Five Seventy Market

Uncommon convenience

By PATRICK MAIN

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While we usually focus on sit-down, eat-in establishments here, I couldn't allow the opening of Five Seventy Market to pass unremarked-upon. In late March this amazing little convenience store appeared in the completely remodeled former space of the Bostonian Market in the heart of the South End. (For the record, this isn't a suck up to my corner store—I'm a Somervillian.)

While the former resident was a standard bodega-style shop, with a deli counter, random staples and snacks, the new owners have jammed the useful 80% of an organic grocery store into the same space. And I mean jammed in the nicest possible way—new baker's racks reach from floor to ceiling, loaded with enough ingredients to make nearly any meal a gourmand heart desires. Walking in, you're greeted by shelves of potted live herbs and spices. Wandering the narrow aisles, every turn reveals a new surprise—from a well-stocked produce section that has everything from standard tomatoes to a variety of peppers, to an eco-friendly household cleaners section.

Since this is the Eats column, and not the Department of Commerce, I ventured in for a lunch feast from their compact deli counter. I ordered a soup, salad and sandwich to test the breadth of their lunchtime offerings (though they also had some tempting burgers—including a fabulous-looking Portobello & black bean beef patty—available cooked or raw—which was pretty hard to resist). All were aptly priced at $5.70. There isn't a dining area, so everything is packed to go.

The "soup of the day" was a chicken and poblano pepper offering. Though cream-based, its combination of chicken, corn, black beans and spice was reminiscent of a chicken tortilla soup. But the change-up was welcome, as the peppers cut the cream enough to make it an extremely tasty offering for summer (or whatever it is we're dealing with these days).

Their roast beef sandwich, atop Iggy's bread with onions, tomatoes and barbecue sauce was unfortunately meh. The bread itself was delicious and the portion of beef was generous, but the sauce was generically weak - and not the highest recommendation for a proper meat-topper. With not enough flavor-to-meat ratio present, it threw the balance of the sandwich off entirely.

The chef's salad was huge, with an impressively-presented array of shredded romaine, cucumbers, thinly sliced baby carrots, tomatoes and ham & Swiss cheese roll-ups. It was consumed sans dressing, as no one prompted me to retrieve some and I don't recall any being readily visible when I picked up my order. I'd definitely get it again, though, for its big portions and fresh variety.

All in all, Five Seventy is a supreme example of using what could be a cramped urban space to its maximum potential. I can only hope their mere existence pushes other proprietors to raise their game.

I'm looking at you, QF Mart.

Rating: * * *

* * * * * phenomenal

* * * * added to the regular rotation

* * * solid cuisine, presentation and taste

* * average

* meh

FIVE SEVENTY MARKET

570 TREMONT ST., SOUTH END

BOSTON

857.362.7525

DAILY 6AM-10PM

FIVESEVENTYMARKET.COM