We visited Market Street Gril in Ballard on Saturday evening and were treated to a very good meal. The restaurant sort of looks like a Wrap place from the outside, and inside the decor is also a bit unusual and didn't all seem to fit together - a huge street map on one wall, a diner-style neon clock on another, and more traditional paintings on a third wall. This interesting, but slightly out of place decor did a good job of describing much of the experience.
They were out of the first wine we ordered. And the second. On her third trip, the waitress suggested a wine that she knew they had, but as also notably more expensive then the first two we attempted to order.
We had the braised short ribs and calamari appetizers. The short ribs were excellent - so tender that the meat just fell off the bone. However the calamari underwhelmed us - it was a bit heavy and somewhat soggy. The salsa-verde, cilantro soy vinagrette didn't compliment the calimari nearly as well as I had hoped it would.
Our group sampled several entrees, the rib-eye, the sea scallops and the lamb sausage. The scallops were undoubtedly the standout dish, featuring delicately shaved truffles scattered along the dish (although the plentiful daikon sprouts just got in the way of the rest of the dish). The scallops are reason enough to go to the Market Street Grill. The rib-eye was good, but not exceptional, and the same could be said about the lamb sausage.
We had a great lemon bread pudding and a so-so chocolate torte. The bread pudding was very good, although the berry sauce at the bottom seemed a bit unusual.
Definitely worth a visit, even if you have nothing more than the short ribs and scallops.
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