A COZY DINNER AT TEN TABLES

I've wanted to go to Ten Tables for a long time now. And now that I think about it, I don't know why it ever took me so long to get down there. It's not far, just in JP. It's not expensive; a meal there costs about the same as at Petit Robert or Eastern Standard. (which admittedly I don't go to all the time, but at least once a month). I think it was the perception of the difficulty of acquiring a reservation, which proved to be false. With Huong in town, I thought it was a good opportunity to try the place out, so last Friday, I called to make a reservation. I've done this a few times now, and normally I get shot down, but the standard protocol is that a machine picks up, you tell them when you want a reservation and they call you back. This time, a person actually picked up. So I made a reservation for Wednesday night at 8pm. Wednesday night is when they have their prix fixe $25 menu. I got to talking to they guy on the phone and it turns out I was talking to the chef. And he saw the caller ID and knew that I was calling from my store. Turns out he's been here before, so that was nice to hear. I don't know why, but it's always kinda redeeming knowing that people from your industry are actually interested in your store.

Ok, so the reservation was made. And about 2 seconds after I hung up, I realized that Wednesday night was the only week of the night I wasn't free. I was teaching yet another class. (I'm averaging about 2 a week these days. Which is great for the income, but it gets repetitive and tiring). Tom was able to change the reservation pretty easily, and we made it for Monday at 7. So the three of us headed down to JP and got a great parking space right in front. I knew the space would be small, but it wasn't as tiny as I had assumed. There really are just 10 tables, with an open kitchen taking up half the space and the dining area taking up the other half. I did take my camera out, ready for some photos for the blog, but the place was so small and intimate I didn't want my flash going off and bothering everyone. So we'll be using our imaginations today.

We were seated at a table right next to the kitchen. It's not the smallest kitchen I've ever seen. And that size kitchen, with a few more staff members, could certainly serve a much larger dining room, but it was nice, having this cozy neighborhood place. There were 2 servers for the entire dining room, which I felt was a good number, and they were pretty decent and friendly, though quite inattentive by the end of the meal. I also enjoyed seeing what was happening in the kitchen. They started us off with generous plates of bread and an amuse bouche- a cold celery soup with grapefruit granite. I got to see them assembling them and I thought they were quite nice, the contrast of sweet citrus and celery.

So we placed our orders. The menu was actually pretty small. They keep things fresh and seasonal. I knew that every night, they have a prix fixe vegetarian menu for $25. You get 4 courses, but they won't tell you what you'll be getting. It's up to the chef. I thought about ordering that, but after viewing the menu and knowing what a picky eater I am, I decided to play it safe and order things that I'd definitely eat. Huong was more adventureous and ordered that. Meawhile, Tom knew he wanted meat. He got a chorizo appetizer and a steak. I got a simple salad and a chicken entree.

The main problem I had at dinner was the pacing of the meal. I felt it was a bit slow and that they allowed way to much time between each course. The restaurant wasn't packed and we could see the chefs working, so they were never truly slammed. That was the main thing I thought they could work on. Meanwhile, we got our appetizers. I enjoyed the simplicity of my salad, with its blood oranges, shavings of reggiano and marcona almonds. Tom liked his chorizo, though would have preferred that it be grilled on all sides, rather than just one. And Huong got a carrot ginger soup, which she also enjoyed.

Watching the chefs works, you could tell that they were able to work in this tight space with a lot of planning and mis en place before service. Many dish components had been made before hand, and just needed to be plated, like the many beet salads I was being made. Oh, and that's what Huong got for a second course. Actually, I would've ordered the beet salad, had it not been served on a bed of blue cheese. (I'm not a fan of stinky cheeses). Huong thought it was allright, she's not a big fan of beets.

There was a bit of a wait before our entrees arrived. And I could tell the chefs weren't really working on anything else, so I didn't particularly understand that, but when they arrived, all three were excellently prepared. Tom thought his steak, though not a very expensive cut of meat, was cooked perfectly. I felt the same way about my chicken and enjoyed the fingerling potatoes and broccoli rabe that it came with. Huong got potato gnocchi served with root veggies and covered with cheese. She enjoyed that a lot, too. Around the time we had our entrees, we watched as one of the waiters departed and only one waiter was left to take care of the dining room. As I said earlier, the dining room wasn't packed, maybe 70% full, but I don't think it was great that there was only one waiter left.

After we finished our entrees, we had to wait a while before we were able to order dessert. There was only one dessert I'd eat, which was a Chocolate Marquise cake. Huong didn't get to pick her dessert, which I felt was a little silly. There was only one dessert on the menu she didn't want, a rice pudding, but of course, that's what she'd end up getting. Tom just got some tea, but he ended up having the rice pudding. Huong and I shared the chocolate cake. But before that, we were presented with little homemade chocolate chips cookies with orange that the chef had just made and little shots of milk on the side. It was a very sweet touch. The chocolate cake arrived it was dense and delicious. We actually couldn't finish it all, since we were so full by this point. But the chef came over and introduced himself. I totally recognized him and we chatted a bit. He's a very nice guy, so I look foward to going back. But after he left, the dinner began to drag. It was approaching 9, our desserts had been sitting untouched before us with the ice cream melting into a little puddle, and yet, the waiter was MIA. Or rather, he was standing 5 feet from us, with his back to us and he talked to the guys in the kitchen. (It wasn't busy in the restaurant by this point).

Finally, Tom had to ask for our check. It ended up being a 2.5 hour dinner, which is longer than it had to be, had the waiter been a bit more attentive. Being next to the kitchen it had gotten quite warm and kinda uncomfortable, and I was ready to stand up. Overall, though, I had a great meal. I loved the casual, warm environment. I loved that there were locals there and that I could see stacks of cookbooks in the kitchen, like Mario Batali's book and the Zuni Cafe cookbook. Even when I went down to the bathroom, there were copies of a mushroom guidebook and Sunday Suppers at Lucques. I will certainly be having dinner here again in the future and welcome anyone who'll be in Boston to join.