Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Modern Market Bethesda Row review (Photos)

Modern Market is one of several new entries in the Bethesda dining scene promising healthier fare, but the chain smartly sidesteps the risky "diet restaurant" branding that has done in more than one eatery. Instead, Culinary Director Nate Weir and co-founder Anthony Pigliacampo seem to understand that while the Bethesda consumer is health-conscious, they aren't likely to stick to green leaves and ice water when they actually go out to eat. The menu items here may be more beneficial to your health, but flavor and healthier fats are not left out of the recipes.
I wasn't going to Modern Market for the coffee, but they serve Compass Coffee, brewed right here in the Shaw neighborhood in the District. This may be the best cup of coffee you can get in downtown Bethesda.

The menu and hours at Modern Market cover all 3 meals of the day. Breakfast options include delicious cage-free eggs with herb seasoning, roasted breakfast potatoes that lack the tough and rubbery potato skins often found on these elsewhere, tofu and even green chicken chili.

The bacon is something special here, also. Modern Market uses Tender Belly Bacon, which is nitrate and H&A-free. It's made in Colorado with a special dry rub that includes juniper berries and late-season Vermont pure maple syrup. The result is a crispy edge with a sweet and smoky ham/Boston Butt character to the flavor and texture. To get a sense of the texture, it is not super-easy to cut with the side of your fork. Having said all that, I thought the sausage here might be even better than the bacon.

On the (slightly) sweeter side of the breakfast menu are whole-grain Belgian waffles. I tried the cinnamon variety, which also comes with pecans, cinnamon sugar, and a side of pure maple syrup. Replacing butter on top is a dollop of tangy Greek yogurt. It certainly passes the waffle texture and maple syrup test. I would still prefer butter on top, but the yogurt does work well to provide a flavor contrast with the sweetness of the other ingredients. The cinnamon flavor was very strong, as well.
Toscano salad
Moving on to lunch, the high quality of the produce (each of which can be traced back to the specific farm it came from) really comes through in the salads and sandwiches. A very Italian choice is the Toscano, which comes with prosciutto, roasted grape tomatoes, cucumber, marinated cannellini beans, pickled onions, romaine lettuce and a roasted garlic rosemary vinaigrette. The paper-thin cold cuts and beans give the very light salad a meaty boost, while the crisp cucumber and lettuce are able to stand on their own without a heavier salad dressing. You also get a slice of herb flatbread with this salad.
Herb flatbread side
If I can steer you toward one item on the menu at Modern Market, it would be the Tender Belly BLT+A. As the name implies, it features the bacon discussed earlier, basil aioli, tomato, arugula, and the "A" ingredient - avocado, on Izzio's multigrain bread. Absolutely fantastic. The bread was toasted without being tough and chewy, and has a bit of a buttery flavor like you would get from a less-healthy, high-quality white bread. All of the flavors and textures combine together so well, you can't really pick out one and say that was the secret to the success of the sandwich. Don't worry about the details, just order one.
Tender Belly BLT+A
sandwich. Order now
Izzio's ciabatta is a strong platform for the seasonal Blueberry Pesto sandwich. The name and the blueberry jam have you expecting a dessert sandwich, but you'll be surprised by a zing of spice which doesn't seem to be accounted for in the list of ingredients on the menu. While not equal to the BLT+A, it's a great choice for the vegetarian.
The seasonal
Blueberry Pesto
sandwich
Farmer salad
For a salad more suited to dinner, try the Farmer, with mixed greens, seasonal fruit (strawberry at the moment), feta, roasted corn, almonds, and a champagne vinaigrette, topped with sliced, roasted Red Bird chicken. This does skew toward the sweet side of the flavor spectrum. The natural flavor of the chicken is good; I feel like it could benefit from a pinch of additional seasoning.
Crimini Kale pizza
Pizzas are not only made in the restaurant's brick oven, but their thin crust is house made in a 48-hour process. While - except when it comes to Ledo's - I am more of a regular-to-deep-dish person, I liked the unique texture of the crust. It doesn't have that chewy cardboard texture many thin crusts possess. I tried the Crimini Kale and seasonal Bacon Corn pizzas. The mushrooms on the former have a dark and hearty flavor, and the kale and almost-bitter tomato sauce give it a contrasting bright flavor. I could eat the kale on this as a snack.

The Bacon Corn, despite the meat dominating the name, actually is a winner for the rich combination of the corn and crème fraîche/3 cheese blend. This one seemed to match the flavor of the crust better, as well.
Seasonal Bacon Corn
pizza
Rather have pizza for dessert? Unless you order cookies, the dessert pizza is for you. While the picture may suggest sugar overkill, that is the Greek yogurt from the waffle providing the frosting-like garnish. That gives a parfait element, when joined by the strawberries and blueberries on board. It's really left to the brown sugar streusel underneath to remind you that, hey, this was supposed to be dessert.
Dessert pizza

Try a cold-brewed Compass Coffee before you hit the road. The brewing process produces a less-bitter flavor than hot coffee, and when it is served, it has a foamy, beer-like head on top.
In summary, Modern Market is aspiring to provide tablecloth restaurant quality in a fast-casual setting, and succeeds for the most part. It's a great new breakfast option downtown, and there are enough flavorful dishes on the menu that you don't even need to know that it has options for half-a-dozen specialty diets. Virtually everything on the menu is a light meal that won't leave you feeling bloated or in a "food coma." If you want to support responsible and environmentally-sensitive food production, and have something healthy for you without it feeling like a sacrifice, Modern Market is one to try soon. Four stars.


