Masa
439 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116
617-338-8884
You won’t find cacti in the corner or sombreros adorning the walls at Masa. It’s not that kind of place. Chef/owner Philip Aviles has given Boston a sophisticated and elegant take on Latin American-inspired cuisine. The natural tones and Spanish-influenced mahogany accents in Masa’s dining room are lit with hand made light fixtures and beaded sconces.
Masa’s menu joins Southwestern flavor and style with fresh New England ingredients in a way Boston has never seen before. The menu, combined with the carefully selected wine list and award-winning cocktails (try the margaritas) make for a memorable evening that feels like a quick jaunt to Santa Fe.
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Philip Aviles
Chef at Masa
Chef-Owner Philip Aviles brings more than a little southwestern flavor to the South End at Masa; he brings an incomparable resume and a whole new take on fine dining in Boston. The Culinary Institute of America graduate honed his skills as Chef Tournant at the three-star Peacock Alley at the Waldorf Astoria and as Sous Chef at the three-star Polo Club at the Westbury Hotel in New York. During his tenure as Executive Chef at American Bounty, on Nantucket, the restaurant was awarded a coveted Three-Diamond rating from Triple AAA Restaurant Guide.
Relocating to Manhattan, Aviles was appointed Executive Chef at Stingy Lulu's, the popular East Village fifties-style eatery. He then moved on to Jensen Beach, Florida where, acting as Executive Chef and consultant, he opened Rotties Fine Dining one of the area's premier fine dining destinations.
Masa's menu pairs flavors and cooking styles of the southwestern kitchen with fresh, local New England ingredients. "It's the perfect marriage," says Aviles who developed Masa's concept because "there was a lack of elegant, yet subtle southwestern cuisine in Boston. Flavor always comes first for me, and then the balance of heat, textures, and plate presentations."
Since Masa has been open, Aviles has received praise from both press and patrons alike. In a town where most of the Latin American-influenced cuisines come wrapped in tinfoil and cost around five dollars, Aviles' vast culinary experience and formidable talent have given Boston diners a whole new perspective.
- Aïoli
- 1. noun A blend of ail (garlic) and oli (oil) in the parlance of the Provence region of southern France. Around here, we'd call it a garlic mayonnaise.
- Cabrales
- 1. noun A noted Spanish blue cheese.
- Carpaccio
- 1. noun Wafer-thin slices of raw beef served cold; named after the Renaissance Venetian painter.
- Chorizo
- 1. noun Crumbly, spiced pork sausage.
- Deglaze
- 1. noun To dissolve the remaining bits of sautéed or roasted food in (a pan or pot) by adding a liquid and heating. The resultant mixture often becomes a base for a sauce to accompany the food cooked in the pan.
- Emulsion
- 1. noun The mixture of two liquids that cannot normally combine smoothly (e.g., oil and water). Mayonnaise and hollandaise are two familiar emulsions.
- Escabeche
- 1. noun A Spanish dish of poached or fried fish covered with a spicy marinade.
- Foie gras
- 1. noun Expensive, silk-textured goose or duck liver that has been enlarged by a process you don't want to read about if you're going to eat this dish.
- Guajillo
- 1. noun A shiny red, very hot chile.
- Jicama
- 1. noun Used in Latin American cooking, jicama is a member of the potato family. The bulbous, brown root has a thin brown skin and crunchy and sweet white flesh.
- Jus
- 1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.
- Lardons
- 1. noun Diced bacon that is blanched and fried.
- Masa
- 1. noun Corn tortilla dough.
- Meunière
- 1. noun Literally "miller's wife" in French, this cooking technique (used primarily for fish) involves a light coating of flour before sauteing in butter or oil.
- Polenta
- 1. noun A slow-cooked cornmeal porridge popular in northern Italy; can be served soupy or firm, sometimes fried.
- Risotto
- 1. noun Italian dish made from rice cooked by intermittently adding small amounts of stock or broth. Other ingredients are added as required.
- Sambal
- 1. noun A condiment made of chiles, brown sugar, salt and other ingredients.
- Shank
- 1. noun The front leg of beef, pork, veal or lamb. Often a very tough cut of meat, the shank requires slow-cooking methods like braising.
- Tamarind
- 1. noun A bittersweet spice made by drying and pressing the pulp from the fruit of the tamarind tree native to Asia and northern Africa.
- Tapas
- 1. noun Appetizers in Spain; trendy nibbles in the U.S.A.
- Terrine
- 1. noun An earthenware container, or the dish cooked therein.
- Tomatillo
- 1. noun A diminutive green relative of the tomato.
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