When Blk Mkt Eats opened on Oct. 18, the employees were greeted by a line of customers out the door. In anticipation for their grand opening, the restaurant promised their first 100 customers a free burrito, and they were held to their word. The new restaurant, located on South Vandeventer Avenue right next to Kaldi’s Coffee, is known for offering burrito-sized sushi rolls and bowls, all made fresh in house. Blk Mkt takes up a relatively small space containing only a few tables for dine-in guests, making to-go orders their primary service.

Examples of of food you’ll find at Blk Mkt are two of the most popular items on the menu: the Krilla Krunch — which contains tempura shrimp, carrots, unagi slaw and cucumbers—and the OG Fire, which contains a customer’s choice of spicy salmon or tuna, cucumbers,avocados, shallots and a house-made, spicy “OG Fire” sauce. Available sides include tofu nuggets and wonton chips.

I ordered the “Tasty as Cluck,” a wrap containing fried chicken, kimchi slaw, pickles, arugula, shallots and Blk Mkt’s very own housemade OG fire sauce.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the varying ingredients complimented each other; the chicken was a bit salty, which went well with the spicy sauces, and balanced out the slightly sweet pickles. I also got the tofu nuggets, which are pieces of tofu battered in salt, flour and pepper, and then deep fried fresh to order. Even my friends who dislike tofu agreed that they were delicious.

I finished my meal off with an all-natural craft soda. For the content of my meal and the amount of food I received, I would say that Blk Mkt’s prices are reasonable (prices for the sushi rolls begins around $8), which is a positive for a restaurant that I predict will primarily serve college students, due to its location.

While visiting the restaurant, I noticed that most of the customers, and even several of the employees , were fellow SLU students.
I’m excited to have a new (and delicious) restaurant so close to campus, and am hoping that it becomes increasingly popular among SLU’s student body; it appears many students have caught on already. I have nothing but great things to say about Blk Mkt Eats; from their proximity to campus, to the restaurant’s simple but modern interior design, to the delicious items on the menu, Blk Mkt is a great addition to the Midtown restaurant scene, and I can’t wait to watch this new business as it continues to grow in the future.

Blk Mkt Eats is located at Nine South Vandeventer Ave. and is open Monday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is closed Sunday.