Tailor

Despite the fact that I eat a lot, it’s not very often that I get to visit an ‘anticipated’ restaurant during its opening weeks. The last time I did this, it was because I was talked into Gordon Ramsay at The London, and it was a huge, soulless, disappointment. I had much higher hopes for Sam Mason’s Tailor (525 Broome Street), a restaurant/cocktail lounge hybrid, whose opening I had been following for months. Here's a peak inside courtesy of Eater.

I have to say that I was very impressed. Although I’m not exactly sure where Tailor fits in terms of the traditional realms of ‘restaurant’ and ‘bar’ the intellectualized food and drinks are as much fun to eat as they are to read about. As expected, the restaurant is still working out some kinks: food was a little slow when the restaurant filled up, the staff wasn’t entirely knowledgeable about everything yet, and the black leather cutout on our table was slightly atrocious looking, but otherwise, it shows great potential.

Mason’s menu of small plates is comprised of 12 choices, six salty and six sweet. The size and pricing of the plates makes Tailor either a place that can challenge the palate’s conceptions of what makes a meal, or simply a cool spot to grab a delicious, aesthetically pleasing snack. Part of what makes this restaurant so interesting to me, is the fact that not only are the food and cocktails taken very seriously, but it also seems like the kind of place where the chef himself would hang out.

That being said, when my friends and I went on Friday night we hadn’t hung out in a while and were definitely in a mood to live a little. After sampling a couple of the cocktails, we took great joy in saying “Give us everything one the menu.” Almost all of the dishes were hits, and the pork belly with Miso butterscotch was a super hit. The only problem with ordering everything on the menu is that due to the variety of combinations and flavors, it’s really difficult to pair a drink with each course, and the cocktails definitely don’t work if you hope to taste your food. After a little it of a struggle we ordered a moderately priced bottle of Riesling and were happy.

A rundown of the menu in order of my preference with the section of the menu it’s from. But first, here's a link to a Flickr page with pictures of all the dishes (you should click there the food is really amazing looking)

1. Pork Belly, Miso Butterscotch, Artichoke (Salty)

Far and away the best dish and not even because the others were bad. I could probably eat a bowl full of Miso butterscotch by itself, and mixing it with the super savory pork belly not only tastes great but really captures the essence of what this restaurant is all about.

2. Snapper, Avocado-Pistachio, Watermelon, Black Olive (Salty)

There was a lot going on here, but that didn’t detract from the impeccable quality of the snapper. Between the sweetness and juice of the compressed watermelon, the saltiness of the olive, and the crunchy pistachio this was also a very well thought out balanced dish.

3. Soft Chocolate, Black Sesame Ice Cream, Mole (Sweet)

I like chocolate, but find that chocolate desserts in restaurants tend to be too heavy, sticky and overwhelming—I get tired of eating them by the end. I was really impressed by the velvety texture of the soft chocolate and thought that the mole paper helped add a very slight kick which kept the chocolate from being too cloying. The black sesame ice cream added coldness to the dish which made it really pleasurable to eat.

4. Foie Gras, Peanut Butter, Cocoa, Pear (Salty)

This was a really nice foie gras preparation. Mason combines two things that are rich and creamy, foie gras and peanut butter and pairs them to create something that is pleasingly familiar (I hope peanut butter is familiar to most) but also new.

5. Caramel Panna Cotta, crunchy coffee, corn sorbet (Sweet)

This dish also had pieces of perfectly crunchy popcorn which made the dish seem like a really abstract take on peanuts and Cracker Jack. Another dish with complementing flavors, caramel and coffee scream ‘delicious frappucino’ while the popcorn adds a texture that makes the dish fun. After reading what I just wrote I supposed this dish reminds me of a lot of things, all of them good.

6. Passion Fruit Poached Char, Lime Pickle, Coconut (Salty)

I really enjoyed the texture of the poached char. Cooking it in passion fruit curd (that’s what it seemed like they did although I can’t say for sure) gave it a slightly tart taste and melty texture to go with some of the richness of the char. The fact that the dish came with spaetzle and the coconut was crispy added some texture to an otherwise silky dish while the addition flavors of lime and coconut reminded me of a ceviche minus the excess acid.

Ok, if you’re still reading this you’re probably interested in going to Tailor. I’m a little tired and the inside of my mouth is cut up from all of the Bouley bakery baguette I went through today so I’m going to go to sleep. I’ll post some more notes tomorrow.