The menu is as creative as the surroundings, with dishes such as a roasted veal chop on Brussels sprouts and applewood-smoked bacon dressed with a port Madeira sauce, and seared wild black bass with asparagus, braised wild mushrooms, leeks and garlic. A “vegetable lover’s” menu will please vegetarians.
Co-owner and Chef Suzette Gresham changes the menu often to showcase her northern Italian culinary creations, including a fennel fettuccine with Dungeness crab in a white vermouth, shallot and crab reduction, and seared branzino over an artichoke, Gaeta olive, arugula and potato medley. Different every evening, a tasting menu of four courses with specially selected wines is also offered.
Chef Alexander Ong's family-style dishes draw from the cuisines of Vietnam, Singapore, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan. Among dishes to choose from are wok-tossed anchovies with peanuts and chilies, salt and pepper prawns, chili-crusted calamari and a green papaya salad with shrimp and mint. Dessert lovers might savor the ginger crème brulée.
Executive Chef Gloria Ciccarone-Nehis personally develops the menus that change regularly to reflect the availability of fresh ingredients. Recent offerings have included sautéed petrale sole, Dungeness crab cakes with corn salsa, rack of lamb with a rosemary crust, and orange-ginger crème brulée. Nightly specials may include a signature wild game dish, such as buffalo, ostrich, antelope, alligator or rattlesnake.
When Greens opened 27 years ago, its vegetarian menu was revolutionary, and it remains at the top of locals’ lists. Under Chef Annie Somerville’s direction the menu changes daily, but some of the traditional favorites include ricotta and corn griddle cakes, mesquite-grilled polenta and phyllo layered with artichokes, crimini mushrooms, leeks, walnuts, ricotta and Parmesan cheese.
With Executive Chef Michael Buhagiar at the helm, you can expect a thick cut of perfectly aged beef served up with a baked potato and seasonal vegetables or creamed spinach, sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions. The extensive wine list is a perfect complement to the menu. Harris’ also offers lamb chops, fresh fish, lobster and occasionally venison, buffalo and other seasonal game.
A prix-fixe dinner includes three to six courses which may include sautéed Bellwether Farm baby lamb chops with potato gnocchi and spring onions or farm-raised Davenport abalone served with hand-cut linguine. Dishes such as miso-glazed sablefish are a nod to Masa’s desire to embrace both Oriental and Occidental culinary traditions. In addition, wine pairings are available.
Highlights of Chef de Cuisine, Jeff Smock’s menu include appetizer cones filled with tuna tartare, fresh seafood, a duck duo entrée (pan-roasted breast and crispy confit of leg and thigh), remarkable risottos and sinful desserts like El Rey molten chocolate-caramel cake and Grand Marnier soufflé. The reasonably priced wine list and wine-by-the-glass program are particularly notable.
Chef Megan Smith's sophisticated seafood menu features dishes like Thai snapper served with tiny Manila clams and grilled swordfish flavored with Sicilian capers and green olives. The raw seafood bar stocked with a wide selection of oysters, littleneck clams and other seafood is worth the visit.