Modern Market
4930 Elm Street
240-800-4733

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I would still prefer butter on top"

That's the closest thing I've ever seen to an actual critical comment, in any of Dyer's "reviews".

Anonymous said...

Uh oh... Larry Hogan's transportation just pounded a stake through the heart of any plans for Dyer's Bridge To Nowhere.

http://wtop.com/sprawl-crawl/2016/09/md-transportation-leader-no-new-potomac-crossing-anytime-soon/

Dyer's Mom is holding his belt and shoelaces and has secured all sharp objects in the house.

Poppy said...

We have been there several times since their opening. Robert, you are spot on. Modern Market is delicious and a perfect fit for Bethesdians craving fast food. It has become my go-to spot after Equinox. Sorry, Pain Quotidien!

Robert Dyer said...

6:22: You obviously haven't read the reviews, then.

6:31: One man can't stop the bridge from being built.

Anonymous said...

He can if he's the State Transportation Secretary, #Birdbrain.

Also, the State of Virginia opposes the Bridge To Nowhere.

Robert Dyer said...

7:17: Wrong. Gov. McAuliffe and Sen. Mark Warner both support a new Potomac River Bridge. McAuliffe came out strongly in favor of a new bridge at a Dulles conference not long ago. You must be thinking of the Clowntown Council in Arlington County, the legendary trolls under the highways.

Anonymous said...

Coffee, "brewed right here in the Shaw neighborhood", what a crock. That's not even in MoCo and you describe it like its right down the street. This comes off like a slap in the face to the real neighborhood coffees like Quartermaine or Mayorga.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, but the Shaw coffee is better. So kudos MM.

Poppy said...

The coffee at MM is always delicious. As a point of comparison, we have a roastmaster drop by the house once a week to do a roast using our Hottop Drum roaster. The coffee at MM tastes every bit as fresh and delicious as what we have at home.

Anonymous said...

Robert, were you compensated or provided free food for this review? I'm curious as it could lead to a bias in the opinions.

Anonymous said...

It's funny that the Republican Governor also opposes Dyer's ill-thought and excessively expensive plan for another bridge. HA SUCK IT BIRDBRAIN!!!!

Anonymous said...

Who else wants to check out Poppy's "hot top drum"?

Anonymous said...

When Hogan got elected, there would be an article on this blog practically every day praising him. Now that Hogan has proven to be a moderate, relatively reasonable, rare common-sense Republican (unlike like the hard-right, wingnuts repubs you see down South) he's alienated Dyer.

Hogan has made some gaffes--late school starts, placing prison funding over education funding, etc.--but he's also shown that he's not a party-line nut. He is maintaining spending on education, building the Purple Line, refusing to build a ridiculous Potomac crossing, and refused to bow to wingnut pressure to relax gun laws, cut taxes, and support Donald Trump. Clearly he's upset Dyer.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Remember those triple-photos that Dyer used to post in every article about his former hero Hogan?

Anonymous said...

@8:04 - I know I do! they make some of the nicest home roasting machines in the world!

https://hottopusa.com/

Anonymous said...

"Hogan will be panned later. They all will. Just 25-30 years from now we'll be hearing about how the politicos in the 2010's got it completely wrong and we have to give a bit more to get us out of the quagmire.


They used to call me a pessimist. Now I'm a visionary. Go figure.

Anita Gofradump said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Why should anyone automatically align with Hogan, or any other elected official,on every single issue?
That narrow minded partisanship is terrible.

Anonymous said...

Except those coffees aren't nearly as good as Shaw.

Anonymous said...

11:11AM - Agreed. +1

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I came for the review, but I stayed for the comments. The hashtag birdbrain one in particular has me wondering if the political comments are coming from a child. Or did the discussion break down into insults because there was no basis for an argument there?

Great review Robert. I look forward to eating here myself. See ya next time. Bye everyone.

Anonymous said...

Great review! I always look forward to Bethesda's top restaurant critic to weigh in on new restaurants.

Anonymous said...

With dietary habits like this, no wonder Robert is banned from the Barnes and Noble Starbucks!

Anonymous said...

Trolls attribute their own issues to others.

Anonymous said...

When does the Congressional Plaza one open?

Anonymous said...

7:17 AM is the perfect example of what he just described.

Anonymous said...

Don't blame the messenger!

Anonymous said...

8:06 AM Follow RockvilleNights.com for coverage of Congressional Plaza.

I read both Rockville Nights and this site every morning over coffee.

Anonymous said...

12:00 PM - And after you finish your coffee, what do you do for the rest of the day?

Anonymous said...

That's an odd question to ask someone, don't you think?