Everything you see and eat at Milton’s Two Pence Market is museum quality
The poppyseed bagel with smoked salmon at Two Pence market.
Where to: Two Pence Market, opened in Milton Village in late July.
Why: The 1929 building was renovated and turned into a cafe, market, wine store, and scoop shop, with outdoor seating under a pergola.
Dan Kerrigan at the new Two Pence Market.
The backstory: The name Two Pence comes from the market’s street number (two) and the British plural for penny. With its high ceilings and stunning details, the place has a museum quality, especially where the original Colonial Revival architecture was kept intact. A working fireplace is the focal point in a sitting area, one wall of the shop is devoted entirely to ice cream from Cambridge’s Toscanini’s, and an old vault operates as a secluded wine shop. Milton restaurateur Dan Kerrigan, who has been operating Steel & Rye down the street for 14 years, and Steel’s culinary director Brendan Joy are two of the co-owners. Chef Alison Hearn oversees the menu and the shelves of small-batch specialty and grocery items.
The Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl at Two Pence Market.
What to eat: Breakfast sandwiches on house-made bagels (voluptuous smoked salmon with avocado is superb), bowls from a hot bar that includes a short list of chef’s specialties or build your own. Hearn’s Spicy Tuna Poke bowl with a crispy brown rice cake, pickled vegetables, sriracha aioli, and ponzu sauce is a delightful mix of tastes and textures. Bibimbap features jasmine rice, seared tofu, shiitakes, and zucchini, a jammy egg, and a dreamy, spicy gochujang, honey, vinegar sauce. In the refrigerated case of take-home meals, says Hearn, any chicken cutlet dish flies out of the shop, as do entrees such as beef tenderloin Stroganoff, and dips (hummus, whipped feta, romesco). On shelving you’ll find unusual pantry items from The Japanese Pantry of San Francisco, beans from Heyday Canning Co. of Portland, Ore., and more.
What to drink: Lemongrass lemonade, mushroom tea, and smoothies, including Strawberry Fields with berries, banana, Greek yogurt, and maple syrup. Elegant brass taps hooked up to refrigerated kegs let customers pull their own iced tea or coffee. Wines are a genuinely interesting collection of moderately-priced bottles from artisan-scale producers serious about quality and value. (The shop’s license doesn’t allow customers to drink wine with food.)
The strawberry fields smoothie at Two Pence Market.
The takeaway: Two Pence Market is a jewel box with top-quality prepared dishes, imaginative pantry items and snacks, local produce that looks ready for an artist’s still life, some of the best ice cream in the area (served in the shop or from a side window), and thoughtfully curated wines. 2 Eliot St., Milton Village, 617-322-0522, www.twopencemarket.com. Smoothies $13; breakfast bagels $13-$16; bowls $14-$21.