Review: The Table
If you sit at the chef’s tasting counter, you can watch Chef Carl Dooley (right) cooking.
Anyone who claims to be a fan of either Craigie on Main or Top Chef must dine at The Table – it may very well be one of the best meals of your life. Chef Carl Dooley and his team focus on French techniques and seasonal ingredients to deliver perfection on a plate, with flavors ranging from Middle Eastern to classical French to Asian. For those of you who don’t know, The Table offers a monthly-rotating 4-course menu for $65 per person (as of May 20, 2016). I highly recommend coming here with one other person, so that together, you guys can order and sample the entire menu.
…Which is exactly what I and another guest did in April. The night started off with a complimentary amuse bouche of Beef Tartare with Fava Beans and Yogurt, followed by Home-made Sourdough and Butter. This was my first time trying raw beef, but the spices and sauces in the dish were so flavorful that I basically forgot that there was any raw meat in it. I’m glad I tried the dish because I’m definitely more open to eating other raw meat dishes now!
For the first course, we had a Salad of Yellowfin Tuna with Persian Cucumber, Green Apple, Shiso, and Jalapeño, as well as a Terrine of Foie Gras and Rabbit Confit with Pickled Rhubarb, Almonds, and House-made Brioche. We asked for the rabbit to be left off of the terrine (no bunnies pls), which was fine because the foie gras was very rich on its own. The tuna salad was refreshing and had lots of flavor contrasts with both the green apple and the jalapeno.
Next up were the California Asparagus and Andouille Sausage with Florida Shrimp, Pickled Fresno Chile, Lemon Breadcrumbs, and the Braised Lamb Ribs and Sausage, accompanied by Garbanzo Beans, Pistachio, and Chevre. Wow, these were some of the strongest dishes of the night. Both the asparagus and shrimp were perfectly cooked, resulting in tender asparagus and juicy shrimp in each bite. The lamb ribs and sausage were equally flavorful with the meat literally falling off the bone. The garbanzo beans and pistachio also added a nice crunch to the dish.
For our final savory course and main protein dishes, we had the Roasted Chicken Thigh and Morel Mushrooms with Stew of Cocksomb, Georgia Peas, and Vin Jaune, and the Glazed Local Hake with Roasted Carrot-Chipotle Salsa, Crispy Tortilla, and Cilantro. I was completely mind-blown by how perfectly cooked each dish was. The chicken was extremely tender and moist, and I actually had a hard time believing that I was eating chicken at first – I had never eaten such soft chicken before! The hake was also amazing, and the sauce just brought the dish to a whole other level.
Now, on to the finale! For dessert, we were served the Chocolate Banana Parfait with Malt Ice Cream, Salted Peanuts, and Crispy Meringue. The other dessert was a Chilled Rice Pudding with Passion Fruit Curd, Mango, and Caramelized Coconut Crispies. I loved the ice cream in the parfait dessert, but I do wonder what it would have been like if the dessert was reconstructed to be served in a glass. The rice pudding was perhaps a little less memorable, but I did appreciate that there was enough mango in every bite. Both desserts are perfectly balanced in terms of sweetness, so don’t worry about getting a sugar coma.
As the check came around, we were also served our final bites for the evening – some crispy cookies and their Home-made Granola Bar ( to be eaten for the next day). A perfect and sweet way to end the meal.
If you’re looking to dine here, please be aware that reservations can be somewhat hard to get, so you should probably plan at least 1 month in advance if you have a specific date and time in mind. The restaurant’s popularity has only soared after Chef Carl Dooley’s fame on Top Chef, so combine that with the fact that The Table only has 20 seats and you get a restaurant that’s pretty difficult to score reservations at (if you want to eat at a normal time). If you’re unable to score the reservation for the day that you want, I would recommend emailing the restaurant to be put on the waitlist – this worked for me when I dined here for the second time.