Another Place I Like

Every once in a while a restaurant comes along that makes you feel really good. The environment is just right, the food is tasty and comforting and you feel a general warmth of service there. Something about the restaurant just feels right. For me one of these restaurants is Gabriel Stuhlman and Joey Campanaro’s Little Owl. The clinching moment in this relationship came on my birthday when my friends and I ate there and Mr. Stuhlman served us wine in coffee mugs as we waited outside. Our delicious meal was served to us by a waitress in a PBR shirt while we listened to music that we would normally have on our Ipods, and we left feeling happy. In fact, I’ve left every Little Owl experience feeling happy.

My only problem with the Little Owl is that so many other people feel the same way about the restaurant, and it’s just not big enough to feed us all. The 10 tables in the place tend to fill up fast and it’s become so difficult to find a reservation at a time when I’d actually eat that I’ve stopped trying. I still walk in every now and then but it takes a little more effort than I’m willing to expend to eat there as regularly as I originally would have liked. That’s why news of a new Campanaro Stuhlman venture has me very excited.

Recently the two teamed up again to open Market Table, just down the street from The Little Owl. The place appears to be a restaurant/market with an open kitchen, a bar area that seems a bit too spacious, and a small but warm and well spaced dining room. The kitchen cooks seasonal New American with the market serving as a mise en place. If you like your cod at dinner you can buy it at the market to cook at home the next day.

I’ve only made one visit so far, but on first impressions, the food is simple, yet extremely flavorful and pleasing, just like The Little Owl. I tried some gnocchi with braised short ribs and had an arctic char special with purple cauliflower. The gnocchi were light and didn’t fill me up too much for the char which was crisp skinned and tasted buttery and sweet as it melted away with each bite. I also had a bit of swordfish that was perfectly cooked and a dessert that was good, but way too big for me to not feel overindulgent.

Overall, the meal was pretty excellent and while the place doesn’t have quite the same vibe as Little Owl its definitely a capable sequel, one that I probably shouldn’t write about if I hope to be able to return to.