Table 301

…or, “I watch way too much food television…”

Laura and I had delayed our anniversary dinner. Our actual anniversary is right after Christmas, and this year we were traveling. So, this year we decided to go out for a nice meal at a more convenient time. We had been to The Lazy Goat several times recently, so we wanted to try something different. It had been awhile since we had gone to Soby’s, so that was our target.

Carl Sobocenski’s Soby’s was the original restaurant in the Table 301 group, which includes The Lazy Goat, Devereaux’s, and The Nose Dive. Table 301 is the “chef’s table” at these establishments, the table with the best view, etc. When we got to the restaurant we found that we were to be seated at…you got it…Table 301 in Soby’s.

Table 301 at Soby’s is on the upper level with a great view of the kitchen. For better or worse, you can watch everything that happens. We watched as our soup was dished up, and as our entree’s were plated.

…and here’s where food TV comes in…

Apparently I’ve watched too many episodes of Gordon Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares.” I kept waiting for something disastrous to happen. It was kind of like those guys that go to NASCAR expecting to see a crash. Unfortunately (or fortunately as far as our dining experience was concerned) the kitchen ran with precision. The only near calamity was when the table behind us knocked a water glass over the edge into the cooking area.

It was fun to watch the plates coming out, and we got to where we could predict which entree was which by the color of plate and side items. Laura and I had both ordered pork tenderloin, and had laughed about getting the same thing. It turns out that we were not alone. Several sets of duplicate entrees came out.

Over the holidays we also watched far too many episodes of Chopped. I couldn’t help looking at the dishes as they came out from the perspective of one of the judges. For the dessert I kept thinking things like, “The bread puddling was wonderfully realized, especially with the chestnut vanilla ice cream. However, the sugar cookie and cranberries seem a bit out of place.”

Even so, everything tasted great, and we ate far too much. Unfortunately, we were both rather ill overnight. I don’t know if it was that we had too much rich food, or if something was, in fact, a bit amiss. It was a nice dinner and the table was great. I just may take it a bit easier next time.