Editor’s note: Table Kitchen and Bar’s menu changes regularly, so the most current menu might not reflect what’s featured in our review. Check their website and Facebook page for the latest information.
When I first heard about a new restaurant whose primary focus was procuring and serving locally sourced ingredients, my mouth watered with anticipation. As an avid farm-to-table cook, I like knowing not only where my food comes from but also who’s producing it. When dining out I seek restaurants that adhere to that philosophy.
The menu at Table Kitchen and Bar, which opened this spring, recognizes several local farms and products, including Iverstine Family Farms chicken, Covey Rise eggplant and D’Agostino’s pasta. During our visit, a chalkboard near the entrance offered a listing of other locally sourced items. Our server explained that they source as much as possible locally or regionally and create many items in house. That also means the menu changes with the season and what’s fresh.
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Table’s interior is dominated on one side by a wood-clad bar with an open-air patio just beyond, while on the other side is an open dining room with a smaller semi-private room attached. In the future, the restaurant plans to use the room for special chef’s dinners curated by executive chef Curtis Froelich.
Most walls are glossy black and feature farm animal silhouettes diagrammed with their cuts of meat. In the bar, the silhouettes turn to cocktails, showing components of particular drinks. Those details create a rustic-meets-urban ambiance.
Our table received a complimentary serving of decadent housemade zucchini corn muffins with sweet sorghum butter. With a perfect combination of sweet and savory, these were impossible to resist. For an appetizer (or “Scrapes,” as they’re called on the menu) we went off-menu with panko-crusted okra. Served with a Dragon sauce—so named for one of the chefs—it was a piquant mix of housemade fermented Serrano peppers, mustard and shallots. This homey dish of fried okra was like an elevated version of one of my childhood favorites.
Table’s soup du jour of Creole Crawfish and Corn warmed my palate and my soul. Abundant crawfish tails and sweet corn swam in a brothy tomato soup with a hint of cream to balance out the acid.
We divided and conquered the entrée section with orders of Heritage Pork Shoulder, a Flounder Fish Special and the Covey Rise Fried Eggplant with shrimp. The rich pulled pork was spit-roasted and smoky but served with an unmemorable mac and cheese. A standout side of slow-cooked greens was packed with flavor and juicy pot liquor.
The pan-sautéed Gulf flounder was so fresh I expected it to flop around. An addition of red chili vinaigrette added subtle heat and moisture. The Carolina Gold broken rice cake that came with it was like a more interesting cousin of a grit cake. A historic staple of low-country cooking, Carolina Gold broken rice, today better known as rice grits, is lauded for its flavor and texture. Hidden beneath the distinctive rice cake was a surprise of sautéed chard, a welcome green element to an already stupendous dish.
For vegans and gluten-free eaters the eggplant with a succotash-like hoppin’ John and spicy green tomato chow chow was a gratifying option. With an addition of smoky Gulf shrimp, this delight would appease most diners.
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As interesting as we all found our entrees, Table’s creativity was truly realized with its desserts—more inventive than I’ve seen at many area restaurants. Case in point: Meringue Roulade. Characterized as “light,” it was anything but. Multiple layers of crisp meringue were stuffed with a liquid cheesecake and crowned with an airy muscadine whipped cream. The finishing flourish of muscadine sauce was vibrant and delicious. Not to be overlooked, the Lemon Pistachio Layer Cake held its own with the roulade. Scatterings of sugary streusel pearls distracted me at first from the cake itself. Filled with pistachio cream, the dense cake was not overly sweet. An added drizzle of honey created harmony and added a punch of sweetness to the small dessert.
Our server relayed dish information and restaurant concepts deftly. In addition to her expertise and delivery, Melissa was funny, charming and always available when needed and scarce when not. We had heard mixed reviews about the service and food after it opened in April, but on our visit we found neither lacking. Perhaps those mixed reviews were the result of early growing pains, but for us, Table was a breath of fresh air.
Gather at the Table
tablekitchenandbar.com
4205 Perkins Road
239-7799
Lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays; dinner 4 p.m.-11 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 4 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday; brunch Sundays 11 a.m.-3 p.m.