This Little Foodie Went to Market

Market is the semi-recently opened creation from the team behind the Rocky River Wine Bar (just down the street), and I had the chance to check it out last night with two fabulous foodie friends. Market celebrates craft beers and high-end "bar" food. Since this is Cleveland Beer Week, I was anxious to take some of your suggestions from my BREWzilla giveaway post and try some new beers this week. Market sounded like the perfect place to do that!

The very first person to comment on that post, Adam, suggested Southern Tier's Pumpking. So when I saw it featured on Market's draft beer list, I knew that I had found my first Beer Week contender. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked it! I have taken small sips of "R's" pumpkin beers before, but I have never ever ordered one for myself. I think that is the beauty of Beer Week. At least for me, I have taken it on as a personal challenge to experience beer in a whole new light. I'm looking forward to Ales on Rails tomorrow night, and BREWzilla on Saturday evening. Anyone attending either event? What other Beer Week events have you been to this week? I digress...back to Market.

As I approached the restaurant I saw that valet parking is complimentary, which is a great perk because parking didn't appear to be too easy at that end of the street. I was the last to arrive and found out that the restaurant won't seat you until your entire party is present, so keep that in mind. Luckily, the space is quite large and there were several open tables. We were seated right away (well, after they seated us at a large booth and then immediately moved us to a small table- odd). We were each given a two-sided food menu and then one beer menu to share, which was a little annoying. It's Beer Week, baby- bring on the beer! I was antsy to choose. One additional thing to note about the space is that it is not only large, it is very open. The high ceilings and open dining area made for a very loud room. There were times that I had to have my dining companions repeat themselves during conversation.

Now, on to the food. The three of us decided to share the Pretzel Crusted Pickle Chips- Dill Pickle Slices, Pretzel Crust, Homemade French Onion Dip ($7). Other than being slightly dried out, this was a fun and unique appetizer to start with. I was torn between several of the sandwiches and entrees, so I narrowed it down and asked our sever to make a suggestion. He steered me towards the Market Reuben- Smoked Beef Brisket, Swiss Cheese, Cole Slaw, Special Sauce, Marble Rye ($11). It sounded like an interesting twist on a classic sandwich, so I went for it. I opted to swap the side of chips for house fries for an additional $1. Diners can also choose from sweet potato fries (which looked amazing at the table next to us), side salad, or Cesar salad. Unfortunately, the Reuben was a little dry and didn't pack a whole lot of flavor. The slaw was bland, and the seasoned fries were only okay. I was seriously regretting not ordering the sweet potato fries instead once I saw them!

All in all, their menu had some very appetizing descriptions and catchy names for their dishes. I hope that my sandwich selection was not a reflection of the overall quality of their food, and that I simply made a poor choice. I think going back to try the Deep Fried Uncrustables (yes, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crust removed) dessert is worth the trip alone. They certainly have imagination in the kitchen.

Market
1137 Linda Street
Rocky River, Ohio 44116
(440) 799-4292