Mint Mark
Mint Mark, the stylish yet unpretentious small-plates/craft cocktail epicenter of Schenk’s Corners, is celebrating a time-honored way of ending the work week: the Friday martini lunch.
It is a glance back at the Mad Men-era “three-martini lunch” — a self-indulgent, alcoholic-friendly tradition that has largely gone by the boards in today’s healthier times.
And indeed, says chef Sean Pharr, one need not order a drink at all. Friday’s lunch is more “food-driven,” from Pharr’s point of view. “But the thought of people taking it easy on the last day of the week and coming in to have a great lunch and a few cocktails, winding down before hitting the weekend, sounded appealing to us.”
Mint Mark opened late last year and started out serving breakfast and lunch. But Pharr never felt the earlier meals “jibed with what I would do at dinner.”
So he retained only weekend brunch and reimagined what might be possible, finally deciding he could bring his market-based dinner approach to lunch one day a week and not get too exhausted.
Diners have a variety of goals. “Last week we had two or three tables tell us that they took the afternoon off so they could really experience the martini lunch,” says Pharr. “One girl got three martinis and I was like, wow, this is amazing.”
The martini lunch began a month ago, and the number of attendees has steadily increased; between weeks three and four, attendance doubled. “Lately it’s been the most fun service,” says Pharr.
Pharr tries to give each week’s menu the same structure, with a taco, an egg-based dish, a burger, a soup and sandwich option, and “some simply prepared fish with garniture from the market.”
Last week, Friday’s menu started with snacks, including grilled shishito peppers and deviled eggs. The soup and sandwich option was a muskmelon gazpacho paired with a Hook’s cheddar and cucumber sandwich. Tacos featured carnitas; a pasta dish starred sungold tomatoes and basil; quiche boasted pole beans; and the burger came with a side of zucchini. Bluefish was accompanied by grilled eggplant, and last but not least, there was a sweet corn salad.
If you need to come in and get out in an hour, or if you have the afternoon off and want to down a martini or two, “We’re here for you,” says Pharr.
