The Big Table

From salad to dessert, perfect! Great friendly service and homemade fresh food! Recommend the house made dressing, the brisket stroganoff, and the pineapple coconut pie. Don’t pass it up because it’s off the beaten path, it makes it that much better!

The Big Table
118 Cross St
Tu-​Sat; 11:00+
Table is located in the shell of a ca. 1920’s two bedroom house. The interior has been opened, but not renovated. Parking is in the rear with entrance up a slight flight of stairs into small rooms beside the kitchen which serve as foyer, drink station and order pick-​up. This opens onto the dining area.
Mismatched wooden tables and chairs crowd the space. Navigation can be difficult, when full the noise is a bit loud, and the seating comfort is more «home-​style» then restaurant. Decorations consist mainly of framed photos and family type memorabilia. All of this is in keeping with Table being a true «Mom &Pop» place, with «Pop» cooking and «Mom» tending the front; on our visit she was assisted by two servers.
The regular menu (lunch and dinner) has sandwiches, salads, soups an plus a rotating list of daily casseroles; cost averages about $ 10. Evenings, a board of specials is presented with prices in the $ 13-​$ 19 range, the last for a fillet.
Each entrée comes with soup or salad and the two vegetables of the day. Each time a salad was ordered, our server asked «Will raspberry vinaigrette be o.k.?» which raises the suspicion that the salads were pre-​made and dressed to speed service. The salads were fine. The «2 Squashes Soup» was basically a chowder with chunks of potatoes and, indeed, two slices each of crookneck and zucchini. There was some discussion as to whether small, chewy morsels were bits of clam, and there may have been a little clam juice in the chowder. The chili was thick with ground meat and beans, a mundane tomato sauce and no noticeable spicing.
Chicken enchiladas were two flour tortillas wrapped around chicken in cheese sauce with a little sauce drizzled on top; they had not been dipped in sauce nor finished in the oven. The chicken pot pie had no crust. The bowl was filled with a creamy sauce containing potato, a few pieces of carrot, and a few of chicken. Two mini-​biscuits topped the bland concoction. The trout was crusted in panko and almond and was properly cooked. The crusted added nothing to the dish. The «Crispy Pork Tenderloin» revealed itself as chicken fried pork. In place of white gravy, a «chardonnay mushroom sauce» was served. It was thick, vaguely sweet and had a couple slices of mushroom. Only copious quantities of salt and pepper coaxed flavor from the dish. The potato casserole and mélange of fresh and frozen veggies (carrot, green beans and corn) were adequate.
Service was slow and inattentive; silver was not replaced without asking, and a knife was handed blade first. Water was not refilled at all during the meal.
21-​Oct

This is the kind of place that Unilocal was designed to showcase. Small, off the beaten path, and absolutely delicious, this family-​owned kitchen is an extraordinary café-​style restaurant with wonderful dishes incorporating fresh, home-​made, local food. The dining area only seats mabye a dozen people, but it is a tremendous place to go with a group or family get-​together. Service was very good and even though the décor is a bit mashed together, it all works for a great eating experience. Kudos to them and I hope that they can sustain it.