Eclectic excellence
	Reviewed By foielover	Mar 13, 2009

I was a guest at the Del Mar Marriott that was visiting the area on some personal and professional business. Usually i dont venture down this far south with my home office based job but my sister was getting engaged and I was able to meet up with some clients for drinks. Went down see if they were still serving lunch, looked like the crew had packed it up but it was nice to see that hostess "Amber" show me the way to the bar and the patio was so nice I just decided to take it easy and have lunch pool side. I noticed that they had a sushi bar but it looked like that was not open for lunch as well. Too bad I love sushi. I went with their hoisen glazed calamari and slider trio and i was not dissapointed. Price point was was rght inline with local and national hotels that i had been to and i will tell you can taste the freshness of the seafood and the sheer beefiness for lack of a better word of the sliders. Rockin! Later in the day met up with some clients at another local eatery "Market?" for cocktails. Place looked busy definatly a place to be seen. We sat at the bar luckly saw some of the food that came out of the back it looked like a lot of the same thing. Just differnt meats on the plate but same sides, well they looked that way. Finished my captain & coke wrapped things up with Bob my client and wanted to get out of that place. I guess i was wearing the wrong skate shoes or somthing. Went back to the hotel craving sushi, saw it at "market" but it didnt look that good but i remembered that the hotel had a sushi bar maybe their fish is better. Good thing i was right. Scrumptious roll blew my mind after that i just told the sushi chef Andrew make food till i cant see straight. I think that i had 8 courses of sushi, was stuffed, quality was unbelieveable. I dont know where chef Andrew got his fish or his sauces but I havent had sushi better any place. The crowd was just as busy and that patio that i had lunch earlier was popping off with a DJ and plenty of Cougars, need I say more. Back to the room saw an old issue of the reader with "arterra's" review in it four stars? What i missed the chance to eat there by going to some over priced steak house, bar/grill for a capt and coke? It looked like it was geared for the budget diner with a prix fix. The food critic had said that she liked to current chef more than the prior two and the "Market" Chef Carl worked as chef de cuisine at Arterra years back. Interesting. She had nothing but raves. Amazing. Came in on the 7th to dine. Asked the waiter if he could have the chef put a tasting together for me and my friends. So glad we did. Popcorn sweetbreads? so creamy/awesome. Housemade sausages with braised red cabbage, never thought that people even still had that knowledge, perfectly executed. Braised veal with oxtail tortellini, you can taste the love. Pastry Chef Chris came over and asked if i was daring of course i was. He sent out Bacon Ice cream Potato Pancakes and foie toast... wow