I have, over the years, loved Table 6. There's something about the cacophony of a full restaurant in full swing (and yeah--it's got a brick wall that reverberates sound) that I think adds to its charm. It being literally downhill and a 5-minute walk from where I live has made it both a "special occasion" restaurant and a "we've got friends over, let's show 'em this great spot in our neighborhood" place. I've seen it go from standard menus to prix fixe menus, to the chalkboard, and now to set menus with no specials. I saw Mike the server/host go from that position to owning the place (previously). What I've never had is a mediocre meal until this week. I don't like the special-less menu now but that is just personal preference. Our threesome mostly felt let down. First course may have been our favorite. The muhammara dip was great, the pomegranate molasses and saltiness made for a great bite on the pita chips. The lentil soup was a small portion (for $13) but tasty. For the main course our table had the Kabocha Squash which was done well and interesting, the mascarpone maybe my favorite part. The duck in the duck confit was very solid-a little less crispy than I'd like but the meat itself delectable. The cranberry stuffing on the side (a 4" x 4" by 3/4" block of it) was ... odd. And I had a 1" by 1" chunk in the middle that was completely dry, like biting into a crouton. The bone-in spare rib was the roughest: overly fatty (I cook a LOT of winter stews with ham hocks and it was fattier than 99% of the ham hocks I've ever used) and just under lukewarm in temp. A disappointment. Our favorite thing on the plate was the polenta far and away. The final miss was something I've ordered for nearly 20 years: the beignets. I (stupidly, after a couple glasses of Pinot) years ago picked one up and bit into it and scorched the hell out of my mouth. They've always been quite hot. This night, I cut into the first one and it was half solid. As were the other three. They were obviously 2-3 minutes short of being fried correctly. I have literally zero compunction plopping down $150-$200 bucks a head for a great meal. What I do not enjoy is spending like that on what was a mediocre meal. I do hope the owners tweak it and the quality gets better. Again: I live close enough I could roll a ball out my front door and hit Table 6 or the corner store which used to be the floral shoppe. I do hope it gets better for not only my fond memories of the place (I've eaten here numerous NYE's and anniversaries) but for the proximity to my place and what it can add to the neighborhood.
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