Yesterday I was at a birthday brunch for my friend Sara.  She and Rob had been to Masa on Friday night; she did exactly what I did when I went — she wrote down every course they had as each one arrived.  So we did what any two food lovers would do in that situation — we compared notes.  It was clear that, although there were many similarities, the chef had adjusted the menu based on the availability of seasonal ingredients and, perhaps, just for fun.  Here’s what I ate:
(first, the warmup)
1. a finely shredded snow crab and cucumber salad
2. toro tartare with caviar and toasts
3. bonito, microgreens, seaweed
4. sizzling baby eels with black olives
5. sea urchin and black truffle risotto
6. ocean trout sashimi
7. cherry trout shabu shabu
8. the shabu shabu broth
(next, the sushi, served by hand, one piece at a time)
9. toro (tuna)
10. shimaaji (striped jack fish)
11. hirame (fluke)
12. tai (sea bream)
13. kinme (Japanese snapper)
14. ika (squid) with sea salt and yuzu dust
15. amaebi (sweet shrimp)
16. hotate (scallop)
17. mirugai (giant clam)
18. torinai (clam)
19. aoyagi (orange clam)
20. grilled toro with scallion
21. kohada (herring)
22. aji (horse mackerel) with ginger
23. saba (mackerel)
24. saori (needlefish) with shiso
25. hamai shrimp
26. shitake mushroom
27. toro (octopus)
28. uni (sea urchin) hand roll
29. anago (ocean eel, cooked)
30. unagi (freshwater eel) wrapped in cucumber
31. black truffle
32. toro scallion hand roll
(then, dessert)
33. shiso with plum paste and sesame seed
34. shisoka melon
and, of course, there was sake — served in a variety of gorgeous cups, including one fashioned from a bamboo stalk.  Sigh — now I’m craving sushi.