Restaurants in Mason

Relish Modern Tapas' chefs place a new spin on the centuries-old tradition of socializing with friends over small plates, interspersing their Spanish tapas menu with innovative international dishes. Their kitchen is a flurry of roaring fires and sizzling saucepans as chefs stir saffron into rice paella and simmer up morsels of pork tenderloin, chorizo, and baby back ribs. They fold seafood into Mexican- and Asian-inspired tacos while Italian and Moroccan flatbreads bake in ovens. Out in the sleek dining room, bartenders nimbly move about the bar, whipping up the bold specialty martinis that earned the praise of reporters from City Beat. Wooden beams crown the bar, extending out over spherical arrangements of tabletops and cushy booths. Hanging lights bathe the room in a soft glow, and towering windows provide diners with a glimpse of the glimmering lights and handsome crossing guards of Deerfield Boulevard.

The Blind Moose's menu boasts handcrafted fare consisting of only fresh ingredients. The burgers at The Blind Moose come stuffed with their own decadent toppings; the Texas Cheddar Bacon and Barbecue and the Stuffed Blackened Bleu and Cajun (both $8) are popular pregnant meat patties, while the vegetarian-friendly black-bean burger ($8.50) fills its tauntaun's herbivorous belly with a Han Solo of legumey goodness. You can also dip into the wonton-wrapped, deep-fried provolone stix ($6) or pillage a generous pile of french-fried potatoes tucked cozily beneath a steaming blanket of chili and cheese ($5). House-made soups and salads will satisfy the health nut or marmot in your group, while an ample selection of basket-nestled bar favorites such as the buffalo chicken wrap ($7) and the Pier 7 fish sandwich ($7) offer a savory counterbalance.

Bucks Tavern combines the atmosphere of a cozy neighborhood sports bar with the menu of a locally minded gastropub. Start with an order of crispy potato skins—stuffed with cheese, bacon, and scallions, and served with sour cream ($9)—or a bowl of Bucks' homemade beef chili ($5) before tempting your taste buds into swimming up-tongue with a grilled-salmon salad (baby spinach, provolone, tomatoes, candied walnuts, and hard-boiled egg, topped with Atlantic salmon, $13). A hand-breaded, all-natural whitefish sandwich ($8.50) will satisfy lunchtime customers who suspiciously resemble a flock of seagulls in a trench coat. Even pub staples are delivered with an upscale twist. The grilled cheese showcases creamy havarti, tomato, fresh basil, and a drop of honey on a pedestal of wheatberry toast ($7), and Dan's burger tops a hand-sculpted beef patty with pepper jack, bacon, fried-onion straws, and a drizzle of barbecue sauce ($8). All sandwiches come with a side of Bucks’ slaw or seasoned fries—the raffish, fast-living, smooth-talking brother of waffle fries. A children's menu, meanwhile, delights toy-humans with favorites such as sliders, chicken fingers, and mac ‘n’ cheese, all served with a side of fries.

At age 11, while other Jersey kids were playing ball up the block, Tony Aponte was treating his four siblings to pizzas in the family kitchen. More than three decades have passed since those days. Tony has found new digs. He's moved to Ohio to be closer to his three daughters. But he is still crafting pizzas, drawing on those childhood experiences and a greatly expanded palette of toppings and ingredients.

In the pies he makes now, house-made sauce, hand-tossed white or wheat dough, and fistfuls of whole-milk cheese support capicola, genoa salami, grilled peppers, and artichoke hearts. While pulling apart slices, guests at Aponte’s Pizzeria glance up at five flat-screen TVs to check sports scores or see if the anchorman is still wearing their friendship bracelet. Sports photos and team insignias pepper the marinara-red walls, and the tables clatter with plates of subs and baked pastas.

A family-owned and operated business, Cheezburger Cafe's menu of fresh, hand-formed burgers, hand-cut fries, and sweet shakes made with real ice cream smothers hunger like a flaming match doused in a tub of yogurt. A wide range of specialty burgers dominate center stage, with the Mainliner with Swiss cheese, tartar sauce, and lettuce ($4.39); the BLT & E burger with bacon, fried egg, lettuce, and tomato ($4.99); and the notoriously massive Triple Threat Pounder ($8.99) taking burgered bliss to strange new places, especially when washed down with a regular banana-split shake ($3.99) or one of Cheezburger's other 34 shaked-milk varieties (including cookie dough, Oreo fudge mint, and Creamsicle). Hungry diners and real live bears, meanwhile, can add tasty sides such as the small or basket-size Cajun Fuji fries ($1.99 for a small/$2.99 for a basket), seasoned waffle fries ($1.99/$2.99), or homemade onion straws ($3.95).

A number of housemade sauces add depth to Through the Garden’s dishes. Sweet, smoky barbecue sauce glistens across each rack of ribs, basil-garlic butter softens the deep flavors of char-grilled chicken breast, and garlic-dill sauce pools around the edges of crab cakes, proving that gravity may in fact exist. Bright-yellow walls and wooden floors surround tables scattered with American meals, including Cajun scallops nestled in angel-hair pasta and homemade barbarosa burgers baptized with splashes of beer. Outside, a white fence cordons off the stone-paved patio with oversized umbrellas.