modmarket - Glendale

mod market markets itself as a hip, locally-sourced eatery with a casual atmosphere, but with a serious take on food. Their menu isn't extremely diverse, but salads, sandwiches, and pizza will satisfy most. They have a Boylan soda fountain, Izze soda, local beer, and wine. 


My first impression wasn't too great, but that was before I had any food. They just keep it very casual at mod market, almost too casual and the employees are very nice, but almost too casual like they forget temporarily that they aren't in the customer service industry firstly, and then the restaurant industry. 


At mod market you get a buzzer that shakes and lights up when your food is ready, not when your table has opened up. We went at a busy hour and there weren't that many seats left. We found one in the back under a flood of neon green light, but I did have to brush off left over crumbs and whatnot onto the floor before we felt it was sanitized enough to sit down. I sort of felt bad about that, but there were no napkins that I saw nearby to make that a little more pleasant. 


We both had pizzas. I had the Gaucho and she had the Prosciutto. They were very different, but if I had to pick, I would go with the Gaucho every time over the Prosciutto. The pizzas reminded me of Pizzeria Locale in Boulder. Very fresh, 12" diameter, you could end up with some leftovers, but not if the pizza is exceptional. I thought mine was. I polished it off fairly fast and pounded down six half-full to all the way full sodas, having a try of almost every Boylan soda coming out of that fountain. Their cola was very unique and, at least to me, it had a hint of anise flavor. My favorites were the cream soda and the orange soda. 


This mod market location hasn't been open long. It was a packed house. Business seems great. The food, having only been there once, was definitely up to par and reasonably priced ($8-10 for a pizza), but I would say the place just needs a little touch of cleanliness. There should be someone sweeping through the lobby with a broom and a wet cloth to wipe down the tables after people leave because this isn't fast food, but it is good food quickly, and that means there is a high turnover rate. 


Dined January 19, 2012. 


B.