Here is a review of the Market Yard Grill at the American Hotel
www.new-jersey-leisure-guide.com/market-yard.htmlPrice Expensive
Fare American-Steakhouse
Restaurant Ratings
Food 3.0 Stars
Service 2.0 Stars
Decor 3.0 Stars
Overall Rating 3.0 Stars
The Market Yard Grille, opened in January, 2010 in the restored historic American Hotel in Freehold is off to a great start. The American Hotel with a storied history since the 19th century, is the centerpiece of downtown Freehold. With the re-opening of the American Hotel, and the Market Yard Grille, downtown Freehold which is considered a vibrant restaurant district, now has added the crown jewel.
Note: With the recent opening, this rating and review should be considered "preliminary" due to the limited number of viewer responses and critics reviews.
The executive chef is Eric Martin who comes with impressive credentials. The son of a French chef, he is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who honed his skills under a number of famed chefs including Joel Robuchon’s Restaurant “Jamin” in Paris, where he interned for one year, and later under chef Christian Delouvrier at Les Celebrites in New York City. He came to New Jersey and served as the executive chef at Stage Left in New Brunswick, and prior to coming to the Market Yard Grille, was the executive chef at Rat's in Hamilton Township.
The interior is attractively done up with dark wood wall coatings and trim, soft lighting, with two dinning areas separated by a low walled partition that adds a feeling of coziness to the two dining areas.
The bar is also attractively done up with wood trim, and display TV's and has become the place to be in downtown Freehold for happy hour. The bar scene is energetic and professional, with a large part of the bar crowd coming from the many law firms scattered through this Monmouth County Seat.
The bar scene is especially vibrant on Friday evenings from 5-8pm.
While the restaurant has excellent acoustics, if you are coming for a romantic, cozy dinner and quiet conversation, ask for a table away from the partially open, see through wall adjacent to the bar.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and the menu offers a nice variety of well prepared steak and seafood choices using fresh ingredients.
When available, popular dinner appetizers are: The Duck Egg Rolls with tender duck, asian sprout salad, and spicy mango salsa; The Lobster Wontons with sesame soy vinaigrette and an Asian sprout salad; and the Traditional Beef Tartare (hand chopped filet) with toast points and watercress salad;
Thye dinner menu offers a lot of flexibility where the dining patron can virtually create a custom dish to satisfy their taste.
The cooking of steaks and chops are offered as choices on either the wood fired grill, steak house broiled, or skillet seared, with a choice of flavorings including Cajun spice Rub, chili-molasses glaze, blue cheese topping, maitre d’hotel butter, bordelaise sauce, or “American steak sauce”.
A nice feature is that all dinner entrees are served with a choice of two sides from a selection of eight tasty choices.
When available, popular dinner entrees are: The 21 Day Dry Aged Strip; The Tenderloin (filet mignon cut); and The Grilled Cajun Rubbed Swordfish vegetable couscous, with red pepper coulis and sweet potato shoestring fries.
The wait staff at the Market Yard Grille is knowledgeable, friendly, though as of this writing in the first month of operation, they are short staffed. This may be due to the early success of their new opening.
