Markt

Heaping bowls of mussels dwarf pints of dark lagers at this warm brasserie. The menu at Markt is tremendous with a large selection of raw bar items, traditional salads and mains like Belgian beef stew and steak-frites. It boasts a list of six different mussel preparations such as mussels steamed in hoegaarden, mussels with garlic and fresh cream, and mussels “provencale” with tomato and fresh basil.

Though the menu borders on schizophrenic at times (linguine with pesto?), the dishes are all well executed, a quality that any great brasserie maintains. A salad with goat cheese croutons, honey and pine nuts hit the spot while one friend enjoyed tuna tartare and another, a cold tomato soup. I went for the mussels coriander with cilantro, curry and cream. The sauce was delicate, allowing the flavor of the mussels to be expressed. Crispy, herbed fries were a welcome companion. Though I’m told the chicken with a kriek beer sauce was delicious, my personal recommendation is to come to Markt for the moules-frites and ignore the alternatives.

Markt- 676 6^th Avenue at 21^st Street
Cuisine- Belgian, Seafood
Word to the Wise- Markt used to be in a gargantuan space in the meat packing district but it closed last year. Happy to have them back and in my ‘hood.

Filed under Belgian, Restaurant Reviews |