Masa of Echo Park
House Bread and Butter
Suppli – Risotto Croquettes with Buffalo Mozzarella, Parmesan Cheese, with Pomodoro Sauce
Manchego Salad – Compressed Salad of Organic Baby Lettuce, Dates, Granny Smith Apples, Caramelized Walnuts, Manchego Cheese, Pear Dressing, Balsamic Reduction
Chicago Style Traditional 10-inch with Sweet Italian Sausage and Mushroom
Warm Croissant Bread Pudding – Chocolate, Almonds, Butter Croissants pan baked in Vanilla Custard with Warm Caramel Sauce
Grandma Dorothy’s Carrot Cake – Scoop of Rich Cream Cheese Frosting
Long debated as a brunch or lunch location given the Echo Park location north of DTLA, it was finally on a Monday afternoon en route to Pasadena that a stop was made at Italian stalwart Masa, the rumors of best deep-dish west of Chicago proven to my family though I might contest it is better than any tasted aside from Burt’s Place.
Cozy in design and certainly less commercial that the Uno’s, Gino’s, and Giordano’s of the world it was just after 1:00pm that a small table at Masa was procured and with black & white movies playing beneath 50’s serenade the “thirty-ish” minute wait for pizza was bridged by witty banter from our server plus a plate of warm housemade bread, two appetizers ordered and soon to be on the way.
Generally avoiding restaurant salads due to daily consumption of such things during workdays back home it was on the server’s recommendation that the compressed Manchego version was nonetheless selected, the composition of flavors and textures both quite dynamic while two small Suppli were a bit underwhelming, the buffalo mozzarella smooth but a bit lost amidst the flavors of salty Parmesan and acidic tomato sauce.
Receiving the pie a mere twenty-one minutes after placing the order, a benefit of arriving after the early lunch rush, those familiar with Chicago-Style will know that even the proportions a ‘small’ were still large enough to feed a family of four, the crust robust and buttery while sweet sausage was awash in spices, the lightly tanned mushrooms helping to ground the plethoric amounts of cheese and sauce.
Perhaps as well known for desserts as it is for pizza, the bread pudding made from a mixture of housemade croissants, it was with a rich round of nutty carrot cake topped by a big dollop of cream cheese frosting that the tasting commenced, and waiting a few minutes to let the wedge of custard soaked croissants cool down the first bites of the restaurant’s signature sweet sent heads spinning, the melted ribbons of chocolate adding even more richness to a dish already not for lack in a pool of caramel sauce.
http://masaofechopark.com/
