撸先生

When I pop into R Market for breakfast, Chef-Owner Riley Romanin is behind the counter, his back to the door. He turns at the sound of his name, revealing hands full of freshly sliced bread.

“Look at this crumb,” he said, running a finger over the bread, assessing the loaf’s internal structure studded with airy pockets and stretchy webbing. He’s clearly pleased with his quality control spot check.

If R Market sells it, Romanin knows it 鈥� he’s created it or sourced it, tested it, compared it, challenged it. And if he believes in it, then we get it. “It” might be pristine seafood sourced dockside in Hawaii, or dry-aged beef from his own herd in Meeker. House-smoked meats, artisan bread and pastries, meals for the freezer and single-source chocolates 鈥� all are on offer. But so are sit-down breakfasts and lunches, with that satisfying one-two punch of flavor and nourishment.

“Our first job as chefs is purchasing,” Romanin said. “Find your ingredients, and then you can figure out the menu.”

At R Market, Romanin is “bringing nutrition back,” modeled on the concept of the original grocer. You want to talk to the fishmonger about your fish? You can. Or the baker, the butcher, the barrista. They’re all there. Have a coffee while you’re at it 鈥� they tasted through 100 options before settling on a particular blend from a local roaster. Or better yet, sit down and order whatever sounds good.

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The pastries are stunners, good any time of day, but so are the composed plates. Order a Butcher (local schnitzel or elite prime steak and eggs, hash browns), a Monger (smoked salmon, bagel, cream cheese and caper relish) or jump right into eggs Benedict with house-smoked Canadian bacon, English muffin and farm-fresh eggs.

Lunch favorites capitalize on the aforementioned fresh bread 鈥� sourdough, rustic baguettes, an old German paysan 鈥� with inviting sandwiches that are sometimes made for two hands, and other times designed for knives and forks.

The French dip’s crisp, Gruyere crust gives a savory kerpow to the meaty sandwich, while the Italian sausage is split, griddled and topped with a mountain of peppers and onions. Romanin is partial to his Reuben 鈥� house-made pastrami and sauerkraut, of course 鈥� and the generous salads are both satisfying and virtuous. But the latest offering is the poke bar, which allows you to customize your own bowl of aloha spirit, built atop a base of rice or salad and finished with a heap of seasoned fish 鈥� usually raw 鈥� and garnishes. It’s easy to imagine the poke bar taking off and becoming popular, but if it doesn’t, Romanin will find something else to round out the menu. He’s committed to the overall experience of R Farmers’ Market, and is looking toward opening other satellite locations that lean on the Avon mothership location. But that’s further down the road.

“It’s all about relationships, all about the people who are doing it,” he said.

Romanin doesn’t know聽how to take shortcuts; it’s lucky for us the long way around is so delicious.