Lunch at Market by Jean-Georges

Comments 3 by Rebecca Bollwitt Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 — 10:10am PST

Disclosure: Unpaid, Personal Opinion — Our sparkling wine and pizza were compliments of Market. I paid for the rest of our lunch. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.

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Tucked away in the Shangri-La hotel in downtown Vancouver, Market by Jean-Georges has been on my “to do” list for a while. Although I admit, I did stop in for lunch a while back with Michelle Ng from Foodie Tour but I have always meant to return. I had that chance recently when I met up with Keira-Anne for a holiday lunch.

Keira told me that she wanted to go some place “nice” for lunch and Market was the first place to come to mind. A lone white Christmas tree welcomed us in the reception before we were shown to our cozy booth. A curtain of gold pearls behind our heads matched the ascending bubbles in the two glasses of sparkling wine placed before us.

The menu was split into share-plates or starters, pizzas, and entrees with a section reserved for a $35 prix-fixe lunch. We ordered a la carte after some recommendations from our host.

Tuna tartare, avocado, spicy radish, ginger dressing ($16)
A nice light start to the meal with creamy avocado and a bit of a crunchy kick from the radishes.

Black truffle with fontina cheese pizza ($19)
The pizza was delicious and the truffles were not over-powering (as truffle oil on a pizza or pasta might tend to be).

Nut and seed crusted snapper, sweet and sour broth ($28)
Very soft and light, even with the crust on top of the fillet. The broth was smooth and buttery.

Soy glazed short ribs, apple-jalapeno puree, rosemary crumbs ($29)
They had us a “rosemary crumbs”. Keira enjoyed this main and the rosemary crumbs were just as tasty as they looked. She also noted that the portion was very filling.

The prices were above what one might spend in terms of an everyday lunch, better suited for special occasion or holiday affair — a chance to splurge. After all, this is Market by Jean-Georges Vongrichten, one of New York’s most celebrated chefs, cook-book authors, and restauranteurs. Next time we’ll stop by for a drink as well, hopefully crafted by Vancouver’s Jay Jones himself, lead bartender at Shangri-La and the founding director of the Canadian Professional Bartenders Association.