Brown Butter Beauty

I met That Sara & her aunt a few weeks ago for lunch on a beautiful sunny Monday (hey, there are more perks than you think to working a morning schedule!), and we picked a spot right around the corner from Sara's office- Market Cafe on 9th Avenue. Sara had raved about this dish with scallops and mashed potatoes with brown butter. I'll give you a moment while you wipe away the drool.



We definitely started with that, and oh my tastebuds was it awesome. The browned butter had a nutty flavor, the mashed potatoes were insanely smooth and delicious, and the scallops were perfectly cooked.
This is listed as an appetizer, but I would go back and have this for my meal, no question.


I love the bright aqua and white decor, and the brilliant flower (is this a spiky mum?) was a welcome touch to the table.





There are a lot of delicious sounding items on the menu, but Sara & I both settled on the pork loin sandwich. It came with a sweet pickle relish and fries or greens.. we both ordered the green salad. When the dish came out, however, Sara noticed that the salad was pretty awful-looking. The greens were wilted, black and just should never have left the kitchen. Our server apologized profusely and took them back. We ordered the fries instead, which our server told us were out of the world amazing.



The sandwich itself was just okay to me. The pickle relish was crazy sweet, and it was too much for me. I also had really fatty pieces of meat. It sounds like Sara & I should have switched sandwiches--she loved hers--I left most of my second piece of meat on the plate--it was nearly all fat! This was just okay to me. I wouldn't order it again and I wouldn't recommend it, but I think Sara was happy with it.



Unfortunately, the fries didn't come in time for Sara to enjoy them (she had to go to a meeting). Her aunt Linda & I shared them. They were a nice crispy-but-fluffy consistency, but for 'seasoned fries' they tasted mild. I'm going to have to disagree with the server on this one--these were not the best fries I've ever had, not even close! Good, but not great.



The scallop dish, however? One of the best dishes I've eaten all year. Nom, nom, nommety nom. You can read here for Sara's take on it!  

Market Cafe
496 9th Avenue
New York, 10018
(212) 967-3892