marche moderne

marche moderne
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

#25 on my 101 in 1001 list (40/143)
marche moderne offers a 3 course prix fixe--$20 during the week and $25 on the weekends--seven days of the week, which is a great deal on some good gourmet food. their prix fixe changes out almost every day.

i came here with a few other foodies. some of us ordred the prix fixe, while a couple ordered off their lunch menu. everything looked amazing and fresh. the prix fixe came with a butter lettuce, pine nuts, watermelon salad. the sweetness of the bits of watermelon as well as the crunchiness of the pine nuts were paired nicely with the lettuce and simple vinaigrette. my only complaint was that they may have mixed the salads with a little too much dressing, so everything was super wet.

the options for the entree were roasted sand dab with sweet peppers, cilantro emulsion and preserved lemon salad and braised pork belly with sauteed rapini and frisee salad. the fish could have been seasoned more, but it was cooked to flaky perfection, and the sweet peppers were a nice complement that added some flavor. the braised pork belly was so tender and moist, a little bit sweet from caramelization and salty. the rapini was a little overcooked but tasty with a simple preparation. one person in the group ordered the maine scallops tagine, which was excellent. the combination of the tender scallops with the earthy, spicy tomato based harissa worked well.

for dessert, i had an espresso gateau with mascarpone cream and tahitian vanilla ice cream. the cake, which was airy and infused with espresso, reminded me of a refined tiramisu, and was made decadent with a little sweet cream and ice cream.