Table 52

I don't typically write about restaurant meals here, but I know a lot of people are interested in the dinner Rory and I had at Table 52 and figured it was easier to do a blog post.

Table 52 is Art Smith's first restaurant. I'm a Smith fan and when he opened the restaurant a little more than a year ago (I think) I wanted to check it out. Time passed and when I found a bunch of Visa gift cards I thought it would be a nice treat to go for a nice dinner. I made the reservation back in July for this past Sunday. I wanted to do a Sunday because it's the only night they do fried chicken.

Rory and I show up at the Gold Coast restaurant and are greeted by a very friendly member of the staff. The hostess sat us immediately and a server brought us two deviled eggs for the amuse bouche followed by a large goat cheese biscuit for us to split. The deviled egg was awesome, had a nice salty bite but was also creamy. There was a crunchy garnish as well that added a nice bite. The biscuit was still warm, light and tasty, the goat cheese was not overpowering and added a nice flavor.

For the entrees I ordered the fried chicken that came with au gratin potatoes. Rory order the hog chop with potato waffle. We also spilt a side of the three cheese macaroni and ordered a bottle of pinot noir, can't remember what but it was quite nice.

One of the reasons I don't write about the restaurants I visit is that I don't think I can do the food justice with my words. Because all I can say about the entrees at Table 52 is phenomenal.

The fried chicken was tender and moist and perfectly seasoned. I wonder if they brine or marinate beforehand but I've never had friend chicken like this before. The coating was perfect, not too heavy and not too light. The potatoes were also awesome, creamy and perfectly cooked. There was something in them that gave it a bit of tang but I couldn't figure out what it was.

Rory's hog chop was a new preparation that they had just put on the menu that evening. The large chop was obviously brined and was full of flavor and had a nice pepper bite at the end. It came with a apple puree where the sweetness nicely worked with the savory side of the chip. The potato waffles were also very good. What they did here is take some sort of potato puree and then put it in a waffle maker, which was genius.

Rory and I have gone out for a few really good meals but I had never seen her this excited afterward. She kept saying that she wanted to email Art Smith and tell him how much she loved the meal and how everything got better with each bite.

The three cheese macaroni was also exceptional. It came in a big bowl that has been put in the wood burning stove and has cheese melted all down the side. It was a nice creamy bit that was full of flavor.

For dessert we spilt the 12-layer chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. It too was exceptional.

And then Rory promptly rolled me out of the restaurant because I was stuffed and couldn't move.

Table 52 isn't cheap, though we went all out, at around $200 with tip for both if us. It would have been a lot cheaper if we didn't get the wine, but you're still looking at a good chunk of change, but I would highly recommend it for a special occasion.