Super soup, stellar sammies

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This article was published 05/03/2020 (2327 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a lot to like about the new Hargrave St. Market food hall, which banishes any thoughts of sad mall food courts with its upscale seating, natural light and fresh, interesting food. The kiosks are extensions of popular local venues, including an outpost of Miss Browns, the Exchange District gem known for its first-rate house-smoked meats, and Saburo Kitchen, another offering from the innovative folks behind Yujiro and GaiJin Izakaya.

Saburo concentrates on ramen and donburi, with some very good dishes but also some inconsistencies.

Starters include terrific crispy tofu served with shiitake mushrooms and delicious dumplings, in which nicely seasoned ground pork is wrapped around a whole shrimp. The bao start with quality fillings — we tried the crunchy dark-meat chicken — but the steamed buns were slightly soggy on one occasion.

When it comes to ramen, the peanut-based broth of the tantan option is wonderfully creamy, and the garlic miso broth of the chicken karaage version has lots of umami depth. Add-ins such as marinated egg and chewy pork — hard to handle but delicious — are tasty. Saburo is also generous with the noodles, which were springy and good on one visit but slightly overcooked the next time round.

The gyudon starts with a mound of sticky rice, topped with a beautifully done egg that’s ready to melt into everything. There’s a base of thin-sliced beef and onions, but the characteristic sweet-savoury sauce is aggressively thick and brown and maybe a bit too sweet.

 

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Miss Browns serves up sandwiches, bagels, salads and soups. The menu also relies on three of the best words in the English language — “all-day breakfast.”

Eggs benny is a classic done right. Poached eggs are cooked to your specs — soft, medium or hard — and you can add salmon, vegetables or meat: The house-smoked ham, cut country-thick, is excellent. Everything is piled onto a brioche bun, but it’s so gloriously messy you’ll need to use a knife and fork. Accompanying potatoes, unfussy but perfectly executed, are hefty chunks that are crisped up outside but remain creamy inside.

The shakshuka also features those perfect poached eggs, now in a tomato and red pepper sauce with lots of flavour and body, finished with creamy feta cheese (an optional surcharge add-on).

There are grab-and-go bagels and rotating soup and salad options. Lunch standouts include the hot-pressed, house-smoked brisket sandwich, which is just sublime simplicity, the meat chewy at the edges but very moist, with a kiss of jalapeño heat and some greens a little wilted from the warmth. The accompanying small green salad was light and bright with an unusual and very appealing red pepper vinaigrette.

 

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If you need a caffeinated pick-me-up, you can get outstanding coffee from Fools & Horses, which does a killer Americano but — unlike some java-centric spots — can also pull off tea-based bevvies, such as an ultra-smooth, not overly sweet London Fog.

The Hargrave St. Market is also licensed, with craft beer from the Lake of the Woods Brewing Company and the long, elegant Rose Bar offering beer, wine and craft cocktails.

Be prepared for a bit of a crush if there are events on at the nearby Bell MTS Place, but the food venues’ efficient buzzer system helps move things along.

 

alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca