06-29-2023 Howard Magazine - Flipbook - Page 27
A bread pudding dessert at The
Food Market’s Columbia location,
selected as Best New Restaurant
and Best Brunch. PHOTO BY KARL
MERTON FERRON
New Restaurant, Brunch
The Food Market
10480 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia,
410-997-7000, the-food-market.com
The sight and smells of imaginatively prepared comfort
food greet diners when they walk through the door of The
Food Market. The only odor no one ever detects is a whiff
of pretension.
Chef Chad Gauss opened the first Food Market in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood in 2012 with the thought
that food should taste delicious but never be intimidating.
Nine years later, he opened a location in Columbia.
“We like to think that we succeed in giving high-quality fine-dining food and wine service with a very downto-earth vibe,” said Morgan Blanchard, who manages the
Columbia restaurant.
Instead of the standard bread service, diners at The
Food Market are treated truffle basil Parmesan popcorn,
which is as addictive as it sounds. The French onion soup is
topped with diner-style fried onion rings, while the Amish
soft pretzels are served with a beer-cheese fondue that
froths over the side of the miniature beer stein that it is
served in.
Servers don’t wear uniforms, but their real clothes.
Music playing in the restaurant is made up of feel-good
songs from such artists as Michael Jackson and Pitbull.
“Sometimes we’ll have customers practically dancing in
their seats,” Blanchard said. “We think fine dining doesn’t
have to be stuffy.”
howardmagazine.com | Summer 2023 |
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