Review: Market
February 23rd, 2009 by Besha Rodell in Restaurants, review
LIKE BUTTAH: The slow-cooked salmon at Market
It takes a special kind of openhearted restaurant critic to see “Tuna and Wasabi” pizza on a menu and keep her cynicism under control. At Spice Market, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first Atlanta project in the W Hotel in Midtown, the menu focuses on Asian street food and avoids frivolity like wasabi pizza. But at Market, Vongerichten’s second Atlanta venture, it’s as if the chef and his staff are aiming to see exactly how far they can push our discombobulation. As I sat and stared at Market’s menu for the first time, I realized it was gonna take a lot of celebrity chef magic to overcome fusions this silly.
The theme of confusion begins as soon as you exit the bar area (which is basically the lobby of the new W Hotel in Buckhead) and funnel through the restaurant’s claustrophobic entrance. Step out of the tiny wooden passageway and into a room that hides its largeness around curved walls and partitions. Designer hot shot Karim Rashid created the interior, which consists of amoeba-shaped recesses lit with neon-colored lights, and large, screen-saver-esque lined walls that could be accurately described as “trippy.” It’s hard to get a handle on the space and how it’s put together, and therefore hard to decide how to feel about it.
The same is true for the menu. Tomato soup with sourdough and cheddar is followed by truffle pizza, with a detour for sashimi spring rolls before going back to crab cakes and then into the more solidly Asian-influenced entrees. Maybe it’s stodgy of me to ask, but Why? Why throw all these things together on a menu? Just to see if you can?
Of course, if anyone can Vongerichten can. As one might expect of a chef with a reputation for exactitude and high standards, most of the execution is flawless. This means expertly cooked pieces of fish — a slow-cooked salmon that melts on the tongue; red snapper so delicate it brings to mind flower petals. The execution, overseen here by Ian Winslade (who also acts as chef at Spice Market), is damn near perfect. A pork chop is grilled and coated with a smoky chili glaze, all the components seasoned just right, heat and garlic meeting meat for an explosive tango of flavor. But the accompanying asparagus and shitake mushrooms dressed with beurre blanc and a hint of tarragon are completely overpowered. Why put this classically French-tasting (and beautifully prepared) combination of delicate flavors next to a chili bomb?
Sometimes the fusion doesn’t even make it into the “good idea/weird juxtaposition” realm. A warm asparagus salad, which according to the menu comes with hollandaise sauce and truffle vinaigrette, was nothing like the classic elegant salad I’d imagined. Instead, a large plate of romaine lettuce bears a fan of avocado and a few sticks of asparagus smothered in a huge glop of spicy goo I assume was supposed to be hollandaise. There was no hint of truffle, and if there had been, it would’ve clashed horribly anyway.
And, what of that wasabi pizza? I’d love to say it chastened me, changed my mind about the nature of outlandish fusions, put me in my place. Alas, it did nothing of the kind. The base of wasabi paste covered in warm-ish raw tuna did nothing to convert me to the Japanese/Italian cause.
Dishes with more purity of heart fare better. That salmon swims in a miso-yuzu broth, and is punctuated by ginger, soft tofu, and lovely pops of sweet cherry tomatoes. As out of place as pizza seems on the menu, the truffle and fontina cheese version, topped with a vinegary frisée salad, hits all the right earthy notes, although I found the crust a tad sweet.
There are also some undeniably cool dishes, such as the warm goat cheese custard appetizer, which pairs a creamy custard with sweet diced beets, pistachios and a more musky and astringent goat cheese foam. While not completely harmonious, the dish channels the Vongerichten ability to have us rethink textures and flavors, to focus on our food. It’s both a sensual and a cerebral experience.
Ian Winslade and general manager A.D. Allushi find themselves a couple of blocks south of Bluepointe, where they both made their names as masters of the trendy Asian-influenced restaurant, and both seem very much at home at Market. Allushi’s service team ranges from fine-dining pros to fresh-from-the-diner sweetness, and hiccups are swiftly and professionally dealt with.
There’s no doubt that Vongerichten and Winslade have the chops to put out highly stylized, perfectly executed food. Prices, for this level of dining, are fairly reasonable. And Market, with all its discombobulation, is a lot of fun. But to get the best of what’s offered here, stick with the dishes that stay in one hemisphere.
Market 3 stars
3377 Peachtree Road. 404-523-3600. www.marketbuckhead.com. Breakfast: Mon.-Fri., 7-10:30 a.m.; Sat.-Sun., 8-11 a.m. Lunch: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner: Sun.-Thurs., 5:30-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5:30-11 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking, validated for 2 hours.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:07 am
I didn’t recognize the word “frisse” (as in “topped with a vinegary frisse salad”), so i checked a dictionary. I still wouldn’t have recognized it if spelled correctly, but I think you meant “frisée” (only 1 S; an acute accent over the first E). If possible, I suggest this be corrected before the print version goes to press.
Since I’ve raised the subject, I’d like to encourage an especial effort (in general, I am not pointing fingers at Besha or at Creative Loafing) to be more attuned to diacritical marks in writing. In American we tend to be lazy with diacriticals because they are uncommon (and usually optional) in English words. But they are often essential in non-English words. We can show our appreciation of different cultures not only by partaking of their food, but also by properly writing their words.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:14 am
I don’t mean to hijack this post and turn it into a grammar debate, but I have to respond to Joe’s comment.
As a professional writer myself, I know that style manuals allow for dropping diacritical marks on commonly anglicized words. The regular presence of frisee on grocery store shelves and menus qualifies it as a common word in my opinion, making the use of the accent non-standard if not unnecessary.
Nonetheless, the grammar nerd in me appreciates your concern for correctness and the opportunity to explore this subject as afforded by your comment.
As for the truffle and fontina pizza – that sounds really freakin’ delicious. I haven’t even made it to Spice Market yet, but I now have both that place and Market on my hit list.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Thanks Joe and Darin. Correction made.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:08 am
oh yea, to add on to wat they be saying.., yall also need more pictures.
im pointing fingers
March 1st, 2009 at 1:57 pm
It would help if you spelled the chef’s name correctly on the “headline” or front page of this story. The shabbiest of editing.