We decided to try Mars, which opened recently in our 'hood, after being downtown for many years. We ate there years ago and never went back, for no particular reason except that it wasn't memorable & we just forgot about it. But now that it's in our 'hood, we thought we'd give it another try.
First of all, definitely go for the happy hour. It's great. I had a wonderful raspberry bellini and my husband had a kind of vanilla manhattan he said was good. Good appetizers, especially the baby back ribs ($3.50) . They came with mashed potatoes & would make a fine dinner-with-salad for a low price. The baba ganoush/hummus with pita was a good deal, also, although the baba needed salt (we rarely salt our food in restaurants) & there wasn't any on the table.
Pause here to praise the waitress, one of the best we've ever had in any restaurant. She provided salt & something to fix our wobbly table in no time flat.
Dinner was something else. The website for Mars advertises lamb, but there was none to be had on the menu. So my hubby settled for Bouillabiasse. His dish had an odd flavor we couldn't pinpoint (we're both cooks) and one large scallop, a little salmon and some kind of fish and NO shrimp at all. Needless to say, he was disappointed. Is new chef Tommy lazy or what?
Since I make a killer red curry Hor Mok Talay, I ordered the red curry dish with "vietnamese prawns," which was basically 4 large-ish shrimp. The dish was so bland I had to - yes - salt it! So I saved half for home, to be doctored accordingly.
There were no dessert prices on the menu & the only one that looked even vaguely original was the "chocolate pate." It was also quite bland, with only a slight chocolate flavor, at a whopping 8 bucks (explaining the price omission)! And my husband's coffee was so lukewarm it didn't even warm his hand holding the cup, so had to be sent back.
So go for happy hour appetizers & drinks and skip the entrees we ordered!
Pros: good waitress; good happy hour
Cons: bland food, skimpy on the seafood entrees
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