Culinary Quest

York, PA, is a very historical town.  Not only does does this city lay claim to being the first capital of the United States, it is also the home to the oldest continuously operating farmer's market, The Central Market House, in the United States of America.  The Central Market House first opened its doors in March of 1888.  Open Monday through Saturday, it serves as home to over 70 vendors who offer fresh produce, homemade baked goods, regional handcrafts, and other specialty items.  While shopping the Market House vendors' stands, you are bound to get hungry.  Fortunately for you, there are a variety of places to eat inside.  For an experience like no other, you will surely wish to stop by Mezzogiorno, located just inside the Philadelphia Street entrance off of Cherry Lane. 

Owned by Giovanni and Jessica Faraone, Mezzogiorno officially opened December 2006.  It makes use of both a deli counter and bistro style tables to seat up to 50 patrons, and is capable of handling small parties.  Catering is also available.  Giovanni brings his Sicilian cooking style and 14 years kitchen experience to the restaurant to help create a powerful menu of Mediterranean dishes.  He makes use of a mixture of dishes since "...people don't like everything.  I want people to try new things, but some don't want to change what they know about food."  Therefore, the menu is very eclectic.

Adding to the variety of foods found on the menu is the restaurant's chef, Mohamed Khairat, a native of Morocco.  Mohamed learned to cook from his grandmother in France and his experience in Morocco.  This gives an exotic flair to the dishes, as well as the addition of dishes from North Africa and Europe to enhance an already exciting menu. 

I arrived at Mezzogiorno at 12:30 pm, early enough to avoid the lunch crowd on a Thursday.  This, obviously varies, so I may have just gotten lucky today.  I grabbed a seat at the deli counter and was greeted by my server, who took my drink order and handed me a menu with a plethora of choices.  The everyday selections were all very enticing, but today's specials caught my eye immediately.  At the top of the list I read:

Grilled Artichoke Pesto Chicken Panini with roasted red peppers, tomato, olives, and parmesan cheese. 

The selection came with a choice of soup or small french fries.  Well, this sounded too good to pass up.  I would order mine without the tomato.  My server noticed that I had put my menu down and came over to take my order.  She let me know that the soup du jour was Italian wedding, so I ordered that instead of french fries. 

My soup arrived almost immediately.  The soup consisted of a beef and chicken broth mixture, corn, meatballs, and a small bit of escarole.  It was good.  The beef broth was rich, a different taste than I was used to in Italian wedding soup.  Also, there is usually more escarole; this was a corn soup with meatballs, but a very good corn soup with meatballs.

My server gave me more water, cleared my bowl, and soon brought the panini. 

The panini was very large.  It smelled wonderful.  I bit into it and was surprised to find that the artichoke pesto was every bit as delicious as I had imagined it would be.  The chicken was tender and cooked just right.  The roasted red peppers were plentiful and sweet.  The kalamata olives added a tartness to the sandwich that offset the roasted peppers without overpowering them.   And the parmesan cheese was fresh, probably purchased from one of the market stands.  The bread used to make the panini was crisp on the outside where it had been toasted, but soft inside, with the particular flavor of Italian bread.  This sandwich tasted the way a sandwich is supposed to taste.  It did not run down my arms, or drip down my chin.  The pesto tasted like artichoke and was a spread, not an oily liquid.  When I finished my meal, I was actually full.  I asked what Mezzogiorno had for dessert, but honestly could not have eaten another bite. 

Here is where I get to grade my dining experience.  I grade on 5 factors:  Atmosphere, Service, Presentation, Taste, and Value.  These areas are scored on a 0 to 10 scale with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.

Atmosphere:  8.5   The atmosphere of Mezzogiorno bordered between that of a diner and that of a bistro.  Being located inside the Central Market House creates the problem of being surrounded by constant foot traffic.  On the upside, there is no smoking allowed.  

Service:  9.5     The service was extremely good at Mezzogiorno.  My server knew the menu, was polite, smiled, and provided good service.  Things became a bit confused, however, when a third person joined those already working behind the counter.  This needs to be streamlined a bit.

Presentation:  8    The soup looked good, but it was soup.  Perhaps some sprinkled cheese would have done the trick here.  The panini tasted marvelous, but it looked like a brown panini with a pickle.  Something green on the plate in addition, perhaps a piece of lettuce to dress up the platter would have helped the dish appeal to the eye.

Taste: 10    The taste was marvelous on both the soup and the panini.  The Italian wedding soup has 1000 different ways to prepare it, and I had the chance to try but another way today.   Great flavor.  The panini was a sandwich to be relished.  It is just a shame that this was a special and not a regular item on the menu.  But then, if I can expect to find such delightful fare on the specials menu, I am sure that all of Mezzogiorno's offerings will be this good or better.

Value:  9     Considering everything, the price for the meal was more than worth what I received.  It is just a shame that this restaurant does not have walls around it and a little more work on presentation.  But then, it is a new restaurant and I am certain that they are always working to improve.  I will definitely go back for another taste adventure, and I suggest you do too.

The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm, serving Breakfast and Lunch.  Due to the bistro style of the restaurant, reservations are never required. 

 Mezzogiorno  |   York's Central Market House  |  Philadelphia and Beaver Streets  |  York, PA  |  717.858.5822

08 May 2007