We started out ordering drinks. Unfortunately I don't remember their names, and the drink menu is not online. Kevin ordered a drink that the waiter described as "the original mojito, without all the simple syrup to weaken it." He enjoyed it. Unfortunately, my drink was not as successful. While the premise sounded good - vodka, fresh strawberries, a splash of Grand Marnier... the execution was lacking. First impression, to be blunt: the drink looked like vomit. The strawberries had been muddled and they made the whole drink murky and kind of disgusting looking. The taste was OK, but nothing exceptional. I didn't feel a need to order another one as we ate our meal.
We ordered:
Ahi Tartare $10
fresh tuna cubes, marinated cucumber, wasabi paint, mango caviar, tender mache, wonton crisps
I don't recall seeing any mache on the plate, but this was a really good first dish. The tuna tasted fresh and bright, and the wonton crisps were tasty. I only had two small complaints. The wasabi paint was good, but there wasn't nearly enough of it for us to get a taste with every bite. Also, there weren't enough of the wonton crisps... we were served three and really needed four to six. But we were happy to spoon up the remaining tuna, and Kevin even scooped some onto a potato chip, figured it couldn't be too much different from the wontons. Yep, we're totally classy people.
Mosaic Pot Sticker $8.5
suckling pig, shaved celery, thai peanut sauce
Kevin pronounced that these potstickers were "very good," and they were, but I felt like I could make them at home using frozen Trader Joe's pot stickers. The shaved celery acted as a nice palate refresher before our next dishes, but overall, this dish felt pretty pedestrian. The thai peanut sauce was tasty, but overpowered the filling. Overall, so-so.
Limoncello Mussels $10
1/2 pound Prince Edward Island mussels, lemongrass infused coconut broth, micro basil, grilled garlic ciabatta
Neither of us had ever had mussels before, so this was probably our biggest gamble of the evening. The broth was delicious, and we wished that we had been given more than two pieces of bread with which to soak it up. The mussels had good flavor and were served with cherry tomatoes and micro basil, which I felt both were used successfully in the dish. There were a lot of mussels for the two of us to split. I was slightly anxious going in that the plates were going to be very, very small, but that didn't turn out to be the case.
Rain Crow Farms Pork Tenderloin $10
confit potato & quail egg salad, spiced popcorn, maple-cider reduction
When we first cut into the tenderloin we were both rather anxious - it looked overcooked and dry. But thankfully it was anything but dry. The maple-cider reduction made me think of breakfast, which I didn't think melded that well with the potato salad. While both elements were great, I tended to eat them separately. The spiced popcorn was really just a garnish, but it had great flavor, especially with the maple-cider reduction. It would have been nice if we would have been given steak knives for this dish, but our butter knives sufficed.
Truffled Frites $6
white truffle oil, shaved parmesan, smoked garlic aioli
Potato chips. Yep, we totally ordered potato chips with this meal. They were darn good potato chips too, although probably still not good enough to warrant a $6 price tag. I personally couldn't taste any of the white truffle oil, but the chips were great nonetheless. Our server stated while delivering the chips that "these are the reason I have a gym membership." The parmesan was a nice bonus, and the smoked garlic aioli was addicting. Unfortunately, the aioli kind of depressed me, because I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I was DIPPING POTATO CHIPS IN MAYONNAISE. I would never think to do that on my own, and even if I did, I would think I would need to be hidden at home in sweatpants, not dressed up in a trendy restaurant. I didn't like what they did to my psyche. Despite that, we managed to polish off almost all of them.
Chocolate Pot of Cream $7
callebaut chocolate, grand marnier creme
This was a tiny dessert for $7, but it was a damn tasty one. Kevin at first pronounced it dry, but he came around. I could have probably eaten five of them. Yummmm. Anything light and airy and chocolaty is all right by me. I bought some Callebaut chocolate at Whole Foods this weekend, so I fully intend of making a Mexican Pot De Creme as well as some chocolate souffles, both of which I hope will be cheaper, larger and even tastier.
Overall, I would give this meal an A-. We've already got our eyes on the dishes we want to try for next time. The prices were about right for a trendy downtown restaurant. We got to try a lot of different, interesting dishes, and we left full but not uncomfortably so. Some reviewers found the place to be pretentious and said that they didn't want their dishes to be explained to them. Our waiter and the other servers that brought out dishes to us simply identified what was on the plates - no instructions were given nor needed. The restaurant states that their dishes are served "market style," meaning the food is prepared and delivered immediately with no preference to hot or cold dishes. Our first two dishes came out extremely fast, and we were worried that we were being rushed out of there. However, the next dishes came out at a more measured pace, and our server never rushed us. He was around when he needed to be, and our water glasses never went empty. Our bill was $70 before tax and tip.
Mosaic
1001 Washington Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63101
www.mosaictapas.com
314.621.6001
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