Market 17, known for its eclectic, imaginative farm-to-table fare, is the type of date place you’d take a serious foodie for dinner, with a menu that changes nightly and a “dining in the dark” option, where diners are served a blind tasting menu in a pitch-black room. It’s one of the few places in South Florida with a menu that isn’t at all predictable and aims to showcase local fare juxtaposed with sometimes unfamiliar ingredients.
To a food snob, this is Shangri-la; to the layman or the “eat to live, not live to eat” type, this can be confusing, even intimidating. With Day Market Kitchen, however, eating a meal is a much simpler feat. Open every day for breakfast and lunch, the restaurant offers a menu composed mainly of salads and sandwiches.
The menu is quite extensive for a daytime café, however, with seven salads, four “grain bowls” available in half or full-sized portions, and a whopping 16 sandwiches. Plus, there’s the option to create your own sandwich or salad, choosing from a daunting list of ingredients. They’ve tried to simplify the process with colorful icons for different proteins (pasture-raised pork, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, house-made sausage) and vegetables (there are currently three vegetarian sandwiches on the menu).
The items on the menu reflect chef Steven
Standout sandwiches include the “Kingston Jerk Chicken” with rum pickled peppers, lettuce, and sweet plantain butter on baguette ($9.25) and the “Juarez,” pulled pork with tamarind chipotle, lime pickled onion, queso fresco, and corn pico de gallo on a hoagie ($8.75). The “Nashville PB&J,” Elvis Presley’s favorite sandwich creation, gets the Market 17 treatment with house-made peanut butter, bacon jam, and bananas grilled on
Day Market Kitchen offers an array of beverage choices as well. It carries two lines of organic, cold-pressed juices, house-infused bottled waters, craft beers, and biodynamic wines for the discerning customer. It exclusively serves local Panther Coffee, based in Miami, in all of its iterations: espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, French press, and, of course, the ubiquitous cold brew.
Day Market Kitchen is located at 1850 SE 17th St. in Fort Lauderdale. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Visit daymarketkitchen.com.