Market Place Kitchen & Bar - Danbury — Restaurant in Danbury

Mussels were unacceptable; MANY of them were either unopened, sandy or had broken shells. 🤢

To the Chef: I think the vast majority of people are under the belief that one should discard partially opened mussels. Because of this "safe is better than sorry" belief, most people might be inclined to conclude that it is difficult to statistically determine how safe or dangerous it really is. I think that one should read Ruello's study on mussels, as mentioned by Neil Russo and decide for themselves. The reason I say this is because the study never goes on to test what happens when thousands of unopened mussels are eaten (i.e. if people did get sick or experience digestive discomforts). Here is the link to his comprehensive report.
http://www.frdc.com.au/documentlibrary/finalreports/2002-418-DLD.pdf One interesting to note in Ruello's study is that while about 11 percent of them did not open, when they were ready to pulled off the fire (i.e. when the mussel is fully cooked), had the cooking time been extended for an additional 90 more seconds, a little less than half of that 11 percent would have opened. I think we can gather from this is that the adductor muscles (pictured below) which force the shell shut during cooking disintegrate (or break free from one side of the shell) at differing cooking times. To say that they are conclusively "dead" at the X minute cooking mark appears to be a false assumption, based on this experiment. I would imagine if the experiment were conducted with various other extended cooking times such as additional 3, 5, 7, or 10 minutes, the rates of opening would continue to increase proportionate to extended cooking times.

Of course, at the "extra" 10 minute cooking mark, you will have an overcooked mussel that has the texture of a rubber band (i.e. texturally inedible). While I generally agree with Neil's approach that "safe is better than sorry," I would encourage you to just let the mussels you think are dead simply cook (I should really say overcook) until they do open. You were going to throw them away anyway. Just conduct your own food science experiment. If they eventually do open, you can probably conclude that the mussels were in fact alive and not dead as you initially thought. It's also worth noting, a live mussel will close shut when you tap on it (i.e. it's defense mechanism). A dead one, of course, will not. Give all the open ones a little tap before buying, just to make sure.

All or almost all dead mussels will have shells open that do not close when tapped.

I think the most interesting point Ruello makes is:

Furthermore any dead mussels which are closed before cooking are just as likely to open up with cooking as the live mussels in the cook batch. Also, live (closed) mussels are just as likely to have pathogens, if present, as are dead closed mussels in any batch.

It's unclear how he determined whether the mussel was dear or alive while still in the shell before cooking, but if this is true -- have we been eating dead mussels all along (i.e. dead mussels that open while cooking) and throwing away the good live ones (that simply would have opened had we cooked them a little longer)? One cannot help but ponder the possibility that it makes no difference whether the mussel is opened or not and to simply pull them off the fire when the appropriate level of doneness...

Walk into Danbury's farm-to-table hotspot, Market Place, and you'll find a packed restaurant and bar filled with young professionals and couples. The farm-to-table theme is pulled through with a reclaimed wood and brick interior, and dividing wall separating the restaurant from the bar scene.

Market Place encourages the use of local, organic and sustainability harvested food and the menu reads almost like map, noting the source of many ingredients.

The 4-Hour Duck Fat-Braised Berkshire Pork Belly appetizer is delicious, but slightly salty and didn't have the melt-in-your-mouth goodness I expect from pork belly.

Prosciutto di Parma Flatbread is covered with a thin layer of sweet fig balsamic that counters chunks of savory Vermont goat cheese.

I didn't have the fortune of chowing down on the Stonington, CT Sea Scallops, but were told they were delicious. The scallops were a good size and sat on top of a spinach risotto with cauliflower crème, cranberry compote and a pear reduction.

The Kobe Burger definitely must be one of the best in Southwestern Connecticut. Oozing with flavor, it's has caramelized onions, wild mushrooms, provolone cheese and truffle aioli, all on top of a toasted brioche roll. It's served alongside a mini fry basket filled with sweet potato tater tots.

Horseradish-Crusted Wild Scottish Salmon comes out with wheat berries, Brussels sprouts and an applewood-smoked bacon aioli.

And of course, we can't forget about dessert. Deep-dish Pecan Pie immediately caught my eye and it didn't disappoint. I'm still coming down from the sugar high from this dessert that came with scoop of vanilla bean gelato and cinnamon-whipped cream.

The Verdict

We left Market Place Kitchen and Bar stuffed to the brim. The food, with only a few missteps, delivered incredible flavors and lived up to expectations. I was a huge fan of the prosciutto di Parma flatbread, Stonington, CT sea scallops and horseradish-crusted wild Scottish salmon. You'll definitely be paying for it though. Entrees are in the high $20s/low $30s and appetizers in the mid teens. Come hungry and leave happy. Just make sure that you make a reservation. This Danbury hotspot is sure to stay that way for a...

I really, really hate to write this review, because quite honestly, I find Market Place to be one of the best options for elevated classics here in greater Danbury. Unfortunately, our experience last Friday evening as a party of 6 was unworthy of the title of one of our favorite spots in town. I ordered their wedge salad for the first time ever. What I got was the sorriest excuse for a wedge I've ever seen. It was a large plate of big, leafy lettuce and a plethora of regular grocery store variety tomatoes sliced thin, with a ton of ranch dressing thrown on top. The saving grace was a handful of pieces of smoked bacon with good flavor. When I asked if this was, indeed, the wedge, the server said it was "their version." I just wish they would have indicated as much on the menu, because this was a sad, tragic "wedge." Furthermore, I noticed that they take liberty of using quotations on lots of things on the menu, so why not say this was some strange, deconstructed version? A quick scan through other Yelp reviews for all of their locations indicates I'm not the only one who thought this was a surreal wedge salad. Next, three of us ordered the special filet, which for $40, I would expect to be pretty stellar. What we got, while cooked properly, was so, so bland it made us all pretty sad. The promised balsamic glaze was hardly noticeable, and what was missing the most was simple salt and pepper for a good cut of meat. Sides were good as usual. Finally, our friend ordered a ravioli on the menu that had a "V" (vegetarian) symbol next to it (he is, indeed, vegetarian). When it came out there was prosciutto all over the plate (not mentioned at all in the description on the menu). The server explained that if a customer wants their dish to be vegetarian, they have to TELL them when ordering...even though meat was not mentioned on the menu. I'm sorry, but what?! Makes no sense. As usual, the service was excellent, and the crowd and ambiance is always appropriately elevated. But wow, this visit was a big, fat,...