Market

After a previous failed attempt of going to Market by Jean-Georges (thanks, Christmas Blizzard!),  Restaurant Week seemed like a great opportunity to give it a go.  Knowing the menu on a normal night was relatively pricey, I thought this could be a nice way to see what Market is all about without having to pay an arm and a leg - basically, the whole idea behind restaurant week, right?

On this evening I walked over to the restaurant with Nick and his sister AL on what turned out to be a very cold night.  We were a bit early for our reservation but the host sat us straight away.  I was first struck by how much smaller the restaurant was then I imagined.  I thought it would be bigger given this size of the new W Hotel, but it ultimately made for a much more intimate experience.  The decor is very modern contemporary with clean lines, however, there is some warmth to the atmosphere, which I liked.

We were greeted by our server who also brought a tin of multi-grain and white bread for a little pre-meal snack.

The bread

I was surprised at the length of the beer list on the menu.  For some reason on this night I was not really in the mood for wine, so I was excited to try something new.  I went with the Bear Republic.

Bear Republic

The fun bottle was a good touch.  Nick went with an oatmeal stout (he is all about stouts these days).

Oatmeal Stout

Sometimes I will go into a Restaurant Week reservation and decide that something on the regular menu just looks too delicious not to try and will pass on the special.  While the menu looked good, nothing really tempted me away from the seemingly nice variety of Market's special menu.  Even better, there was not much overlap among the three of us, so we really did get to try quite a few plates.

For my first course, I ordered the butternut squash soup, with mushrooms and a variety of herbs.

Soup

I won't lie, I got very mixed up by the presentation.  They brought out the bowl with none of the soup because they do a lovely table side pour, but the way I was turned I got very nervous that the soup was only 6 morsels of food.  However, when they poured the soup, I got excited.  I loved this dish - the squash was so fragrant, the flavors were spot on, and it had a really nice, light texture.

Nick ordered the tuna tartare with avacado, spicy radish and ginger dressing. 

Tuna Tartare

The radish and spicy dressing added a really strong, delicious flavor to the tuna and overall a different spin on a more traditional dish.   AL ordered the arugula and radish salad with manchego cheese.

Arugula Salad

This seemingly simple salad was in no way plain.  The manchego cheese added so much great flavor to each bite - it dressed up the whole dish.

For the main course, Nick and I both ordered the soy glazed short ribs with an apple-jalapeno puree and rosemary crumbs.

Short Rib

The apples on top of the rib offered a nice fresh bite next to the meat.  The puree was good, however, I would have liked a bit more heat and spice.  I think I was expecting more with jalapeno being one of the components.  The meat was good and the texture was nice and soft, though the center was a bit dry.  It might have been because there was no bone to keep the meat moist, but the cut of meat was large enough that the inside was a bit lacking, which is why the apples were nice.  The dry crunch from the crumbs complimented all the other parts well.

AL got the Parmesan crusted organic chicken with salsify and lemon-basil butter.

Chicken

The chicken was a nice dish - well cooked, and as you can imagine, the crust was worth it.  The salsify tasted a bit like white asparagus.  AL thought the basil was almost a bit too much for the flavors of this dish, but still good.

It being restaurant week and all, desserts were in order.  Nick got the creme fraiche cheesecake with a sour cherry sorbet.

Cheesecake

I think this dish may have changed a bit since we were there, but it was a great dessert that offered a nice variety of flavors, none of which were too sweet.  I am pretty sure whatever version they have now will stay true to that feeling.

AL got the chocolate cake dessert, which was delicious.

Chocolate Cake

The cake was very moist and the ice cream offered a nice refresher after the warm cake.  Being somewhat full from dinner, I went with the sorbet, which happened to be coconut that night - lucky me!

Coconut Sorbet

The sorbet was great, but really it was the toasted coconut flakes on top that made it a bit more than sorbet in a bowl. 

Finally, we all had a nice little cappuccino to end the evening.

It was really frothy and warm, perfect to warm us up before heading back out into the cold.

Overall, I enjoyed Market.  I would like to go back and order off their standard menu, but it was fun to try without have to break the bank.  We went on a Monday night and I was actually surprised at how busy it was with groups NOT ordering off the restaurant week menu, given that it was such an odd night.  I think their restaurant week menu gave a taste of what they would normally offer: fish, chicken and beef main course offerings, innovative desserts, and a variety of first course options that were fun and delicious.