Green Market Kitchen

By Dan Nygard
Contributing Writer

There is something about great food that encourages the passing of plates across the table. Recently I shared a meal with Raul Gomez and Jen Walla at the new location of the Green Market Kitchen on 69 North 4th Street (just south of the Fargo Public Library.) During our meal, we repeatedly found ourselves tasting something, then insisting that our companions have some (the phrase, “you have got to try this,” was in heavy rotation.) Thus, before dessert, I had eaten five different house-made breads, at least six cheeses, had tried three separate entrees, had a great glass of Vouvray white wine, and (I won’t tell how many) bottles of good beer.

And I had learned, through our dinner conversation, that Jen’s grandfather had, during World War II, helped liberate some of the cities I had loved during my travels through Europe. This information might seem irrelevant in a restaurant review; however, part of a true dining experience is the act of sharing not only food, but real conversation, the type that makes friendships stronger. This is just one of many areas where the Green Market Kitchen shines.

Every dish prepared by chef Andrea Baumgardner has its own story, and this begins in the kitchen; during a short walk-through, Baumgardner explains, “we wanted to be a small, contained restaurant,” and the philosophy shows. The dry-storage area and the refrigerators/freezers are not the gigantic walk-ins I remember from working in chain restaurants. By design, there is only so much space, and as everything from the bread to the bacon is made in-house, careful attention is paid to how much can be stored. And since only so much can be stored, everything is fresh. There are no nightmarish soups-in-a-bag or pre-frozen and trucked-in entrees here, and there are none of the metal tubs full of iceberg lettuce I remember all too well.

The kitchen reflects the deeper story of Green Market’s commitment, as their sign says, to be “house made with organic and local ingredients.” As much as possible, the ingredients are carefully selected from local suppliers, and everything else is of the highest quality and organic whenever possible. And the meat is all local, from Spring Prairie chicken (the “Hutterite chickens,” as my Mom calls them,) to the house-cured bacon.

All of this combines to create a truly unique dining experience. As fans of the two prior incarnations of Green Market know, the team of Steve Heiland, Peter Kelly and Baumgarder go above and beyond what is normally expected in this region. When we entered the restaurant, all three were busy attending to their customers. There is no overworked, underpaid wait staff here—Heiland and Kelly treat their own customers with the utmost care, taking time to explain every item on the table.

The meal started with a plate of house-made breads and “good butter,” which is an understatement. The “Everything” bagel is a must-have item, as is the black olive baguette. Our cheese plate had, among others, Black River Blue Cheese from Wisconsin (tart with a great aftertaste) and truffle cheese (!) which I devoured. This was followed by the socca cakes, which Raul explained are often sold from food stands in France. Made from chickpeas, they are crispy on the outside, then smooth, almost melting on the inside. For some reason, they reminded me of the buttermilk pancakes my grandmother used to make, and they are a definite favorite.

For entrees, Raul had the tuna confit, Jen the ricotta ravioli with wild clover and I tried the griddled raclette cheese sandwich with game sausage. My sandwich was perfect as a sandwich goes (especially the crispy bread), but my favorite was the confit, lean yet rich in flavor, far better than any grilled salmon I’ve ever had; Jen especially enjoyed the wild greens, which “take you back to your childhood,” she said, giving us a vivid description of the smells of grass and clover backyards we all played in as children. Hell, we were becoming poets!

Soon, our conversation spread to a nearby table, where patron Meg Lindholm explained to me, “we have followed [Baumgardner] to each place that she’s been; we just absolutely love her cooking. And my personal opinion is that the food here, at this particular restaurant, is the best I’ve ever had.”

And as we finished our evening with lavender creme brulee and rosemary cake with strawberries in balsamic (as good as they sound), I couldn’t help but notice that no item on our menu for that day cost more than 12 dollars. That is incredible for food and service of this quality; this place is shoulder-to-shoulder with the most expensive places in town, and it simply puts anything else in its price range to shame.

In this writer’s opinion, this third location truly feels like a home for the Green Market. And Baumgardner, when asked about this, smiled and said “we’re okay with it being this way for a while—it’s a great size for us.”

Indeed, it’s a perfect fit.

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If You Go

What: Green Market Kitchen
Where: 69 4th St N
When: Tue-Fri 3-9pm; Sat noon-9pm
Info: 701.241.6000