Chef Sam Mason, formerly of Palladin, Union Pacific, Atlas and most recently, wd-50, is a chef and partner at Tailor, a sophisticated dining and cocktail parlor in SoHo. Tailor is the latest dessert-focused restaurant to open in New York City. Together with P*ONG, Room 4 Dessert and Chikalicious, this style of cuisine offers an interesting take on an aspect of dining out that most people generally disregard.

Paprika pepper punch — roasted red peppers, paprika, rum, molasses, lemonade

Amuse-bouche: Asian pear, beer foam, mizuna, mustard seed

Foie gras, chopped peanuts, cocoa, pear, balsamic gastrique

Cod, miso, watermelon foam, pea shoots, sesame rice cracker

Pork belly, butterscotch/apple cider glaze, braised artichoke, jicama

Creme fraiche sorbet, raisin puree, pecans

Eggless lemon curd, Thai basil sorbet, dried preserved lemon, blackberries, blackberry coulis

Soft chocolate, mole sauce, sesame ice cream, chocolate “soil”

Tomato gelee, basil

Out of 10? An upper range 6 to low-moderate 7 based on this one meal. Chef Mason’s savory dishes have a more interesting flavor composition than his sweets. Foie gras with peanuts, cocoa and pear is a magical reinterpretation of a chocolate covered candy bar. Pork belly with jicama and artichoke lends a thoroughly adult unctuousness faintly reminiscent of bacon braised in apple butter. I could imagine eating that for the rest of my life. The danger with going the tasting menu route is that by the time dessert rolls around, all of the sweet dishes smoosh into a blur.

Coming attractions: an all-chocolate tasting menu. The restaurant has a bar on a lower level that will soon feature bar snacks and food.

Tailor is located at 525 Broome Street (Thompson Street) in SoHo.

Discussion on eGullet can be seen here. A thread on Mouthfulsfood is here.

17 Sep This entry was published on September 17, 2007 at 12:59 am and is filed under food, general, New York City. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.