Market in Del Mar

(Disclaimer: I didn't intend for this to be a food blog, but since food is in my "work of art" category when done well, I can't help but post about a restaurant we just went to. And in case you can't tell from this post, I am wildly enthusiastic about food.)

We've had a lot of bad food since we've moved to SD. Don't know what it is. Maybe we just got all the wrong recommendations, or we are now thoroughly spoiled from living in NYC with every kind of food at every price range right at your doorstep. The restaurant scene in SD is growing, but it's young and hard to get anything but chain restaurants or over-the-top pricey seafood or fusion.

It being San Diego Restaurant Week this week, we thought we would treat ourselves a little bit and partake in the $40 three-course prix fixe menus being offered at many of the restaurants around town. Paul and I eagerly made reservations at three different restaurants in town, not intending to keep all of them: one at 1500 Ocean at the Hotel Del in Coronado, one at Sbicca in Del Mar, and one at Market, also in Del Mar. We ended up accidentally eating at Sbicca one evening when we were in the area, and since our 1500 Ocean reservation was not until 8:30pm we thought we'd save it for another day when we could eat during daylight hours to admire the ocean view.

Well, it was a good decision. Market ended up being the best food we've had in San Diego so far. When the waiter welcomed us and told us that all of their produce was from the famed Chino Farms in Rancho Santa Fe, we knew we were in for a treat. We visited Chino Farms recently, and the produce is absolutely out of this world. (I plan to dedicate a whole separate post to Chino now that I have a camera!) Everything at the farm stand is freshly picked and looks like it has just burst its way out of the earth, with dirt clinging to the root vegetables, tiny baby lettuces of all different shades of maroons, greens and purples, and a whole variety of huge funny-looking squashes that look like they could be mistaken for small (funny-looking) children. We came back from Chino once with a few vegetables that we had literally never seen before- a Jerusalem artichoke which looked like a gangly mess of ginger and tasted similar to water chestnut with a little more bite, and a skinny, green, Italian vegetable with a bitter flavor whose name I can't remember and had to be blanched in icy water before eating. (Here is a blog about Chino Farms from Bay Area Bites so you can see what I'm talking about.)

For starters, I ordered the bleu cheese souffle, which came with a very wintry grapefruit and beet salad. I've seen the beets at Chino farms and they are so beautiful with so many varieties of color. On my plate were a mix of golden and maroon beets that were dressed perfectly with some oil and small crumbles of bleu cheese. I love bleu cheese passionately, and in a souffle it was perfect- not too eggy, not too salty or heavy, but a fluffy, light texture that nearly melted in my mouth. It was paired perfectly, the sharp flavor of the cheese offset by the tangy sweetness of the grapefruit.

Then for our main course, Paul had the skirt steak and braised beef short rib combination which came with an incredibly delicious potato puree dressed with truffle oil and bacon. (Is there anything that doesn't taste good with truffle oil and bacon?) The skirt steak was unbelievably tender for the cut and the short rib gave the dish a hearty touch. I had the miso glazed Japanese white bass over udon, topped with some colorful micro-greens. The fish was cooked perfectly and unlike other Asian fusion that I've had in CA, didn't taste like soy sauce dumped all over it, but retained the authenticity of the miso flavor. I'm not a big fan of Asian fusion, but if ever there was an example of what it could be- here it was. Authentic flavors used in traditional Asian cooking paired with the presentation and ingredients found more commonly in Western cooking.

For dessert, I had a delicate creme fraiche panna cotta with a raspberry puree sauce drizzled on top of it, with cylindrical pieces of sage-infused marzipan on the side and a tangerine sorbet to boot. Paul savored every bite of his cheese plate, a handsome cut of a Spanish cheese similar to Manchego. The plate came with some green grapes and a dollop of fig preserve and some small slices of baguette.

We both agreed that we wish we'd ended up at Market sooner, it being less than 15 minutes away from our apt. Apparently the menu changes daily depending on the ingredients available. Paul joked, "Want to come again tomorrow?" as we finished up our meal, and I laughed. Then looking at his facial expression I realized he wasn't joking, and laughed even harder.