Dressed in chef’s whites, a boisterous chef Moussa Bass emerges from the kitchen midway through our meal to greet customers in the dining room with handshakes or bear hugs. The latter are bestowed upon those seated next to us, who it turns out, are Bass’s plumbers. A week earlier, another contractor had dined here. “If my plumbers are sitting in my restaurant, I’m happy about that,” says Bass, 50. “When I invite somebody to my house, I want them to feel comfortable, and this restaurant is like my house.” While Bass recognizes that his expensive, white-tableclothed establishment is seen by some as a special-occasion outing, Bistro by Chef Bass also stands out in a beach town where most restaurants focus on seafood, usually in a seafaring setting. “I’m trying to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing,” says Bass. “I don’t have any water pictures on the wall. We all know where we are—at the Jersey Shore. When I go out to dinner, I want to be taken away, to feel like I am not in that place.” [caption id="attachment_825522" align="alignnone" width="778"] Executive chef Moussa Bass. Photo: Shilpa Iyer[/caption] With its continental menu and wainscoted, slate-blue interior accented by assorted photos, fake flowers and an electric fireplace, diners will likely feel far from the Shore. Plans are underway to redesign the fusty interior, which Bass inherited from the previous owner, Daniel Picard, when he took over this 65-seat restaurant, then Daniel's Bistro, in late 2022. He’s begun transforming Picard’s menu, seeking to present dishes that better reflect his international path as a chef. Born in Mali, Bass moved at age 2 to Paris, where his father was a diplomat and owned a restaurant. After his father died when Bass was 16, he found a mentor in the chef of his family’s restaurant, who brought him along to work for the Sofitel Hotel chain in Paris and back in Mali. Along the way, Bass earned a degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, worked at Planet Hollywood in Paris and New York City, and spent years with the Food Network, traveling to develop recipes. This summer, diners can look forward to the interior makeover and tweaked menu but can still expect to find the showstopper dishes that have made Bistro by Chef Bass one of the area’s most popular destinations. [caption id="attachment_825520" align="alignnone" width="778"] The Hudson Valley duck breast is pan seared and served with risotto and spinach, then topped with foie gras. Photo: Shilpa Iyer[/caption] Among those signature dishes is the ahi tuna tower, a stunning, conical stack of sushi-grade tuna layered with avocado, red pepper and tomato concasse, served with wasabi and pickled ginger. Also notable are the duck meatballs, pleasingly textured rounds of ground duck, foie gras, garlic and herbs, in a rich duck jus. Bass’s French background shines with his classic presentation of escargots, six plump snails each floating in their own delectable garlic-butter bath.  The house-made gnocchi in a creamy sauce of bacon, shiitake mushrooms and truffle butter have a good bite, though the cream dominates the flavor profile. [caption id="attachment_825526" align="alignnone" width="778"] Diver scallops are pan seared and served in a champagne butter sauce with crabmeat risotto. Photo: Shilpa Iyer[/caption] Standing out among the entrées we tried were the diver scallops, four beautifully seared scallops in a champagne-butter sauce atop properly al dente crabmeat risotto. Another well-executed main course was the Hudson Valley duck breast, a pan-seared cut of lean duck served with risotto and spinach, with a savory red-wine and black-currant sauce topped with a dollop of foie gras. Less successful was the overcooked pan-seared barramundi topped with shrimp in a white-wine sauce. Likewise, the stuffed pork chop, while thick and meaty, was a bit dry, though the fontina, mushroom and prosciutto stuffing was delicious. [caption id="attachment_825527" align="alignnone" width="778"] Fudgy flourless chocolate cake is served with mint gelato. Photo: Shilpa Iyer[/caption] From the standard dessert menu, we tried the flourless chocolate cake, a solidly dense, fudgy version of this classic. In a throwback to an earlier era, Bistro also offers three desserts prepared tableside. On our first visit, we tried the berries zabaglione, a mix of plump berries and a hand-whipped, eggy custard that was too heavy on the marsala. On our second visit, we went for the bananas foster, delighted to watch our server whisk the butter, sugar and rum into a caramelized sauce before adding the bananas and setting the pan on fire. The theatrics alone make ordering this dessert a must; even more so, the results. With the banana sauce poured atop two boules of vanilla ice cream and an inverted ice cream cone, it was one of the best desserts my daughter and I had eaten in a long time. HOW WE REVIEW: Restaurants are chosen for review at the sole discretion of New Jersey Monthly. For our starred fine-dining reviews, our critics visit a restaurant at least twice with a guest, always maintaining anonymity to avoid preferential treatment, and the magazine pays for their meals. Stars are assigned by the dining-section editor in consultation with the reviewer. Four stars = extraordinary; three stars = excellent; two stars = very good; one star = good; half a star = fair.

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