Brunch at Market

When West Loop sports lounge Market opened this spring, it instantly created a scene for leggy ladies and slickly groomed guys, all who seemed to have time to leave work, go home and get dressed to impress, and still fill the rooftop by 5 p.m. on weeknights. The place feels entirely different—and much closer to its sports-lounge philosophy—during a daytime game on NFL Sunday.

Twenty-somethings nosh with Bears jersey-clad parents, couples take trips to the build-your-own-bloody mary bar, dudes pore over fantasy football notes, and everyone cheers loudly when the Bears score. Sit at a high-top in the bar or at the long table in the dining room for the best game views—the booths along the dining room wall beneath a line of flat-screen TVs look like prime spots but are too close to the speakers for conversation during commercials.

What bugs us the most about Market’s dinner menu are the Happy Meal-style flourishes (buffalo wings sided by a ceramic chicken, popcorn shrimp served in a movie theater-style box), so we were relieved to find chef Joe Rosetti’s brunch menu, which launched in earnest last weekend after a week of menu testing, free of gimmicks.

We’d go back for the steak and eggs ranchero ($12, left), a skirt steak topped with zesty ranchero salsa (a family recipe from kitchen staffer Armando Hernandez) and perfectly crisp potatoes tossed with a colorful hash of red, yellow and green peppers. Bourbon-soaked French toast with apple compote and candied pecans ($10) is light on bourbon flavor, but offers toothsome bites of tart Fuji apple and sweet nuts.

Everyone seemed to be ordering the very simplest of the specials: the Salmon Sammy, aka the traditional bagel and lox plate ($10), starring a grilled Turano bagel that’s equal parts fluffy and chewy and a generous coil of rich smoked salmon.

Since gripes about Market’s first months were primarily service-oriented, from botched cocktail orders to long waits on crowded nights, we were eager to see if things had smoothed out. Our brunch service was pleasant if a bit awkward (you may have to ask to see the menu or get a refill on coffee), but the leisurely pace suits the casual weekend sports scene.

This weekend, the kitchen is testing a few more dishes (breakfast pizza with Italian sausage, eggs Benedict with black forest ham and spinach) before debuting the menu in full. Though the experience isn’t quite a touchdown yet, the players look promising.

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Loved it: Perfectly cooked steak and eggs

Hated it: Cute but spillage-prone square syrup pourers

Brunch time: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

Cost: $20-$25, with tax and tip

Wait: None

Lisa Arnett is the Metromix nightlife and shopping producer. lmarnett@tribune.com

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