NEW CHEF, NEW VISION
Market in Italian Village gets high-end reboot
A formerly casual Italian Village restaurant has been recast and refined, with a new menu centered on Midwestern ingredients.
Market, once known for charcuterie, coffee and dry goods, now has a warmyet-upscale feel, as all of the cold cases, grocery shelves and most of the wine racks have been removed.
“We wanted to focus on the dine-in experience and less on the retail market,” said general manager Lauren Noel, who added that the wine program – a source of pride for the restaurant – has been moved online for those who prefer carryout.
Formerly known as the Market Italian Village, 1022 Summit St., the restaurant opened seven years before its ownership, the A&R Creative Group (Crest Gastropub, Ethyl & Tank and Alchemy), decided to hit the refresh button.
Market was closed from November to May for renovations and hiring of a new chef, Carlos Ysaguirre of Chicago, who started in April and transformed the menu.
Ysaguirre called the menu reimagined global fare, with a spotlight on ingredients from Ohio and the Midwest.
“We’re very particular in what we choose,” he said.
Not seen on a lot of local menus, even Greek ones, is the skordalia, traditionally a blend of mashed potatoes, garlic and lemon, served chilled.
Ysaguirre’s version has goat cheese and celery root blended in the potato puree, served with a small dice of roasted peppers and beets, pickled summer squash and tomato vinaigrette, with toasted bread on the side.
Homemade soppresini pasta, resembling unstuffed tortellini, is tossed with a ground rabbit and pork ragout and finished with baby arugula.
Among the more intriguing dishes is the salmon saltimbocca, wrapped with Kentucky ham (not prosciutto) and sage, seared and cooked to medium, and served with a panzanella salad with sundried tomatoes, delicata squash, balsamic onions and arugula pistou, a cold salad.
Customers shouldn’t expect to see the same thing twice, or at least prepared in the same fashion, as menu changes weekly.
“Not the entire thing,” Ysaguirre said, “but a lot of changes.”
Most prices are between $12 and $32. Ysaguirre got his formal culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, which closed in 2017, and working throughout the Windy City at places such as Anteprima, Peninsula and Acre.
“It was a fantastic learning journey through those restaurants, every one being different,” he said.
Market’s interior is now more open, with wooden ceilings, a marble horseshoe bar, salmon walls, patterned floor and painted geometric shapes vivid in design.
“I think with the remodel, we are trying to highlight the contrast between high-end and approachability, while keeping with the neighborhood feel,” Noel said.
Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday. For more information, call 614-914-5544.