It's a Lunacy

It's a Lunacy! That's what I thought when Cashew said she wanted to go to a place called Lunacy Black Market. It could have been good, but I was more worried that it would be trying too hard to be unique but falling short. But hey, it was Cashew's birthday, so I had no say.

My first impressions of the place were mixed. It had a very rustic, antique-y  feel. However, the tables. chairs and cupboards looked more old than antique. Some of the tables had couches instead of chairs, but the couches and tables were approximately the same height. I love eating at the coffee table at home, but I don't know how I feel about doing it in public. One really unique thing was the menu. It was handwritten on a piece of cardboard that was probably cut from a box. It seems like I'm complaining about all of those details. I understand that the restaurant is new and the people running it probably didn't have too much money. However, even very simple things can be designed to be inviting rather than make the space awkward. For example, the menus could have had a few hand-drawn items on them and included a mixture of colors rather than just a black Sharpie marker.

The menu wasn't extensive, but definitely interesting. It had combinations of ingredients you don't see too often. Because the dishes were tapas-style, we ordered a bunch of things: cabbage salad with Gorgonzola, braised beef with roasted peppers, ribs with two types of marinades, rice cakes, and garbanzo bean salad.

The cabbage salad reminded me a lot of cole slaw in the way it looked, but the dressing was really unique. It had some underlying flavor that I couldn't quite place. It was probably my favorite thing for the night!

The three beef dishes were pretty good. The menu made them sounds different from other beef dishes you might order somewhere else, but I didn't notice anything too special. We got ribs cooked in two different sauces, but I don't remember what the flavors were :( Sorry :( Well, that suggests that they weren't that memorable... I do remember that one of them had acidic undertones, which I love. The rice cakes were actually great. It was the first time I've had rice cakes. They're basically ball of rice that are flattened and fried to make them crispy. The contrast of the crispy coating and the soft rice inside was really good.

Finally, the garbanzo bean salad was a little heavier than expected, but definitely flavorful.

Overall, and despite all my complaining at the beginning, I did like the place a lot. The decor needs a little more work, but it has good character. I expected a lot more creativity of the dishes based on the menu descriptions, but they turned out to be pretty similar to other places. On the bright side, everything tasted well. However, the absolute best thing about this place was the prices! Most plates were under $5, and they could easily sell for twice as much elsewhere. That by itself would make me a fan :)