Loosen Your Belt: To MRKT for dinner

Stopping by MRKT for lunch at the end of June with a coworker, I really enjoyed my warm, toasty braised beef sandwich. So reading the latest edition of The Tomato the other day and seeing that they were now open for dinner, Charles and I made plans to head over for a Friday evening dinner last week.

Arriving around 8pm, the place was fairly empty, so we grabbed one of the six seat tables along the wall, leaving the three ladies seated at the long main table to themselves. Greeted as we entered, our server was at the table right away providing us with wine and food menus, along with water.

The space itself is long and narrow with wood slats on the walls giving the place a sort of cabin feel. Combined with the lack of windows and sparse lighting (there won't be any food pictures with this one), there is a definite ambience created in the evening. During the day though, the front window brings in fairly ample lighting, along with two good sized skylights by the bar.

Towards the light!

(it went out soon after our arrival and we were left to our candle)

Charles jumped on the seared skirt steak, while I went for the special - braised beef ribs. In retrospect, I wish I would have gone for a couple smaller, lighter dishes, like the house made ricotta, a cheese and charcuterie board or oyster tartar. However the beef ribs were a welcome accompaniment to the cool fall weather, and since I didn't make it to the other dishes there is already a reason to head back.

Our food appeared fairly quickly after ordering. Charles steak was nicely cooked, well seasoned and incredibly flavourful and was topped with a well rounded gremolata that Charles couldn't get enough of. On the side were a few potato croquettes that were wonderfully crispy on the outside, and smooth and soft on the inside, as well as a simple, well dressed green salad to top things off. The beef ribs were incredibly tender, falling off the bone as soon as I began cutting into them. Apparently they were braised with Coca-Cola and a few other types of soda to aid in the tenderizing process, and although our server commented that they might be slightly sweet, I thought I was tasting more of that soda 'bite' than anything. The ribs were accompanied by a creamy, rich polenta and an assortment of swiss chard - my favourite fall vegetable.

Dessert wise, we decided on the special - a bread pudding served with caramel and crab apple sauce. Although I would have preferred the bread pudding itself a little warmer, the contrast between the tart crab apple sauce and the rich caramel and bread pudding was fantastic.

I loved their cups and saucers

Carla Alexander has done a really great job showcasing local producers and businesses on the menu - from Green Eggs and Ham and Sundog Organics, to Ocean Odyssey, Paddy's and Cally's, it was nice to see some recognizable names and both simple and inventive dishes created with great ingredients coming out of the kitchen. Along with the friendly service and daily specials, we will certainly be back.