MaMou
Everything that comes out of the kitchen at this European brasserie is delightfully surprising and complex. Selections change seasonally, but dishes like the braised celery heart—seared and served in tomato water and aromatics, with pastrami-smoked beef tongue—are layered in flavor. The chef, who named the corner restaurant for his grandmother, focuses on the French cooking foundations of simplicity, elegance, and technique; but the light, feminine space is a refreshing contrast to the seriousness of the food: there are no tablecloths here, flowers cascade from the ceiling, and the art nouveau--style space feels perfectly imperfect, and familial.
