Call them tapas, call them mezze — call them anything but late for dinner. These small plates comprise the bill of fare at a new Williamsburg bar called Masquerade that specializes in Iranian snacks.
The menu is made up of ten items, the vast majority of them priced under $10. Dishes are listed using transliterations of their Persian names, which provides most customers with an excellent opportunity to stumble over the pronunciations. One that most customers nail on their first try is kookoo, a frittata of sorts densely perfumed with parsley, fenugreek, coriander, dill, garlic, turmeric, onion, pomegranate molasses, barbaries, and walnuts. The priciest dish, at $12 is meigoo, four large skewered shrimp tinged bright yellow by saffron, further flavored with garlic and smoked paprika.
The cocktail menu is worth reading for the names alone (Thief of Ceremonies, Pissed Off Baby), though some of the ingredients also arouse curiosity. When’s the last time you had a cocktail made with marigolds, orange blossoms, or velvet falernum?
Masquerade, 351 Broadway, Brooklyn, 917-919-0664.
