On Friday, we dropped into Market by Jean-Georges for a late lunch. It's located in the new W Hotel at the corner of Stuart and Tremont Streets.
It was only a week into the restaurant's shake-down process. That's too early to make any final decisions about it, but our first look has guaranteed a second meal at this Boston newcomer.
We like sitting at bars and decided to try the bar inside the restaurant. (There's a second bar in the lobby with a limited menu, but the bar seats inside Market offer the restaurant's full menu.) The bar was good for dining with comfortable seats and a wide surface. Our one wish was for mirrors to give us a view of the dining room and make us feel more connected to other diners.
We shared four dishes. The "Black Pepper" Crab Fritters with Asian Pear and Endive (shown above), the Boston lettuce salad, a Tomato, Basil Mozzarella Pizza, and the Hanger Steak with Gingered Mushrooms and Soy/Caramel Sauce.
The crab fritters are small crab cakes topped with a fresh garnish of crispy pear and sitting on a bed of black pepper sauce. The sauce was peppery and fruity simultaneously. (Penny guessed that it may have a fig jam base.) We mopped the plate clean with bread before we let the bartender clear it and even shared a dip with a neighbor at the bar, when he asked how we liked it.
The pizza had a very crisp crust, simple fresh tomato sauce, lovely creamy mozzarella and tiny, young basil leaves. It was cut in four slices and fit on a dinner plate– just right for a quick bite before a show or after in this theatre district locale.
Here's the highly regarded cookbook that Jean-Georges Vongerichten wrote with Marc Bittman.
The hanger steak was perfectly cooked medium-rare, and the mushroom garnish was delicious. The vegetables on the plate were also perfectly cooked.
The wine list offered good matches for the food and some great choices on the low end of the price list. They also offer a 4oz taste or 8 oz carafe. This makes it easy to have different wines with each course or a glass and a half of a favorite. We tasted a Grenelle Rose Sparkler from the Loire Valley, and had a carafe of the Rex Hill Pinot Noir.
Details:
Market by Jean-Georges
At the W Hotel Boston
100 Stuart Street, Boston, 02116 (Map)
No website with menu yet.Photos © 2009 Penny Cherubino
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