Recently I had the pleasure of discovering a fairly new chain of restaurants here, in the DFW metroplex. Modern Market was founded by Anthony Pigliacampo from Boulder, CO. Though the food industry was not necessarily his original career, he found his way to create this new and very refreshing concept of dining based on his passion and his unique vision. With currently 27 locations nationwide (and many more on the way!), there is no stopping this health conscious concept from being your go-to dining destination. During our meeting, Anthony shared with us that he wanted to bring the same type of efficiency of any major fast food chain but replace the “industrial food” with real ingredients coming from farms and from people who share the same vision as him – “to serve amazing, healthy food to as many people as possible”.
Modern Market can easily accommodate people with various diets, offering gluten and dairy free items, vegetarian and vegan dishes. I’ve tried many different salads and my personal favorites were:
Fresno Mint Salad
Wintergreen Salad – mix of spinach, green apple, goat cheese, roasted potato, date, walnuts and served with agave herb vinaigrette. There are many other great options such as their seasonal salad Fresno Mint with shaved broccoli, which is adding an interesting crunch to the mix. This salad comes with a very good basil yogurt dressing. All salads can be served as an entrée, priced around $9 or you can order a half (still satisfying portion) for $5-7.
Blueberry Pesto Sandwich
Their toasted sandwiches are very popular as well. The latest and greatest – Blueberry Pesto – gave me a flashback to my childhood, picking fresh blueberries with my family each summer. My favorite was Eggplant Goat, mixing the flavors of roasted eggplant, charred onion, red bell peppers, goat cheese, of course, and arugula. The harissa tahini gives the whole sandwich a great picante “kick”, making it very unique in taste. The sandwich prices are almost all around $8 for a full sandwich and $4.50 for a half.
My daughter was excited to try their kids Pizza, selecting Pepé – cheese pizza with nitrate-free Creminelli Calabrese pepperoni. We didn’t need her commentary to understand how much she’s enjoying it; however, she stated it was “delish”! All pizzas are made in a brick oven and their seasonal favorite is Bacon Corn with roasted garlic Crème fraiche, fire roasted corn, nitrate and hormone free bacon, three cheese blend and basil. Whole pie (feeds 1) costs around $9 but you can order a half (around $5.50) and mix it with any other item on the menu.
The Modern Market restaurant also offers unique beverages. Kombucha, fizzy probiotic tea, is one of them. Next to organic teas, coffees, and Boylan’s craft soda, they offer a $2 glass of house wine (which was very good!) and a $3.50 local craft beer. If you have a sweet tooth, you can end your healthy dining experience with a dairy free or gluten free cookie or you can splurge a little more, ordering the dessert pizza with whipped Greek yogurt and fresh berries as the topping. The restaurant’s breakfast offerings are delightful as well! Each receipt has a nutritional value listed for each item you’ve ordered and a coupon with 10% off your next visit. You can visit them in north Plano, Southlake, Richardson, Las Colinas, and Preston Hollow.
Needless to say, I’m very thrilled for this new restaurant chain promoting great and healthy food and I hope that you will enjoy your dining experience at the Modern Market as much as I did!
For more information and mouth-watering images, follow Modern Market on Instagram and Twitter for their latest culinary updates.
photo credit / Modern Market Twitter
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