The recently opened Masa 14 on 14th Street (yes, another painfully unoriginal name added to the DC landscape) has been getting a lot of buzz. Chefs Richard Sandoval (Zengo) and Kaz Okochi (Kaz Sushi Bistro) have partnered to bring the U Street Corridor an Asian Latin fusion tapas destination.
Yes, tapas. More tapas. I actually like tapas a whole bunch, but I think I have reached my limit on small plates. Still, I was hearing great things, so I decided to keep an open mind and check it out.
While sitting at the bar as I waited for my friend, I thought to myself “There certainly are some good looking men behind this bar”. As we all know, looks only carry you so far. You have to have the good to back it up, and this bar did not. There were five bartenders working the crowd–it is an impressive 65 feet long–and I had a difficult time catching someone’s eye. Understandable as the place is new and they were fairly busy. When I finally did get my cocktail, the Red Star which was made with tequila and blackberry puree, I was pleased. It was put hair on your chest strong, but it was excellent. What was not excellent was never being asked if I wanted water, a menu, or another drink. When our table was ready my friend went over as I tried to settle the bill. I had to ask twice for the check and watched EIGHT minutes pass buy before I finally signed my slip. So, I started my meal pretty pissed off and my friend Bitchy sat there occupying real estate but ordering nothing as he waited for me. This is not the best business model.
Another pet peeve: communal seating. We were at a table with 12 seats (I believe) and I was displeased. The tables were so close to the bar, which had folks spilling in to the dining area, that I spent the whole meal screaming to be heard and elbowing everyone in my radius. Plus, it is safe to say that the whole table did not need to hear what Bitchy and I were talking. I forged ahead, neighbors be damned.
Now, on to the food. It was good, and in some instances, great. The spinach salad was basic but the black bean dressing was a nice surprise. The spicy tuna handroll was fresh and flavorful, but would have been helped by a bit more crunch. The kobe beef and pork meatballs were awesome; smoky and moist, I could have eaten three orders. The Thai chicken flatbread was packed with fresh veggies, bight cilantro and a zesty peanut sauce; a definite must order. I could have took or left the beef tenderloin, but there was nothing egregious about it.
Our table service? Good, definitely, but you could tell he was having a hard time navigating the floor. Also, another drawback to communal seating is every time you move, someone is asking you for something and you cannot reach your intended destination. I felt for him; he seemed like a good guy and did his best in a rough situation.
So, not all bad. That being said, I was so annoyed by the bar and the noise and the seating situation that by the time the main event, the food, rolled around I was feeling less than open minded. Plus, the freaking tapas. Why more tapas, why? Please, DC, find a new freaking trend. Perhaps I am not giving the place a fair shake, but maybe if they were doing something new or at least doing something old well, I would be much more forgiving.
6:42 am on November 12th, 2009
I am not a fan of communal seating. AT ALL. I don’t go to dinner to sit with strangers. I don’t mind a dining room with tables that are a little close to one another—that can even be cozy and quaint. But, honestly. If my elbow is hitting some random guy’s arm as I try to eat my dinner, I’m not a happy camper.
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6:56 am on November 12th, 2009
i went to a restaurant in chicago with a similar style except it was spanish cuisine. i wasn’t a huge fan of the cummunal seating either, but we did end up sitting at the bar so i never truly experienced it. i like all the tapas because i love to try a little bit of everything and not miss out on something great because i ordered a single entree.
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8:00 am on November 12th, 2009
I walk by this place every morning and drool a little as I read the cocktail menu in the window. Thanks for describing your experience, you write really great restaurant reviews! Perhaps I’ll wait until the novelty has worn off before trying the happy hour.
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8:04 am on November 12th, 2009
Oh, heavens, I HATE communal seating. It feels way too Benihana-cheesy to me. Why do restaurants do that? Is there some sort of untapped market for people who want to cuddle up to strangers?
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8:15 am on November 12th, 2009
Communal seating is the dumbest damn fad in the world. If I wanted to eat in an Amish farmhouse I would do it, now give me my own table.
I’m still okay with tapas mainly because it’s a good way to eat less and spend less. But I like it better if there are also entrees should I decide on that.
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8:19 am on November 12th, 2009
Sitting with strangers and then getting bumped into every which way? No. That makes me twitchy and mad.
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8:34 am on November 12th, 2009
The one benefit I’ve heard of to the communal seating at Masa is that a friend of mine was recently on a TRES awkward date there (note: no one, regardless of sex or sexuality should discuss felching on the first date), and the couple sitting next to them totally saved his ass by interrupting and diverting the conversation. And now they’re friends. Yay!
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8:43 am on November 12th, 2009
Communal seating blows. I do not visit such a place twice.
Love tapas, and always have. That there is anything like a trend regarding it (which doesn’t seem to be happening on this coast, by the way) sort of cracks me up. Once the public ADHD moves on, we’ll be left with the excellent Spanish places we had to begin with.
Now excuse me, please, while I try to find a way to scrub from my mental eyes the idea of something putting hair on your chest.
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9:00 am on November 12th, 2009
tequilia and blackberry puree?? whoa.
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9:03 am on November 12th, 2009
If I’m going to be squished next to hoards of people while I’m trying to have a conversation with the person I’m there with, I’d probably hate it too. Even if the food is good. After all we are paying for the food AND the ambiance.
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9:23 am on November 12th, 2009
I swear to GOD the bartenders in this city get more entitled and worse at their jobs with each passing day. It’s not hard: Keep a cold beer in front of me and cash me out in a relatively swift fashion, and I’ll tip your balls/tits off. It doesn’t even bother me that I’m being ignored while you hit on whatever POA is leaning on the bar.
And I’m over the small plates thing too. I’m ready for regular entrees with the protein/veggie/starch tripod to make its return.
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10:54 am on November 12th, 2009
Was supposed to go here but it was called off. So happy, now that I’ve read your review. Not my sort of scene.
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11:04 am on November 12th, 2009
I don’t like communal seating, however it seems very common in Dim Sum restaurants in cities that have packed restaurants. NYC, SF, and Hong Kong. If it’s busy at Masa 14, it would justify it.
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12:08 pm on November 12th, 2009
Bench seating is for picnics.
And tapas are okay, I guess. I just usually want more. It would have to be the kind of thing where we did tapas for happy hour but got a bigger, better menu for dinner.
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7:09 pm on November 12th, 2009
I have this theory that they actually make more money with a tapas menu because people feel like they have to order so many to get full. And they are right! We just ate at Jaleo and it was right up there as tapas restaurants go.
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7:31 pm on November 13th, 2009
I can only handle shared plates when it’s finger food. Even still, I tend to get shockingly territorial.
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