Last updated on August 27, 2015
I haven’t been to Masa, nor have I been to any of his five restaurants. Simply for one reason… they are freaking expensive!!!
No, I am not rich. And no, I haven’t hit the lotto… yet. But here we are at the framed chef Masayoshi Takayama’s latest venue- Kappo Masa.
Located in the basement of Gagosian Gallery. Kappo Masa is co-owned by Masa and Gagosian. Two very powerful men in their respective world.
So here is the equation: $$$$ x $$$$ = $(infinity)
Yes, it is still cheaper than Masa. Still, the price is petty up there. Just take a glance at the cocktail menu. Nothing listed less than $20, and the top priced one — $28!!! @_@
The tasting menu here is $350!!! Second most expensive in NYC. (Masa is $450)
So why are we here? I meant, how could we afford it? We wouldn’t just order a Toro with scallion roll ($42) and walked out right? Can we?
Thanks to the “Summer pre-theater 3 course pre-fixed menu” ($49/p), we are sitting in this fancy gallery room, on the yellow leather booth, sipping my $20 drink.
Drinks are great. But we felt that the presentation could be dressed up a lot better.
Ringo Shoga(R) (20)
It was salty, sweet and sour. Not all at the same time but kind of peel off layer by layer. Very interesting.
Jalapeno Ja(L) (20)
Oh Jala-pe-no! Definitely packs a kick. It is spicy, but hiding behind the jalapeno, there’s a nice fresh cucumber.
This pre-fixed menu is not advertised anywhere, I originally saw it on a post on social media, searched all over the web for it’s menu, but couldn’t find it anywhere. So I called. The nice lady over the phone confirmed for me that they are offering the pre-fixe all through summer, Mon- Fri, 6p-7p only. She even said it’s good idea to post the pre-fixe menu on the web.
As our waiter set down our cocktails, I asked him about the pre-fixe, and he responded that Kappo Masa never have a pre-fixe. “We only offer a tasting menu and a la carte” he said. WHAT?!? I asked and was confirmed. We didn’t settle easily… so I asked again. This time, our conversations were overheard by another staff, and he promptly corrected the other guy, and returned with an insertion page. (Service in general was warm, except for that one guy who is clearly not up to speed).
There were a soup and a salad for appetizers, 4 choices of entree, and 3 desserts to choose from.
Russian kale swiss chard lemon grass vinaigrette(16)
It is a good salad. And it is just that.
Nameko mushroom tofu miso soup (12)
Petty standard Miso soup. Nothing special with the miso. So why $12?
Shrimp pasta with bottarga, shrimp or shiso inked surimi pasta (24)
This is listed on the menu as “MASA SURIMI PASTA 100% gluten free pasta made from seafood”. He even got it trademarked. Basically is grounded shrimp meat roll into noodles. The texture is great. But the dish overall seems blend. There is no wow, no distinctive note. Where is the seasoning? The pasta might be interesting, but to me, not all that special. There is a noodle shop in ChinaTown that makes dumplings skin out of grounded fish meat, and those were very tasty little pockets. As a matter of fact, it is a very common thing in Chinese culinary.
Beef sukiyaki(48)
Very ordinary Japanese comfort food. Beef was good, but like any other sukiyaki…. sweet.
Cold Kakiage Soba(28) with yomogi & cherry shrimp
I don’t know what to say about this. ….other than I hate myself for ordering this. I mean, could I have done worst if I order the assorted sushi rolls?
From the main menu, we also ordered the peking duck taco and uni hand roll.
Peking duck with foie gras taco (26)
The crispy skin of the duck is “detached” from the duck meat…? Foie gras is a nice idea, but non-existent. Was it meant to be as sauce? Or was it overcooked and melted away.
Uni Temaki (36)
This was listed as hand rolls. Well, hand rolls they are not. They are miniature seaweed tacos. A nest of thinly cut/shaved cucumber on top of Santa Barbara uni on top of rice. Honesty I think the work is sloppy and lazy. They made a special thing to hold the “rolls” in, so they don’t have to roll it!?!. Like an open-face sandwich, it’s just one thing on top the other. Sushi rice is far from perfect. Seaweed is not even crisp, and size varies. I mean… Masa… if this is a painting, would you put your name on it?
Grapefruit granite
crème brulee
Peter Wells said “The cost of eating at Kappo Masa is so brutally, illogically, relentlessly high, and so out of proportion to any pleasure you may get, that large numbers start to seem like uninvited and poorly behaved guests at the table.”
We didn’t shell out. Our bill wasn’t crazy expensive, but it’s still cost way more than it is worth. If all these basic dishes are not perfect, it’s hard to believe the more costly/complicated dishes will live up to the name or the price.
Also this not a “sushi bar” type of place. There is a raw fish counter, but no seating in front of it. Of course Masa is not here…… why would he, right? So if we order omakase, are they going to serve us piece by piece, from raw counter walk all the way to the table?? guess we will never find out. (June, 2015)
side-note: As we were heading out, we spotted chef Nakasawa walked in, along with Mr Borgognone whom is wearing a t shirt and shorts. Field trip?
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