Coquine Market: ask for the country loaf

At the base of Mount Tabor on SE Belmont, in a historic building next door to the restaurant it belongs to, Coquine Market keeps market hours and still works beautifully as a bakery. People walk in expecting a bakery case and a rack of miche and find a neighborhood market that also bakes, and the way to do it is coffee first, then a question about bread, then shopping. The space has warm wood floors and a light, open layout, with a produce island in the middle piled with farm vegetables, big onions, fruit and herbs, and shelves around the walls holding tinned fish, olive oil, chocolate, wine, pantry jars and small Coquine-made extras. By day it's Coquine Market, and at night the same room turns into Katy Jane's Oyster Bar. Chef Katy Millard's kitchen is the reason the market exists, and the bread is one of many things you might take home for dinner.

Pastries sit where a bakery case would be, and there are morning bakes, coffee from Coava, and a sandwich board that starts later in the day.

What to order

Ask about the country loaf first. The house bread has changed over time, and bakers have rotated rye, cinnamon raisin and other loaves through the market, so it's worth asking what was baked that day. When the country loaf is there, it has a blistered, slightly wild crust and an open, creamy crumb that has you reaching for the butter. If it isn't, take whatever house bread they have, or leave with pastry and groceries and try again another day.

Pastries are baked in-house every morning. Sandwiches start after the morning bake, so time your visit for that if you're after lunch, and go earlier if you want the loaf, while there's still bread around. People also ask for the Coquine cookie by name, a craggy, glossy chocolate-chip cookie with smoked almonds, salted caramel and brown butter, and you should grab one if they have them. Then pick up milk, butter, a tin of fish, wine and some fruit to go with the bread that night, which is how most visits end, with a loaf and dinner in hand.

Before you go

The market is open during the day every day, with sandwiches later on. Confirm before you go, especially if you're crossing the river for one loaf. There's no bread in the evening, and if you show up at night you'll find an oyster bar, which makes a lovely night out but won't help you with bread. The loaf sells out, and if you need a guaranteed weekend loaf, Tabor Bread is the nearer dedicated bakery on the same hill. Coquine is the stop for days when you already want the market or you're already on Belmont.

Parking is on neighborhood streets, and the park is right there, so a sandwich can easily come up the hill with you. Since the house bakers have changed over the years, ask what was baked today.

The essentials are on the Coquine Market page.