market taverne

average. everybody else's meals came out fine. i order the "seared tuna salad" which i guess had a pronunciation similar to "caesar salad" because that's what i got instead (even pointed to it on themenuwhen ordering). trying to be a good sport and not wanting to delay our meals, i took the caesar salad anyway. the salad was really no different from any other caesar salad which makes me wonder why it was a little pricey. my falafel burger, which i was hoping would redeem the salad situation, was a tad bland. so as long as you double check your order with the waiter or waitress and avoid those two items then you might get your money's worth and might have a good time at the market.

new year's eve!!. cannot wait to bring in the new year at market restaruant & bar tonight. great choices on themenuand you can't beat the price. come join in the fun - call for reservations!

www.marketharding.com

happy new year!


-----06 nov, 2011-----

can't wait to go back!. had the most fun! staff is very friendly and courteous and was a pleasure to be waited on by them. the wine list was extensive, themenuoffered a variety of items all prepared per order. i had the crab cake appetizer, the sirloin medallions and a warm chocolate tart for dessert.

learned that they offer a $20 lobster dinner on friday nights and a prime rib dinner special on sunday and a specialmenuoption for dinner during the week. think i'll go for the lobster friday this week!!

great new place.. it's not pierre's. how many times can we say that? it's not supposed to be pierre's. frankly, i could never stand pierre's and thought it was one of those places crotchety locals identitfy with and overrate, although i recognize the prestige the owner has come to attain and the unique character the place had. anyway, if you were a frequenter of pierre's and are still not over the fact that they "moved on", please do the world a favor and either stay home and mope or just keep your pointless criticisms to yourself.

anyway, market is much more welcoming and approachable than it seems from the road, and themenuis both diverse and of good quality, though the number of selections could be expanded. for that reason, i wouldn't put it in the highest echelon of fine dining found in the area, but that's not really what it's supposed to compete with. part of what makes this place great is that it's nice but comfortable, and not exceedingly showy or complicated. for example, the papardelle with duck was different, done perfectly and priced on par for a quality pasta dinner entree. there is also a burger on themenuthat is fantastic, but pricey for a burger.

service was attentive and it was nice to dine outside on the porch, even though we were pushing it at 8 pm in the early spring and the presence of 202 is palpable.

i recommend it and look forward to going back.

nice, but not really gluten-free friendly.. the place is very nice, a little pricey but not really gluten-free friendly. at least i wouldn't say that of a place that doesn't have a gluten-freemenuand the waiter has to double check every option you ask.

really loves it.. this review is sort of meant to be a rebuttal to the previous reviewer, as well as my own review of the restaurant. so "spring", i sincerely hope you're reading this.

i would like to start off by saying that the restaurant, formerly "pierre's", is no longer pierre's. people need to understand that. there is no doubt in my mind that pierre's was probably a very lovely place, as it had a respectable reputation and several returning customers, however, it is clear that this restaurant is not the same in any way. for all the elderly diners i have listened to at tables around me, stop complaining to the waitstaff that this restaurant is no longer like "pierre's", as that is how it should be. if they had wanted to maintain pierre's reputation, they would not have remodeled the inside as nicely as they did to modernize it, nor would they have created an entirely new menu, filled with diverse, gourmet dishes- clearly a reflection on their knowledgeable, talented chefs.

now, for my own personal review, it really is a terrific place. it is obvious upon entering that the renovation must have been awfully time-consuming, for the restaurant looks absolutely stunning. the bar is brand-new and really astonishing. there is a lounge attached to the far end of the bar as well where people can enjoy their drinks on a leather couch while watching sports games on tv.they even added a "private room", which seems to accommodate many people, probably more than ten (i forgot to ask how many), with a working fireplace in it and sliding doors, for extra intimacy on a busy night.the changes they made really gave the restaurant a fresh, casual new vibe to it, without disrespecting the luxurious standards of the affluent, proper diners of the area.

i have been at the restaurant 3 times- once for lunch, dinner, and brunch- because i felt i should get an overview of all their meals during different times of the day and during different days of the week, before i felt it was right to place a review. each time i was at the restaurant, i was well-received by all members of the staff i encountered, whether it was the hostess, the manager, a bartender, or a server. i even encountered the owner during one of my visits, and to the previous reviewer "spring", you must have really rubbed him the wrong way because i received a warm welcome from somebody who really seemed down-to-earth and open to suggestion, though it was obvious i was already speaking to a professional.

also, as a side-note, i would like to point out that during each visit i made, the restaurant was decently busy for a restaurant that is starting out, so that was a very pleasant surprise and a good sign of their reputation thus far.

now on to the menu. during my lunch visit, i had a difficult time deciding between a few items on themenuthat seemed really unique. i couldn't decide between their crabcake sandwich, their mussels and fries, and their bangers and mash. oddly enough, i went with a less-original item, their market burger, which turned out to be one of the best cheeseburgers i've ever eaten.

then, for dinner, i returned one saturday night, and the restaurant was really packed (as i mentioned in my side-note earlier, that's a great thing for a new place). i was told that while i waited for a table, i could sit at the bar and get a few drinks before i was sat. i only waited about twenty minutes, but i really enjoyed my cosmopolitan while my husband enjoyed his draft guinness, as we engaged in conversation with the friendly bartenders. once we sat down to eat, i started off with a nice, crisp spinach salad, which was a good, light choice for an appetizer; and my husband chose the butternut squash ravioli, which was also tremendous. then, i proceeded to order the steak frites, which i found to be delicious, and my husband ordered the scallops, another dish cooked to perfection. and, to "spring", my server offered us fresh ground pepper, so maybe you understood incorrectly. and, even if you didn't, remind yourself to be a little more understanding rather than critical- you knew what the server was offering you and what he/she meant. also, to "spring", we took a look at the "uninspired dessert menu", and went with the red velvet cake and it was to die for, as i would assume the other desserts are as well.

