Restaurant Review: Market

For awhile, Elina from Healthy and Sane and I have been g-chatting about meeting up for dinner and drinks.  It took awhile but we finally coordinated during Restaurant Week here in Boston.  We wanted to keep our party small so we could actually book a table and be able to chat. We invited two of our favorite foodies- Shannon from Tri2Cook and Cara from Caras Cravings.  I've never met Cara or Shannon before so I was excited to hang out! We choose Market mainly because I've been dying to try it and Elina had rave reviews!

Elina, Cara and I met early at the Market Bar inside the W hotel in the Theater District/Chinatown.  This is probably my least favorite area of Boston.  I just never feel safe over here.  But once I got inside and had a cocktail, all felt right in the world : ) 

Around 8, we met up with Shannon and were ready to sit.  Unfortunately, our table wasn't ready until close to 8:30 even though our reservation was at 8pm.  No big deal for us... we were all enjoying each other's company : )

When we sat down, our waiter tried to sell us on some appetizers but we all derailed the idea by telling him we wanted the Restaurant Week Menu.

But first things first.  We needed drinks!  We ordered a carafe of Sangria to share with the table.  Our waiter informed us that a carafe would only fill 3 glasses.  We told him to split it among four glasses.  Another odd comment...

Pretty nails Elina : )

   The Sangria was perfectly balanced and tasted fresh and delicious.  I'm big into Sangria these days.  For the first course, I ordered the Tuna Tartar.

 My friend Gretchen went to Market earlier in the week and said that the Ginger Dressing overpowered the dish, but I disagreed.  I loved this dish and loved the extra sauce.  I thought it complimented the raw fish nicely.  The crunch of the radishes was also a nice touch.

Elina ordered the Sweet Pea Soup and I stole a spoonful.  Another great dish, but I'm happy with my choice!

 For the main course, I had to go with the Short Ribs.  Ever since I made Smitten Kitchen's recipe (twice actually) I'm immediately drawn to the ribs when I see it on a menu.  Short Ribs are usually a really tender cut of meat that are cooked for hours upon hours until they are-fall-off-the-bone-delicious.  These short ribs did not disappoint.  The carrots were also so tender and sweet and I loved the sauce.  I honestly just wish I had more of it : ) 

 The beautiful orange color was a standout.  Both Elina and I couldn't resist!  Cara ordered the Salmon and Shannon ordered the chicken.  Everyone seemed pretty happy with their meals.

 I devoured every bite and loved my dish.  I was so full, I barely had room for dessert.  Or so I thought.  My dessert was finished in no time! 

 The layers of almond was so satisfying without being too rich or two sweet.  The homemade whip-cream and glazed apricots balanced the dish out so well.  Shannon and I ordered this dish.  Cara and Elina ordered Raspberry Cheesecake Sundae which ended up being Raspberry Cheesecake flavored Ice Cream with Raspberry Sorbet.  Tricky!

After we paid and were wrapping up dinner, the fire-alarm went off which made the night even more comical.  All in all, the four of us enjoyed a fabulous meal that was well balanced and delicious.  But the best part of the meal was most definitely spending time with some of my favorite bloggers!!

Did you go anywhere fun for Restaurant Week?  Link to it in the comments so I can check it out!