Market - Del Mar, USA

Started in 2006 by chef Carl Schroeder, Market was an early player in the “farm to table” game that so many restaurants are trying to get into nowadays. Sourcing and featuring the best seasonal ingredients has always been important to chef Schroeder, and developing relationships with local farmers has come with the territory.

Market has maintained steady business here in Del Mar for nearly two decades, however, it has flown somewhat under the radar. That may be due to its relative distance from more tourist-centric areas like San Diego proper, or being overshadowed by Southern California’s only 3-Michelin-starred restaurant, Addison, just a couple miles away. Also, chef Schroeder, although award-winning and well recognized in the industry, tends to shy away from the spotlight. Either way, Market is locally popular and one restaurant that has been calling us for a long time, so now is our chance to finally give it a try.

After a brief wait in the lobby, we were led into the main dining room and seated. Once we were settled in and had a chance to look over the menu, our server brought out a small basket of warm bread, along with some butter. In the basket were a couple tiny cornbread muffins, as well as some thick slices of sourdough bread. Both breads were warm and fresh and had delicious flavor, which the butter only enhanced. Along with the bread, a small amuse bouche bite was brought out as well. This was almost like a delicately deconstructed and elevated tuna salad on top of a perfectly crisp chip. Despite my lackluster description, this bite was so tasty, and the presentation was meticulously put together. We were off to a good start.

The menu here at Market is a pre-fixe three-course meal. There are a variety of options for each course, as well as a couple supplemental offerings that can be added at additional cost. For this first course, we chose the Gorgonzola Soufflé and the Applewood Smoked Salmon. Like the amuse bouche, both of these were plated with utmost care and attention to detail. The flavors of both dishes were fresh and complex, yet balanced. Not to mention, the portions were the perfect size for the three-course meal.

Now was time for the mains. Although the pre-fixe meal is one appetizer, one main course, and a dessert, we could not make up our minds about the main courses, so we asked if we could order a supplemental entrée à la carte, and it was no problem. For these, we chose the Crispy Skin Snapper and the Grilled Beef Tenderloin. The dish that caught our eye, which we could also not pass up, was the Spinach and Ricotta Filled Rigatoni Pasta, which featured shaved winter black truffles.

All three of these dishes were excellent, from their flavors, to the visual presentation of the plating, to the all around execution in general. We each enjoyed the 'primary' mains that we had ordered, but also fought over the pasta, as it was so good. Ordering the extra dish was definitely the right choice, and we were glad that we were able to.

For dessert, we selected the Citrus, as well as the Chocolate. The citrus dessert featured a lemon tart and a tangerine-champagne sorbet. This was quite a contrast to the chocolate dessert, which featured a dark chocolate mousse cake which was contrasted by a neat little scoop of Baileys ice cream. Despite its chromatic simplicity, the chocolate dessert was well-presented, as was the citrus dessert. Both were excellent and showcased the broad repertoire of the kitchen.

After finally making it to Market, we only had one question; Why hadn't we tried this place sooner? The overall experience was great, from the friendly waiter and staff, to the delicious and well-executed dishes. It's no surprise this place has been in business for almost 20 years, and is a favorite among locals. The real surprise is how there is not more recognition, but who knows what the future may hold. Market definitely gets our recommendation, and safe to say, we will likely be back.