Marché delights in charming Ross
I really didn't want to use the word “charming” in this review, but when writing about Ross, it's impossible not to. Nestled at the base of Mount Tamalpais, the beautiful, wooded town is enchanting. The downtown area, known as Ross Common, is sweet. Beniamino Bufano's rotund “Ross Bear” sculpture as you pull into Lagunitas Road off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and head into Ross begins the journey into charming. Its allure is further enhanced when the bear wears a decoration celebrating a season or holiday.
Marché Restaurant sits a couple of blocks down from Ross Common. The entry is past the hedge-obscured patio. The night of our visit, gentle guitar music drew us in. The front door lead us into a shared foyer and the main entrance into the restaurant. A basket of rolled blankets sat at the entrance — an encouragement to sit on the patio for the Wednesday night music. Alicia Banks, co-owner with husband, Darren — the couple bought the restaurant last year — hopes to keep the well-heated patio open until the rains arrive. Last winter with the abundance of rain through April, their landlord allowed them to set up tables in the foyer, too. With El Niño predicted again this year, I hope the landlord will be as kind.
We sat by the door leading out to the patio, enabling us to watch all the action.
There were a few tables in use inside and several more on the patio. We saw families with children, couples on dates sharing a kiss before ordering, groups of friends, couples celebrating
anniversaries, and old couples who knew they would have help navigating the tables and chairs with ease. This is a welcoming and comfortable place. The owners and the tableside staff are helpful and interact warmly with each other and with the tables they are attending.
The beverage lists concentrate on local and smaller purveyors. Beers range from $7 to $12. A few wines are offered by the glass ($15) with more by the half bottle ($21 to $56). Half bottles are a welcome addition for guests ordering different menu items or those who want to limit their consumption. Full bottles range from $32 for
a bottle of French bubbly to $125 for a red. Overall, it's a reasonably priced beverage list.
House-made, warm bread and salted butter were place on the table, a nicety many restaurants have done away with.
Seven starters are listed on the menu. One daily changing soup and three vegan offerings are included. We chose the Dried Turkish Figs ($11) and the Peach Burrata Toast ($14), which pared well with a bottle of the 2020 Menade Verdejo ($37).
Three warm, plump figs, stuffed with Point Reyes blue cheese and wrapped in bacon, were baked and garnished with a balsamic reduction. This is normally seen on menus using dates. The figs were a delicious, chewy variation with the fun pop of their seeds.
A raft of grilled, still-warm bread supported a thick smear of burrata topped with sliced, perfectly ripe, delicious peaches, crushed pistachios and a honey dizzle. There was just the right amount of arugula and basil garnish. The toast was cut in half, making it easy to eat and to share. The crunchy contrast of warm and cold and savory and sweet was perfect.
The vegetarian HouseMade Gnocchi ($27), with its zucchini, corn and truffle cream sauce, almost captured us but the Risotto ($33) won. The pearly grains of risotto rice were cooked with a controlled amount of chorizo to give just a bit of extra flavor but in no way to intimdate the gentle creaminess. Risottos can often be too heavy. This one was not. There were lots of balanced flavors that were creamy but not overly cheesy. Technically, the rice was a bit more cooked than normal but it was wonderfully satisfying. When we bit into the five grilled, tail-on prawns, they had a nice snap.
The main courses are diverse enough so most guests can find a something to please them. The vegan choice of Roasted Cauliflower ($29) with beet hummus, sautéed kale, currants, duqqa and persillade was creatively inviting. The Egyptian duqqa spice and nut blend would add so much flavor and crunch.
My companion is a great fan of duck meat and Duck Confit ($40) so had to order it. What a plate! The larger-than-normal duck leg was strewn with wide strips of pickled red on