Market By Jean-Georges

You'll have to forgive me for putting this post off for so long. Our trip to Market By Jean-Georges was a small family birthday dinner, gone horribly wrong after a particular argument. I'm probably not going to do Market justice, but it was how I was feeling at the same. it's really too bad...

The restaurant was really quite beautiful. This is a shot of their patio overlooking the street.

Honestly, I don't really know what I should write about... save for the food of course. Most of the dinner was a wreck, although by no fault of the restaurant. The waiter actually has my sympathies. There was much glaring and silence going on between the family. I wonder what the waiter was thinking! haha;;

I really wasn't in the mood to eat, really. But we were here; and it was my 19th birthday. So more out of obligation than anything else, I ordered a lychee raspberry bellini. I don't drink alcohol often-- as I happen to be a super light-weight;; But I do have a drink every now and then. So it was very surprising when I found out from this experience that I am in fact allergic to alcohol!
It's rather unfortunate, haha~
But the drink itself was enjoyable. I don't think I tasted my lychee, but the rasberry was there. And the alcohol was definitely evident. I'm pretty sure this little drink was responsible for the rest of the night, as I wasn't feeling as terrible by the end.

Of course, there was the complimentary bread that everyone speaks of. From the reviews, I really was expecting something akin to a rock; but it wasn't bad. It came before my drink, so munching on bread calmed us all down a bit I'm thinking. It was room-temperature bread. Nothing special, but baked well I guess. I thought it was cute how waiters carried stacks of them around on trays, handing them out to tables as they ordered.

At this point I had to leave the table for a moment, lest a full out fist fight break loose in the refined ambiance of the restaurants ; D.

And bam! When I got back, all our dishes were there. Service was relatively fast I found, which was a pleasant surprise.
This was the Sablefish - Miso-Yuzu Glaze Baby Bok Choy, Sriracha ($28). I don't know if my experience with the food will equate to how the food actually was, I really was feeling rather unhappy that night. I didn't like how they paired the spicier sriracha with the delicate sablefish. The sablefish was also charred pretty badly. That being said, it was still an alright eat. I've had more tender sablefish for cheaper at other places, but hey; I like sablefish. I'll eat it almost anywhere.
The bok choy actually was what impressed me. I always like a well done side, and these veggies were light and crisp in texture. The glaze was subtle, yet emphasized the bok choy to give it a dimension of richness. The same thing butter does for food, the glaze did for the bok choy.

Parmesan Crusted Organic Chicken - White Asparagus, Lemon Sauce ($21). My brother's dish. Regardless of my emotions prior to walking into Market, I'm pretty sure this was a miss. It wasn't that it was horribly done in any way.. but.. it tasted like chicken. The crust didn't add much dimension to the meat, and asparagus were.. well asparagus. The lemon sauce did nothing for me.

Pacific Halibut - Sautéed Spinach, Sweet Garlic Lemon Broth ($26). This was alright. I really want to say more, but I can't. My thoughts really weren't there like I wanted them to. I can't say there was anything wrong with this dish though.

Slowly Cooked Arctic Char - Julienne Vegetables, Basil Vinaigrette ($26). It seems like the fattiest fish will always be the most well received. This was the case for the arctic char. Very nicely done. However, the first time I tried arctic char, it was at La Brasserie, and I have to say, they delivered it much better (Like butter, and the crust they got on the skin was amazing too), at a lower cost. So overall just alright. The mashed potatoes were creamy and whipped lightly though, which was a perfect match to the fish.

Finished off the night with a Rhubarb and Strawberry Crisp Honey Ice Cream ($8). I've never tried rhubarb before, and it held a tartness to it that was nice. However, the crisp was just barely.. crisp. I think I rather have my favourite morning cereal. It would give me a better crisp than the topping on this dessert. The honey icecream though had that touch of honey flavour, but not overwhelmingly so. The caramel brittle accompanied the icecream nicely.

Overall an underwhelming night. Nothing was bad, but I didn't feel wow either. This may have been largely due to the mood the whole family felt before walking in, but I still stand by my analysis of the arctic char and sablefish. Sherman from Sherman's food adventures actually suggested I go for the tasting menu, and I really think I should have. But at that time I really was feeling too off my usual composure and not hungry enough to even think about it.

On the up side, the servers handled this strange situation very well, and by the end of the night the alcohol got me smiling again. : ) Despite my allergic reaction to it;;;;;

Market By jean-Georges:

Food:

• Great considering the price
• Was expecting more.. but don't listen to me, we all walked in there after a terrible argument. Just look at the pretty pictures. : )

Service:

• professional, handled a strange situation very well
• Gave us ample time for ordering and knew when to come in and check up on us
• Kept water glasses full at all times

Atmosphere:

• Very nice decor
• Perhaps its the acoustics from the way the walls are shaped around the booths, but it gets very loud in there.