We dined twice at the recently opened Market Tavern. The restaurant is in the old Harry’s Taproom space in Clarendon, and owned by one of the Harry’s Taproom owners, Michael Sternberg.
Our brunch was actually on my birthday. I ordered steak and eggs and “S” ordered French toast with fresh berries. We split an order of pancakes. Everything was very good. The French toast is made with brioche and is very “eggy,” which I enjoyed since I’m used to challah French toast. The Brunch Menu is here.
More recently, we ate at Market Tavern for dinner and even had some wine, Fugazza (topped flat breads) and mussels with Michael Sternberg. Michael is extremely knowledgeable about wine, so it is great that he personally designed the wine list, and suggested two wines for us. We tried a red and a white, and both of them were exceptional. The red was the Truth Cuvee which is a Cabernet Syrah blend from Napa. The white was the Pinot Grigio “GriVo” from Volpe Passini. We definitely have to come back another time and work our way through the wine list.
Padrino Fugazza
The fugazzas Michael shared with us were the Padrino Fugazza (Sopresatta, fresh mozzarella, pesto, oven roasted tomatoes) and the Tuna Fugazza (Seared spicy tuna, radish sprouts, tomato and soy-ginger cream); both were flavorful, and had a good crust. The Prince Edward Island Mussels were a delicious classic version which were flavored with garlic, white wine, and herb butter; I could not stop sopping up the broth with bread. The dishes (and wines) I just mentioned were from the Tavern/Bar Menu, but one of our table mates ordered the warm asparagus salad from the Chophouse Menu. The asparagus salad is served with a fried egg over it.
Warm Asparagus Salad
For dinner, I ordered the Hangar Steak and “S” ordered the Lobster Shrimp Romesco (Blue crab romesco sauce, conchiglie pasta) from the Chophouse Menu; both dishes were very good. I don’t think that the romesco was a classic romesco. If you order the steak medium, they ask if you mean pink center or red center.
This is definitely a restaurant I’ll choose if I want to splurge a bit, but they also have a happy hour. The Adult Beverage Menu is here, and the happy hour info is below:
Market Tavern’s Happy Hour
Monday through Friday 3 pm ’til 7 pm
Saturday through Sunday 2 pm ’til 6 pm
Sunday 3 pm ’til closing
25% off all Tavern food and beverage.
(not applicable to the Chophouse menu and only available in the Tavern)
-JAY
Disclosure: From time to time, we are given free items, meals, or events.
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