Restaurant of the Week: Tailor

For a certain segment of the population (read: Internet restaurant critics), the opening of Tailor was the sort of news event that, if it were political- instead of dinner-based, would have surely entailed a special prosecutor, a book deal and a one-hour Larry King special. So hotly anticipated was the debut of tattooed chef Sam Mason’s SoHo eatery, it almost seemed to unman the city’s foodies, leaving them shuffling about in a daze, muttering, “The Waverly what? Per Se -- pour quoi?” As of yet, however, the restaurant has not lived up to the hype. Although many of the dishes are fascinating delectations of oddly paired ingredients, the overall effect is so fussy it undermines the chef’s intentions. Among the best were the passion-fruit–poached char with lime pickle and coconut ($17) and the foie gras with peanut butter, cocoa and pear ($17). Mason divides his menu into “salty” (the former items belonged to that category) and “sweet,” which includes a Meyer lemon curd with blackberry and basil meringue ($11), which makes olive oil ice cream seem like a curiosity on the order of chocolate fudge. But Tailor’s cocktail menu, designed by noted mixologist Eben Freeman, is delicious. In particular, the Waylon (bourbon, preserved lemon, smoked Coke, $12) tastes like nothing so much as a barbecue in the dog days of August. You’re unlikely to enjoy a drink this original anywhere else in the city, regardless of whether you leave hungry. 525 Broome St., (212) 334-5182.