Lunch at Casa Mono

I love having an excuse to revisit a favorite restaurant and this weekend is was Casa Mono. Call it paying homage to Ilan, a Top Chef contestant who worked (works?) at Casa Mono, Mario Batali's tapas inspired restaurant. (By the way, I project he'll be in the top three, at the very least.)

The good: 1) The staff is so friendly. The host saw me writing the menu down on the little scrap of paper so I could report it all here,  and he nicely offered up a copy. 2) The menu is amazing. If I had an endless amount of money and multiple stomachs, I would order it all and happily eat myself into oblivion. After much agonizing, the choices selected were  razor clams a la plancha (which means with lots of garlic and lemon), dorada with beets and pickled orange peel; oxtails and piquillo peppers; lamb shank with celery root (pictured above), pork cheeks with quince and scallions with romesco. And the dishes are plated to perfection. Just look at those razor clams.

It was my first experience with pork cheeks, which were amazing. I especially enjoyed the texture of them -- crusty on the outside with a good type of chewiness to them.

The bad: 1) This was my third Case Mono visit and it was drastically different from the previous two in that the whole experience took more than three hours.  Although the waitress was very nice, it took a long time to get attention from her. Then the food service was unbelievably slow. One tapas would arrive at the table, which we would all devour. Then our plates were cleared, and we waited for another. Another single tapas arrived, repeating the entire cycle. Only at the end did we get three all at the same time. I saw more people being seated, finishing their meal and leaving than I could count. 2) How popular does a cramped restaurant have to be before they decide to move into large quarters?

Final judgment: Everything I've ever ordered from Casa Mono has been hands-down exceptional. But go in knowing service may be slow and the quarters will be cramped.

Comments

[Luisa]

Yum, I can't believe I haven't been there yet. Has something to do with Ben's insistence on No Tapas. I must go, though. Pork cheeks! Razor clams! Yes.

[Andrea]

They also have these fingerling potatoes topped with an egg and truffle shavings. So yummy. Maybe that'll reel him in?

[Jay]

I'm a New Yorker who is livng in Barcelona- the region that inspired the menu of Casa Mono. After eating at Casa Mono a half dozen times and also dining in Barcelona's best tapas joints, I can confidently say that nothing in Barcelona touches Chef Nusser's creations. Hats off to him and keep up the great work!