To Market, To Market

What’s better than a delicious lunch with some good friends at an amazing new restaurant? Not a lot, at least for a foodie like me!

Calgary has been benefiting from an influx of great new restaurants lately, and Market is one of the most recent additions to the scene. I had already heard lots of great things through social media about Market, so when two of my closest lady friends and I were planning a lunch date, it seemed like a great choice.

First of all, I have to mention the décor. I’m not exaggerating when I say that my friends and I just stood in the entrance in awe for a good 30 seconds when we walked in the door – the space is just that unique! From the glass terrariums hanging from the ceiling, to the chalkboard surfaces filled with fun doodles, to the simple white tables and chairs, to the open kitchen, to the graphic but simple black and white art on the walls, Market is without a doubt one of my favourite restaurant spaces. Nothing like an awesome first impression to get us excited for the meal ahead!

Our server was lovely, giving us a great explanation of how the menu worked and how many dishes we would probably want to order. A large portion of Market’s menu is sharing based, which I always love, so we happily ordered four dishes, three small and one large, to split between the three of us.

Out first was the “Potato”, actually five perogies stuffed with potatoes and served with goat yogurt. I’m a pretty big perogy enthusiast, so I was excited to see what they would do with this classic comfort food, and man, did they hit it out of the park. Crunchy on the outside, and soft and warm on the inside, these were the best perogies I’ve ever had. How could something so simple be so delicious?

Next came the Pork Salad, consisting of pork (duh), bacon, kale, and fried bone marrow. I think we were all a bit confused about what the bone marrow was bringing to the party, but the salad overall was perfectly balanced by the saltiness of the pork, the freshness of the kale, and the tanginess of the grainy mustard dressing. I could have eaten a huge bowl of this!

Wanting to go for one of the larger lunch entrées, we decided on a tagliatelle with tender beef short rib. It came out with an egg on top that was to be mixed in to the house-made pasta to form the sauce, producing a creamy dish of pure comfort food. We ended off with the bison tartar that was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

By the time we had devoured all of this (and I mean devoured… I’m pretty sure there wasn’t one scrap of food left on any of the plates) we didn’t have room to sample any of their desserts. Just one more reason to pay them a follow up visit, I guess!

I think my lovely friends will agree with me when I say that we were thoroughly impressed with Market. We’ve all been raving about it to our significant others, so I think we’ll all be back before long. With their chef, Geoff Rogers, as one of the contestants on this season of Top Chef Canada, innovative and delicious food, and gorgeous décor I’m sure they’ll be a household name before long. This is just the beginning for this 17th avenue spot, and I can’t wait to see where they go from here!