Cocks and Quails at Casa Mono

Casa Mono is a small and fashionable restaurant @ 125 East 17th Street, occasionally graced by celebrities. Casa Mono makes the most of its tiny size by squeezing many small tables in, even in most unusual spots, but they don’t take reservations for large groups. If you end up waiting for a table, Bar Jamon around the corner is a good place to get a drink in the meantime. I went with two of my good friends, together we sampled cock’s comb, quail, a tagine special, rack of lamb, and razor clams.




Cock’s Comb with Cepes ($13)
This dish sounds more dirty than it really is – cock’s comb is the skin on a rooster’s head (the kind that has eyes and a beak). I’ve had almost every part of a chicken (except chicken assholes, a Korean comfort food, that I am looking to discover in New York) and I’ve never had comb before, so this was an exciting find for me. The comb is a rarely used ingredient, and I found out why – skin is difficult to make exciting. Casa Mono’s parboiled appetizer combs are heavily seasoned with salt and garnished with some greens. The presentation is beautiful and Casa Mono scores points just for experimenting. I was able to feel the texture of the comb (soft, chewy) and but the taste was obfuscated by the salt. I am normally against the cop out of deep frying, but cock’s comb would definitely have been better off dipped in batter and dunked in bubbling oil, but then it would taste like anything else deep fried and would lose all of its uniqueness. Overall, cock’s comb is worth a try, but it’s not a very appetizing dish (3 out of 10).




Quail with Gingered Cranberries ($16)
Quail is a small and delicate bird and tastes very much like pigeon. A whole quail is probably the same size as the whole frog I tried a few weeks ago, and has about the same amount of meat on its legs. Quail was a bit too timid, proper and delicate for WFC, but it is much loved in Mediterranean cuisine. I might have loved the quail too if it had been less salty. Actually, I might have loved every dish at Casa Mono more if they were less salty. Call Dr. House – we should check if the Chef has an unusual salt deficiency! (5 out of 10)





Tagine Special, Razor Clams a la Plancha ($15), Rack of Lamb (6 out of 10)
Tagine is a method of cooking food in a clay pot. A medley of vegetables or meat with couscous or rice is cooked over several hours, enabling all the juices and flavors to penetrate all parts of the meal. Casa Mono’s tagine was flavorful but not very substantial, the clams were unusual in shape but not in taste, and the rack of lamb was easily the most delicious of the four entrees but too small to be completely satisfying.

Like the restaurant itself, the portions of all the dishes at Casa Mono are notably small. Each of us ordered an entrée, but we all left hungry and thirsty (from the salt). Sad but true – we ended up going to Whole Foods to continue our dinner. Maybe only celebrities can survive on 2 grams of food for dinner.

Other items of interest on the menu include: Duck Egg with Mojama ($16), Sweetbreads with Fennel al Mono ($19), Tripe with Chickpeas ($13), Confit Goat with Rainbow Chard ($19), but we’re not going back there to try them. Tell us if we’re mistaken about Casa Mono (I really hope we are)!

Lessons Learned:
1. Casa Mono raises blood pressure
2. Cocks have skin
3. We are too fat to be celebrities