Market Table: More than just a great burger

November 8, 2007

Market Table, the new market-cum-restaurant from Little Owl‘s Joey Campanaro, Mike Price, and Gabriel Stulman, serves a quality Cheddar & Sweet Onion Burger ($15) made of a secret mixture from LaFrieda Wholesale Meats.

LaFrieda Meats, a meatpacking district stalwart, supplies meat to more than 200 of the city’s best restaurants in addition to grinding the meat for the city’s best hamburgers including the patties at Stand, BLT Burger, Shake Shack, Spotted Pig, and now Market Table. Market Table has the privilege of being the first place to carry LaFrieda’s chopped beef, burgers, and meat directly to the customer.

On to the Market Table’s Burger:

The Burger comes on a toasted homemade sourdough bun lightly flavored by herbs & spices. Despite the bun’s somewhat ominous size (witnessed in the 1st pic), it’s quite airy and light and remains chewey/crispy on the outside while not succumbing to any toasting-instilled failure:

Grated and slightly sharp White Cheddar rests atop a layer of lightly grilled sweet onions:

My only quip is that the cheddar could have been melted more. As you can see the front bits of cheese are barely melted. This had a bad effect on the burger because as a slow eater, by the time I was finishing my last bites, it was like eating a burger with raw grated cheese on it. Not ideal.

Ketchup was applied and this was the result upon first slice:

Pretty nice. You can see the sweet onions peering out from under the cheddar. The sharpness of the cheddar melded perfectly with the onions sweetness. A great balance of flavor. I ordered it to be cooked medium and Market Table delivered.

Here’s another shot of the delicious burger upon first slice:

The actual burger came perfectly charred on the outside and moist & crumbly on the inside. Job well done.

The flavor, despite the association with LaFrieda, didn’t stand out to me as an unbelievable patty. Good but not amazing. As far as straight patty goes, I liked Shake Shack’s better.

I also like Shake Shack’s crinkle-cut fries, but after seeing this side order from Market Place in front of me…

…I was overcome with French Fry glory. These medium cut Idaho’s were serious. Crispy, potatoey, and hot, fresh out of the fryer.We didn’t even ask for the fries to be well done and yet they came crispy, hot, potatoey, and delicious. They really tied the entire meal together. The Burger on it’s own didn’t live up to the LaFrieda imposed expectations I had instilled, but once you get the fries involved, the entire meal goes from good to great. In this side order, they’re served with cocktail sauce per Mike Price’s recomendation. The side order came with my buddy’s turkey club with avacado, crispy bacon, on spicy toast:

Solid turkey club. Fresh sliced roasted turkey. My buddy Mark Lewis is a turkey and chicken club expert. He gave this one a solid. Here’s a closeup:

Upon completion of our meal, our lovely waitress Tracy brought us the bill, stashed bookmark style inside a copy of David Ebershoff’s “The Danish Girl.” After thanking Tracy for a great meal, I made for the exit and shook hands with Gabriel Stulman, part-owner of Market Table and host that day. He said the book stood in for the mudane black leather American Express books at every other restaurant. A small, yet creative way for Market Table to set itself apart; providing a book with a cool title or interesting cover which could spark any number of thoughts in a digesting diner’s mind.  Stulman spoke of one Bob Dylan checkbook that a patron wanted to take home. Stulman let him and now that patron is going to bring a new book in to replace it. A connection made with a patron over more than just great food.

It’s small things like that combined with the homey vibe and attentive and warm service we experienced from Gabriel, Tracy, and even the busboys, that speaks to the truer, simpler philosophy of Market Table, something Stulman spoke passionately about: Giving diners an experience they can savor. So next time you want to trade the hustle and bustle of New York’s soon to be wintery streets for a great meal in a relaxed atmosphere, head over to Market Table.

MARKET TABLE

Address: 54 Carmine Street (at Bedford), New York NY 10014 (map)

Phone: 212-255-2100

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