Each week, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s always hungry reporter visits a different restaurant and tells you about the experience.
By ANON E. MUSS, Journal Services
I usually try to write a review of my restaurant experience within a day or two of my visit. But at the urging of a friend who went with me to this restaurant, I waited a little longer.
Had I written immediately after we ate, well, let’s just say you should always think twice before hitting “Send.”
I had been to The Market (10539 Norris Ferry Road, Shreveport) once before, a long time ago. There’s seldom an occasion for me to travel that road, and the only time I see or hear anything about the restaurant is during crawfish season (there was a big, bright red, inflatable crawfish wearing an LSU “bib” outside), when a friend of mine swears The Market serves the best crawfish around. But on one of those “seldom occasions” recently, I took note of the restaurant, and made plans to visit, which a friend and I did on a Wednesday night.
The food pictures on The Market’s website looked great. However, there wasn’t a place to make a reservation. I called, and the lady who answered the phone put me down for 6:45. Later that day, I could tell we would be running late, so I called and asked for a 7:00 sitting. The same lady said that wasn’t a problem. I appreciated her accommodating us.
After a bit of confusion about whether we had a reservation for 7pm, or a reservation for seven people (my fault for not being clear), my friend and I were taken to a booth in the dining room. The Market has three seating areas: The dining room, which is walled off from the bar area, and the patio. The “bar area” has more than bar seating. There are several tables (all but one was taken). We saw the patio upon parking, and it looked spacious, with TV’s and ceiling fans.
There were nine appetizers on The Market’s menu. However, only three appealed to us. (Do you need to offer two different appetizers featuring Goat Cheese?) We were between the Firecracker Chicken Bites, the BBQ Veal Meatballs, and the Spicy Spinach Sausage Queso. We asked our server for her recommendation, and she didn’t hesitate: “The Queso.” ($14.95).
It took a while for our appetizer to arrive, but the wait was worth it. My friend and I have been fortunate to enjoy some outstanding appetizers lately, this one included. We received a large serving of queso, with spicy spinach and sausage mixed in. But the queso didn’t look like cheese. It was dark in color. And was definitely spicy. Woo, did it have a kick! We loved it.
What we didn’t love was that my water glass sat empty for a very long time (my mouth was on fire), and it was equally as long before my friend received her glass of wine. Come to find out, our server, who was very nice throughout the evening, was also helping take care of a party of 20 on the patio. The heavy workload wasn’t her fault. Clearly, the restaurant needed more staff.
It was around this time I noticed the dining room was very quiet. It only had one other couple, but that wasn’t the reason for the silence. There wasn’t any music playing. That made the atmosphere, well, there wasn’t much atmosphere. A little background music would have helped.
Finally, we ordered our entrees. We heard The Market’s steaks were very good, so my friend chose a Rib Eye ($40.95), cooked medium rare. She likes a little bit of pink inside, which I told our server.
I was between two pasta dishes. After asking our server for her recommendation again, I went with the Shrimp Dianne ($26.95) with vegetables (an extra $5.95).
The clock ticked, and ticked and ticked, with no sign of our server and no sign of our food. I didn’t check the time, but I promise you we waited a long time.
When our dishes were served, they both looked great. Unfortunately, neither tasted even close to how they looked.
The menu promised my friend’s steak would be a “7 oz. aged Angus Beef, grilled to order, with a green peppercorn demi glaze, served with a stuffed potato and grilled vegetables.” First of all, it wasn’t “cooked to order.” When my friend cut into her steak, there wasn’t even a hint of pink. She said it tasted overcooked.
To me, the meat looked more like a hamburger steak. I didn’t see a popcorn demi glaze, but I did see what looked like brown gravy on top of the steak. My friend took one bite, and I could tell from her expression the steak didn’t taste good. She did say it was tender and cut me a small bite. I’m not sure I’ve ever had steak – even a bite – that tasted less like steak. It didn’t have any flavor. Zero. None.
My friend’s dish came with a stuffed potato, and grilled vegetables. She said the potato was good, and the vegetables were just ok.
Mind you, her entrée was over $40.
My Shrimp Dianne was a bowl full of angel hair pasta, with “Jumbo Louisiana shrimp in a light and spicy sauce of olive oil, baby portabella mushrooms, red pepper, garlic, herbs, and grated parmesan cheese.”
Sounded great. Looked great. Didn’t taste great.
The pasta was overcooked and lumpy. Angel Hair pasta is supposed to be soft and smooth. Each bite of this serving went down like a big glob. The pasta was stuck together and intertwined. I enjoy a very similar meal at another restaurant in town, and the angel hair is smooth as silk.
The vegetables were okay, but not nearly good enough to make up for the pasta.
Disappointed, we finished our meal, and I questioned whether we should have dessert. My friend and I had plenty of time to discuss, as the clock ticked, and ticked, and ticked before our server returned. I asked for a dessert menu. We were told there wasn’t one, but that the desserts were in a case in the bar area.
So, I have to get up, walk into another room, and look at desserts through glass? Okay, for you, the reader, that’s what I did. But when I got to the dessert case, guess what I didn’t see? Anything indicating what each dessert was? Sure, I could tell what was a coconut cake, and what looked to be peanut butter pie. But everything else (our server said all of The Market’s desserts are homemade) was a guessing game.
My friend and I agreed to share a strawberry shortcake ($5.95). It came in a bowl, and had strawberries, cake, and a type of pudding, with whipped cream and a strawberry on top. It was good. Not out-of-this-world good, but good.
The total of our meal before taxes and tip was ($107.69). The more I waited to pay (tick, tick, tick), the more disappointed I was. To pay that much for dinner, I expected better. The appetizer and dessert were good. Our main courses were, simply put, not good. Taking everything into consideration, I felt we wasted our (the company’s) money.
I gave a lot of thought in the time between our visit and this writing. But really, there wasn’t much to think about. Unfortunately, The Market makes Shreveport-Bossier Journal history, as the first restaurant to receive Two Forks. I would return, but only if someone else is buying. But remember, this was our experience. The restaurant has been around more than 20 years, so they must be doing something right. If you go, you may have a great experience. If so, I wish we had gone with you.
Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to visit? Email SBJRestaurantReview@gmail.com.
1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
