The Food Market

The Food Market Overall Review

The Food Market on The Avenue in Hampden bills itself as a restaurant that “focuses on approachable, serious comfort food, in a smartly designed industrial-modern space,” per their website. The atmosphere is bright and humming with excitement.  The place seems to stay packed with neighborhood locals.  Some of the food items are much better than others. So choose carefully when you visit the restaurant.  This is a great spot for a girls night out, a date night or a night out with a co-ed group of friends.  This please really seems to inspire conversation.  They do have valet parking but you have to get their before 9 to partake of this service.  Overall we give The Food Market ♪♪ and a half note.  

Stingray Oysters

The oysters were sweet, salty and savory all at the same time.  They had a wonderful briny intensity.  The chef served these little guys with Limon Cello ice, aka "lemon snowball" and a "chipotle cocktail" sauce.  They were delicious!

 Salt & Pepper Tuna

This dish was a miss.  It appears that the salt and pepper seemed to have cured the tuna.  Additionally it was not a good cut of tuna and it did not appear to be fresh.  We did however like the house made marinaded cucumbers and the avocado tzatziki was cool and refreshing.  
 
Steak Tacos

The chef cooked the meat perfectly but failed to season the meat well.  Melissa does not like corn tortillas, however these were great.  They were light and had a fabulous flavor.   The black pepper hot sauce was a treat and the micro cilantro was yummy.  The uncooked white corn added a nice sweetness and crunchiness.  The whipped avocado did not add anything to the dish.  Its a shame the chef ruined the dish by not getting his seasoning right.

Lil' Lamb Porterhouses

These delectable lamb chops were seared to perfection.  They did need a little salt but they had a delicious gamey and rich, full flavor.  The chef served ground pecans on top with espresso essence.  The apricots added a nice bite and sweetness to the dish.      
 
SOS

Aka...shrimp and grits.  This dish was delicious but super heavy and rich.  The shrimp were huge ,plump and fresh.  The andouille sausage was spicy and wonderful.  The dish was very flavorful and the grits were yummy and fluffy.  
 
Macadamia Nut Semiffredo

This is a semi-frozen Italian dessert, kinda like an ice cream cake.  It was light, refreshing and tasty.  The addition of candied nuts to the dish added a nice richness and crunchiness.  We did wish that the espresso foam had more of an espresso flavor.  
 
Angela's Review

I was having dinner with a friend of Melissa and I, Candace, while she was in town a couple weeks ago, when she mentioned that she had one of the best meals she has ever had here in Baltimore at a restaurant called The Food Market, and asked had Melissa and I been there yet. Before this, I had not heard of it, so needless to say, it went on the TO TRY list.
The atmosphere is very nice and the place was packed even at 9pm. It does have an industrial feel with its glass front, 1 white brick wall and another resembling a sort of Metallic laminate with hues of Blue, green, gray and brown. There is a bar along one wall, booths along the other, and wonderful paintings adorn the walls with abstract forms and bold colors. The steady roar of voices is not so loud that you cannot have a conversation, which is nice, but is just loud enough to speak of the popularity of this spot so far.
Our experience of the food at The Food Market was actually sort of hit or miss, though there were some very good elements. We LOVED the chef’s selection of oysters for the night (Stingray) and the accompaniments which included “lemon snowball,” Limón cello flavored ice, and “chipotle cocktail,” sauce; both of which were FABULOUS.  And the Macadamia nut “semifredo,” a partially frozen Italian dessert along the lines of ice cream, was RIDICULOUS. Other than these “out of the park” hitters, everything else we had had good elements and could have been better” ones. All in all, I give The Food Market ♪♪.
 
Melissa's Review

The Food Market in Hamden, MD is a fascinating place.  The atmosphere was lively and electric.  The place hummed with a vibrant crowd of people and a steady flow of customers.  The décor was warm and inviting.  Exposed brick walls, and intriguing lighting added to the ambiance.  I really like the feel of this restaurant.  The food on the other hand was very much hit or miss.  There were some dishes like the fresh oysters and the lamb that were fantastic, while some of the other dishes were just so so.  The tuna was not fresh and it lacked flavor and creativity.  It breaks my heart when restaurants look and feel fabulous but fall short in the kitchen.  It’s hard to find eateries that excel in both atmosphere and taste.  It’s as though the chef pours all of their creativity into a few dishes, then terribly neglects the rest of their menu.  Despite the inconsistency with the food, I feel that the Food Market is a good restaurant to try.  Overall I give The Food Market ♪♪♪.