finally, during my brunch visit was when i had the toughest time deciding on what to eat. for amenuthat has duck hash, crabcake benedict, and steak and eggs, it was difficult choosing from a really great variety of foods all for appropriate prices, especially given the area of the restaurant. i ended up choosing the french toast, which was just more evidence of the aptitude of the chefs for what they made out of a common dish.

overall, i would like to say that going to market restaurant & bar has been a great experience each and every time. i definitely think this restaurant has much to offer that can appeal to any age group due to amenuthat is kid-friendly to gourmet and suitable for any taste. it has a soothing ambiance that compliments the service and the food, and a reputation that can only move positively forward. quite frankly, i'm not sure what kind of issues "spring" was having that allowed him/her to ruin their experience with their exceedingly high standards, impatience, and over-analytical perspective and approach to a new restaurant, but i have to disagree with him/her. market restaurant & bar is a great, up-and-coming place, from which the quality of their ingredients and service have proven, it is obvious that they will succeed. it was very evident that the food was high-quality, and i was even told by my waitress that all ingredients are from local farms or stores, and the bread they serve before dinner is bought fresh every day. just from hearing that, i can tell you this restaurant has much potential to gratify diners in the area.

i would 110% recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a nice night out of lounging by the bar, or a first date, or even just a place to go out to eat with the family. and i sincerely hope to those that do decide to try out the place, that they have just as good of an experience as i had, because it truly is excellent. you all will be very pleased.

market restaurant and bar. with so many superior restaurants in the area, this new version of pierre's is doomed to fail. we had the worst restaurant experience ever and we have been dining for years in restaurants all over the world. i am a professionally trained chef and my husband has a background in butchering from a former family business, so we know quite a bit about food.

let me start with the few positives. first the décor is pretty nice. i liked the fact that they opened up the walls of the back room. this makes you feel less like you are sitting in "siberia" but rather in a fairly exclusive part of the restaurant. the one thing missing in the décor is artwork on the bare walls. our cocktails were fine and had none of the issues mentioned in prior posts. the wine prices are also pretty reasonable. also, the waitstaff were quite pleasant and accommodating. not the most knowledgeable about food, but they more or less got the job done. oh, and the bread is fabulous. a few nice rolls in a dish towel-wrapped loaf pan (that was a bit weird) - the kind of bread you would find in a fine dining restaurant, served individually by the junior waitstaff.

after the cocktails were served, our appetizers arrived immediately. this gave us no time to relax and enjoy our cocktails. my husband's caesar salad was fine - you could taste the anchovies and the lettuce was not saturated in dressing. i ordered the vegetable terrine. unfortunately, it was ice cold - this is a dish that needs to be served at room temperature so that the flavors meld properly. the man who brought the terrine told me it was cold because there were peppers and "muzarel cheese" in it. i sent it back to the kitchen for a little warming which should have taken no more than a minute or two. after about 10 minutes, we inquired and were told it had to be served ice cold because that it how they do it - would i like something else? no, just bring it here and i'll let it sit for a bit and get it to room temperature myself. how hard is that??!!! i have to say that after it warmed up a bit, it was absolutely delicious. there were layers of breaded fried eggplant, some leaves of fresh basil, roasted red peppers, slices of zucchini and goat cheese and no "muzarel."

because we mentioned that the appetizers were served too quickly, our waitperson decided to hold back on putting in the order for our entrees. now we are waiting a ridiculous amount of time for the next course. when we inquired, she said that she kept "checking" but it's not ready. finally we are served. my husband's steak and frites were fine. cooked to a medium rare as he requested. nothing special, but it was a good safe dish to order. not to nitpick, but it was served with an au poivre sauce and one of the servers came by and asked my husband if he wanted any cracked pepper on his dish.

i wanted to be more adventurous and ordered the pork belly. it was a damp, rainy night, so the whole idea of the polenta and swiss chard sounded great. i don't want to beat a dead horse (or pig) but this was definitely not pork belly. it was shredded pork shoulder or something similar. and it was the most bizarre preparation you would ever see. kind of rolled up into a ball - and if it was really pork belly, which it was not, all of the fat had been removed. i just had to ask the waitperson to take my dish back. now it gets really interesting. she said that the "chef" would like us to come to the kitchen. so we go and standing there is an owner named "paul" dressed in street clothes. he does not bother to introduce himself, but shows us some meat wrapped in plastic and says this is not pork shoulder, it's pork belly. there is so much "attitude" going on here, i can't believe it. if it was my restaurant, i would have said "hello, my name is __ and i'm one of the owners. i understand that you weren't happy with your dish." i mentioned that i wasn't the first person who had this issue, and asked him if he had read any of the comments about the restaurant on the internet. so that really set him off, and he said he has no intention of reading anything about his restaurant and that the internet is the "ruination of society." he said that if he listened to what customers said, he'd be out of business (funny, i thought the opposite was how it worked.) he said that pork belly that they serve is like their red velvet cake - some people like it and some people don't. when i mentioned that their red velvet cake was "pink" and not "red" and that might have something to do with it, i got a look that could kill. so we left the kitchen, took a quick look at their uninspired dessertmenu(including the alleged "red" velvet cake), paid the bill and left.