The Charlottesville 29

501 Monticello Road . Charlottesville, VA . (434) 979-0990
http://www.mastapas.com

Why MAS?

What can you do if you want to attend a dinner party but none is planned? Go to MAS, where it feels like like a party every night of the week. At Charlottesville’s original tapas bar, you’ll find a rollicking gala of beautiful food, free-flowing cocktails and wines, and fun-seeking people, all set in a cavernous space inspired by Gaudi and Frank Lloyd Wright. The food is serious. In the eighteen years since MAS opened, the restaurant has cultivated relationships with the area’s best purveyors. With such high quality ingredients, they like to keep the cooking simple. The results are often spectacular, and warrant a spot in The Charlottesville 29.

What to Order

Our favorite way to eat at MAS is to ask the kitchen to send whatever it wants. A degustacion, of sorts. This not only affirms the dinner party feel of eating at MAS. After all, we wouldn’t order food at a dinner party. It also puts our choices in the hands of the people with the most expertise: the kitchen staff. That being said, there are some regular dishes, below, that we do find ourselves craving again and again. Also below are the chef’s recommendations and appearances in Five Finds on Friday, where chefs and personalities have named a MAS dish one of the best in town.

Our Picks

• Datil con tocino, fat, juicy, pitted Medjool dates roasted inside of apple-wood smoked bacon
• Habas fritas,  baby fava beans w/ Amontillado, garlic, olive oil, sweet butter, aged Mahon
• Gambas al’ parilla, jumbo shrimp grilled Catalan style-in the shell-w/garlic alioli and grey salt
• Bocadillo
• Chuletas, baby lamb chops grilled rare only w/flatbread, mojo verde
• Porktopus
• Carne Asada

Chef’s Picks

• Bikini, a pan fried sandwich of sauteed morels, shallots, Urgelia cheese, and white truffle butter on sunflower wheat“
• Plato de Iberico
• Tomato plate
• Duck confit with figs
• Cachetes de ternero
• Porktopus
• Clams in coconut green curry

Five Finds on Friday’s Picks

• Gambas al’ Parilla — Dylan Allwood (formerly, Rocksalt), Jennifer Keevil (formerly, Brookville), Mark Thompson (Starr Hill Brewery), Dave Kostelnik (Early Mountain Vineyards), Thomas Leroy (formerly, Kardinal Hall), Jerome Thalwitz (The Bavarian Chef), Reggie Calhoun (formerly, Commonwealth), Corry Blanc (Blanc Creatives), Fernando Dizon (Manila Street)
• Carne Asada — Jenny Peterson (Paradox Pastry), Hunter Smith (Champion Brewing Company), Michael Lewis (formerly, Mono Loco), Devin Murray (formerly, The Whiskey Jar); Nick Moon (formerly, Brasserie Saison), Reggie Calhoun (formerly, Commonwealth); Brandon Wooten (Grit Coffee)
• Bocadillo — Todd Grieger (formerly, Red Pump Kitchen), Will Richey (Ten Course Hospitality), Mark Gresge (l’etoile Catering), Jaclyn Conlogue (BBQ Exchange), Devin Murray (formerly, The Whiskey Jar), Landon Saul (Vivace), Lauren Strachan (Harvest Moon Lodge and Retreat)
• Wood Fired Bread — Matt Turner (formerly, Public), Peter Robertson (Cote-Rotie)
• Datil con Tocino — Brian Helleberg (Fleurie, Petit Pois), Ethan Zuckerman (Barefoot Bucha), Taylor Smack (Blue Mountain Brewery), Clay Trainum (Autumn Olive Farms), Riki Tanabe (formerly, Albemarle Baking Co.)
• Alioli — James Lum III and Matt Greene (formerly, JM Stock Provisions), Micah LeMon (The Alley Light), Vinnie Falcone (formerly, Red Pump Kitchen)
• Porktopus / Pulpo on Parilla — Steve Monson (Early Mountain Vineyards), Craig Hartman (BBQ Exchange), Peter Griesar (Brazos Tacos)
• Boquerones con Ajo — Josh Hunt (Beer Run), Dahlia Lithwick (Slate), Robbie O’Cain (Starr Hill Brewery), Mike Hollar (ZoCaLo), Daniel Kaufman (Public Fish & Oyster); Chrissy Smith (Beer Run)
• Paella – Tiffany Nguyen (reader)
• Atun a la Parilla — Millie Winstead (Blue Ridge Area Food Bank)
• Tortilla Espanola — Kathryn Saul (Vivace)
• Espinacas Catalana — Scott Smith (Bodo’s)
• Papas Bravas — Jenn Riesman (formerly, Fossett’s), Kerrie Pierce (Vita Spirits)
• Duck, Bunny, & Pig Stew — Ellen Searcy (reader)
• Any Seasonal Vegetable — Liberty Kalergis (MAS)
• Queso con Mermalada — Caleb Warr (formerly, Tavola)
• Liberita —Eames Coleman (formerly, Kareem Abdul Jus-Bar and Blue Star JüsBar and Baja Fish Taqueria)
• Pazo de Barrantes Albarino — Elizabeth and Tony Smith (Afton Mountain Vineyard)
• Pimenton Padron — Jason Tesauro
• Patatas Riojanas — Dave Fafara (Shenandoah Joe)
• Pan con Miel — Nick Crutchfield (formerly, Commonwealth)
• Sweetbreads — Aaron Cross (formerly, Fossett’s)
• Tomates Asados — Robin Fetter (The Real Vegan Housewife)
• Jamon and Racio Sec — Jeff Latchum (Williams Corner Wine)