It’s been 2 years since we visited Matt’s in the Market across form Pike Place Market. The nice sized bare wood tables are set with paper napkins and fairly well spaced considering that the place is not that large. At lunch they did have a couple specials to supplement the a la carte menu as well as wine specials (but they couldn’t locate any of the bottles). Music is in the background, 2 sides of the place are windows and an open kitchen is in one corner of the space. They have been there 24 years and prior to they were in a smaller space. The food is wonderful and the service friendly and efficient.
We started with their Chips and Dip which is house made salt-pepper chips with a round of hot bacon-caramelized onion dip. The chips were crispy and well salted. The dip came out bubbling and was great on the chips. However the chips were good on their own too. I was amazed at how many orders of this I saw coming out of the kitchen. It was ultra tasty with a great texture. A very fun start.
One of the sandwiches they offer is a pork belly “bánh mi” made with pickled daikon radish and carrot, fresno chilies, hoisin, cilantro and sambal mayonnaise on a bui bun. The pork belly and vegetables were all nicely dressed and accented on a good soft bun. The peppers added the right amount of hot spice and the belly had much of the fat rendered in its cooking. This sandwich has been on the menu for some time and you could taste why. The sandwiches came with a simple green salad (you could chose a cup of soup or yukon gold potato salad also). The salad was a good sized portion and the lettuces were topped with tasty blue cheese and pepitas (pumpkin seeds). It was nicely dressed, very fresh and good.
Our other sandwich was a special that day called French Piggy. It contained ham, roasted pork loin, dijon, European butter, caramelized onions, cornichons and Gruyere. The thin sliced pork was almost smokey, the pickles tart and the cooked onion in big strips. It was well dressed and on a chewy baguette that had been toasted on the inside. It was an excellent combination of things. Very filling too, it was great. It also came with a side for which we chose salad.
For dessert we had the candy bar square made with salted caramel mousse, peanut butter nougat, chocolate cookie crumble and fried peanut. There was some peanut butter shortbread on the bottom topped with creamy salted caramel mousse topped with roasted peanuts and then finally topped with thin squares of milk chocolate. It was all sitting on a caramel sauce next to some chocolate cookie crumbs. It was made to remind you of a “Snickers” candy bar and it did, but it was way better. The people near us saw it and had to order one for their table. Great finish for a fine, tasty meal.
