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    Restaurant Review: The Market Italian Village

    You know a neighborhood has arrived when it starts getting gourmet stuff. So, a fancy market and bistro smack dab in the middle of Italian Village, on Summit and Third: that makes a statement. The fact that this little bistro is positively bustling with well-heeled customers makes an even bigger statement.

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    The market and bistro is called (appropriately) The Market Italian Village. It’s not a grocery-cart sort of place, though shoppers will find staples such as milk and meat. It’s a place for people who are serious about their food, people who want to buy truffle flour and maple-bacon chocolate. Nary a single Nutty Buddy in the joint.

    The floor space between the walls of wares and wines comprises a bistro. The dining protocol for the bistro changes as the day progresses. Lunch diners can order at the counter, dinner diners can look for full service. The servers are professional and polished, just like servers at fancy restaurants . . . because the bistro really is a fancy joint.

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    Consider the baked feta ($10). It’s a conceptually a simple thing, based on a briny feta island and a sea of tomato sauce. The pulpy sauce has a natural sweetness that makes the end product divine with toasted focaccia.

    The Pizzas are good, highlighted with a toothsome, toasty crust and charred bits that betray a wood-fired oven: there’s nothing like the flavor that flames can singe directly into a pizza crust. Built on this foundation, The White Pizza ($13) oozes with gooey soft mozzarella, amped up with the flavor of parmesan, asiago, gruyere and spinach, so it’s good for you too.

    The entree selection represents just about every part of the animal kingdom: bison, chicken, salmon lamb, and some vegetable-centric items. The Lamb Spiedini ($20) does look sort of spidery on criss-crossed kebabs and scores with it’s uber-creamy yogurt sauce.

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    For those who dig the brunch scene, the weekend brunch menu is short, but divine. The Breakfast pizza ($14) is a big pie built on that aforementioned wood-fired crust. It’s topped with a beautiful array of tomato slices, roasted garlic, melty mozzarella, a few razor-thin slices of “speck” (a cured meat thing) and a soft egg right in the middle. It’s almost too pretty to eat, but it’d be a big shame to miss out on the glory of summer tomato and melty cheese.

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    For BLT fans, there’s also a take on that grand ol’ tradition: the SBLTE ($11). The brunch version has lox and egg in the mix, so purists should probably look elsewhere. That said, the foreign elements sure do work nicely: the smoked fish flesh is dewy and firm, and the perfect fried egg is made even more perfect with sprinkles of salt and pepper. All this comes together with some insanely lean bacon, tender leaves of lettuce and tomato for a drool-worthy treat.

    You can find The Market Italian Village at 1022 Summit Street. It opens daily at 7am. It stays open til midnight Sundays through Wednesdays. It stays open until 1am Thursdays through Saturdays. Early morning visitors will find pastries and coffee, before the full menu is offered later in the day.

    For more information, visit www.themarketiv.com.

    Photos by Mollie Lyman of www.fornixphotography.com. Photos are taken at a different time than review, so discrepancies between photos and review may occur.

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    Miriam Bowers Abbott
    Miriam Bowers Abbotthttps://columbusunderground.com
    Miriam Bowers Abbott is a freelancer contributor to Columbus Underground who reviews restaurants, writes food-centric featurettes and occasionally pens other community journalism pieces.
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