Unfortunately, it's not in my neighborhood. It's a couple blocks south of Port Authority, on 9th Avenue. Near Todd's office. Every aspect of a meal at Market Cafe is right on, with little touches that make it kind of wonderful. It's kind of a diner-looking place inside, with small, cramped tables. They give you a carafe of water with a long, thin slice of cucumber. The menu is divided into small and large dishes, but they're all significant enough to make a meal. Last night there I had 3 fat seared scallops covered with a tangle of mache and perched atop mashed potatoes in a deep bowl. Todd's fries were crispy and nicely seasoned.

The best part, though, was the lemon pound cake topped with a compote made from tiny blueberries and fresh ginger (I could see the ginger hairs throughout). It was not at all liquidy, and the sharp bite of the ginger kind of echoed the lemon of the cake, which was actually a wedge of a two-layer round cake with a layer of lemon cream, not a slice of loaf cake. I love the enormous slice of chocolate layer cake they have at Market Cafe, too.