Table 31 recently opened in Langtree at the Lake, in the spot where Block & Grinder used to be. The restaurant is large and airy with a nice bar area in the center, plenty of room between tables and 2 couches out front, perfect for having a glass of wine when the weather is pleasant.
We met our regular dining companions there on a Saturday night. We'd tried to get reservations but they don't take them at this juncture. Turned out to not matter as there was plenty of available open seating the entire evening. We got a nice table next to the window and btw, it's got good acoustics, you can hear each other speak.
Rave: "Employees Only" cocktail -Tres Agaves tequila, agave nectar, fresh squeezed lemon juice $10
I was a little more excited about the interesting appetizer menu than I was the entree menu. I was tempted by the great looking chicken-fried oysters, but we decided to try some of the more unique offerings.
The Stinking Rose, $7, is a dish of roasted garlic in olive oil and served with toasted ciabatta. You spread the soft, nutty roasted garlic and olive oil across your bread and eat. (Make sure you share with the whole table if you're gonna eat all that garlic!!) This dish has the potential for greatness, but not the way we got it on Saturday. If our ciabatta was toasted, it was only for a millisecond which left us with limp and fairly tasteless bread to smear with the garlic/olive oil combo. There are 2 restaurants I've been to recently (one is very close by, read my reviews) that served spectacular grilled bread, lightly charred, correctly seasoned. If Table 31 could elevate the bread in this dish to a spectacular grilled and seasoned bread, the Stinking Rose could become a "must-order" app from them.
We ordered the perfectly executed Grilled Artichoke $8, which is cut in half and grilled, leaving it charred and smoky tasting in spots, it was done exactly right. It was served with an ok remoulade on the side that I pretty much ignored. When you eat grilled artichoke, you run each leaf along your teeth and get a miniscule amount of choke and then at the base you get a nice bite of the grilled artichoke. It's not going to fill you up or stave off hunger, it's just a unique and fun thing to try if you haven't before.
We also tried the absolutely delicious Tuna Poke ("po-kay"), $12, which is diced raw tuna, avocado, tomatoes, etc. Even if you don't like raw fish, try this anyway. You won't notice or taste that it's raw! Everything in this appetizer harmonizes and just plain works. Excellent. See my picture.
I wasn't really sure what to get for dinner so I opted for "the Famous" French Dip, $18, which is warm shaved prime rib, mayo and au jus, served with fries. The prime rib was warm as stated and nicely, thinly shaved. The bread was exactly right for the sandwich, not too hard, didn't fall apart when being dipped into the au jus. Fries are ok shoestring fries and I never did get ketchup for them, now that I think about it. Automatically putting a cup of ketchup on the plate next to the au jus would have been helpful.
Jeni got the Baby Back Ribs, $24, which I believe may already have a bit of a cult following, even this early on. Large serving, beautifully smoked, meaty, and she had plenty to share with the table. It came with a side of a just ok coleslaw (shaved cabbage with mayo) and added a side salad ($5). The side salad addition at Table 31 is worth it. It's a fairly large salad of baby field greens topped with grape tomatoes, crumbled hard boiled egg, cheese, large croutons and she opted for the house champagne vinaigrette. Generous portion, generous toppings.
Both of the men got the special that night, a bone in prime rib, $28. Both were large, thick cut, nicely done steaks... one rare and one med-rare, as requested. Carl opted for asparagus as his side and Todd asked for mashed potatoes, which they forgot to include until reminded.
We ordered one dessert to share, the Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich, $7. I'm not sure how one elevates Oreo cookie ice cream, Oreo cookie crumbles and chocolate sauce, but all 3 of my tablemates were swooning over it. We saw friends in the restaurant and they raved over it as well.
So, all in all, Table 31 has very good potential to do well in this location. The entrees are higher $ than I'd like, I'd go more often if they were a little less pricey...
The restaurant is newly opened and it does show in the service. Folks are still learning (and that is OK). The service was extremely prompt but forgetful, is how I'd describe it. The kitchen put out the dishes quickly, there was no lag time. We got cocktails immediately after sitting down. We didn't get water until after we'd been waiting a good 20+ minutes and finally had to ask for it because I was thirsty. The men never got steak knives for their steaks. I never got ketchup for my fries. They left the side off Todd's entree. But it's still in the learning period. read more