Dining Review: Lunch fare takes on whole new flavor at Market café

Photo by Dave Darnell // Buy this photo

The Market Café's Sexy Mexi burger has jalapenos, avocado sauce, sour cream, pico de gallo, lettuce and onions.

Market Café is a nice little place that will, I'm certain, deservedly build a loyal clientele and prosper. The food is very good, the atmosphere homey and comfortable, growing more so as the chalkboard walls fill up with diner commentary. And in general, the service is good.

Unfortunately, I recently dined there on a day when chaos, or something close to it, reigned over both the kitchen and the dining room. Had it been my first visit, I would have been discouraged from returning. If it was yours, don't let it keep you from going back as it was a perfect storm situation: A server was sick, the sous chef was out, Bach's Lunch in the First Tennessee building next door had closed just a few days prior and it was both

Photo by Dave Darnell

The Market Café's Sexy Mexi burger has jalapenos, avocado sauce, sour cream, pico de gallo, lettuce and onions.

Photo by Dave Darnell

The Market Café at 149 Madison does a brisk lunch business, especially with the Downtown business crowd.

Photo by Dave Darnell

Chef Teresa Johns whips up oversized lunch treats in the kitchen at the Market Café.

the launch day for the new dessert menu and the first day of the new, lower prices at Market Café.

Management reacted appropriately to the Very Bad Day by comping desserts for everyone and meals for those who waited too long, a gesture that both demonstrates good will and shows an acceptance of responsibility.

But now to the food.

An order of tomato and mozzarella crostini delivers four toasted baguette rounds covered in oozy cheese, topped with a peeled and roasted Roma tomato half and chopped fresh basil. Simple and delicious, and it would make a nice little meal with soup.

The tuna salad is probably a love-it or hate-it version. I'm in the love-it group, as it's spicy with red pepper and red onion, and topped with the restaurant's Empress (something between ranch and green goddess) dressing instead of being mixed with mayo. The sandwich is enormous; portions in general are so large that one way prices were reduced was by cutting back from a half-pound to a third-pound for the burgers.

I hope the portion of french fries isn't reduced (though truth be told, I couldn't finish them). They're cut and fried to order, and at breakfast, potatoes are diced and fried with onions and bits of tomato. The kitchen knows how to respect the potato.

But there are two items that soar above the others. The roasted vegetable strudel will likely become, if it's not already, the restaurant's signature item. Seasonal veggies are roasted and tucked inside pastry with a generous serving of cheese. The cheese fuses with the pastry on the bottom to form a slightly crunchy crust, while the top is light. It's excellent.

Teresa Johns, formerly of Blues City Pastry, is the third, and newest, owner of Market Café, along with Jonathan Byrd and Edward Bell. I ordered her crème brulée to split with my dining companion on my first visit. I took one bite and ordered a second: There was no way, despite my best intentions to cut back, that I was sharing that with anyone.

The secret to a good crème brulée is the balance between the sugar and the custard. You want a touch of bitterness in the burnt sugar to play off the sweetness in the creme, and a crust thick enough to break. Johns nails it in every respect.

-- Jennifer Biggs: 529-5223

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Market Café

Food:

Service:

Atmosphere:

Address: 149 Madison Ave.

Telephone: (901) 577-0086

Hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday through Friday

Reviewer's choices: Roasted vegetable strudel ($7); tuna salad sandwich ($6.50); tomato mozzarella crostini ($4.50); french fries (standard or sweet potato); crème brulée ($5).

Alcohol: None at present

p>Star Ratings

Poor: Zero stars

Good: One star

Very Good: Two stars

Excellent: Three stars

Extraordinary: Four stars

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