Perfectly done. The steak was somewhat thin but quite good as it was nicely grilled with a pink center and dripping juices, though I've become a purist and would have preferred less bourbon sauce. That said, I had absolutely no trouble cleaning my plate of all meat, fries and arugula salad.
Unfortunately, I don't know how Masa ranks in the dessert department because we brought in a cake for the birthday celebration. Our waiter was kind enough to discreetly check on which chick it was for before bringing it out, though when he returned he just dropped off the cake and ran while the rest of us sang happy birthday. It was nice that all the patrons joined in with us, even if Mr. Excitement did not.
Following dinner we abandoned our cushy booth and headed over to the bar for more drinks, but by 8:00 it was so crowded that there was not space enough to stand, let alone chit chat and drink. The live music would be starting soon. We would have stayed had there been room, but we chose to walk over to The Beehive instead, leaving our cars with the Masa valet. Shortly thereafter I would regret talking up the 'Hive so much to the chicks with me. More to come in my next entry.
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