By Food Critic, Marnie Basket
It’s my very first post! I’m so jazzed to be bringing you the best “eats” that Maynard Park has to offer. From places that have been around, to places that are new on the scene, I’ll be setting the table and setting the stage for many a vicarious meal for you to enjoy, and hopefully you’ll follow-up with a non-vicarious visit to one of Maynard Park’s finest food establishments.
The inaugural honor of first review…drumroll, please…goes to The Artisan Table (with the French pronunciation as in “Ta-blah”.) This place screams Artisan. From the aged, crafted-from-driftwood Maitre D podium that greets you, to the bungalow-style drop-lamps above cozy booths, you feel like you’ve journeyed to another place in time. The aroma from the kitchen wafts over you like a warm sweater on a cold salted-air morning beach stroll along the banks of the Seine. Owners Chris and Kelly put it best in the placard they heartfully placed above the door that simply says, “Artisan means love.”
Surprisingly, neither Chris nor Kelly knew that their new establishment was even located in Maynard Park, to which we all had a nice chuckle. Luckily, I had a copy of the Maynard Park districting map on my iPad, and when I expanded the map view to the restaurant’s location, we literally embarked on a “Murder Mystery”, without the murder, of course. Something didn’t make sense. Even though the map showed clearly that the Artisan Table was in Maynard Park, Chris and Kelly insisted that their restaurant was in another “brand-X” neighborhood that we’re all way too familiar with, and which shall remain unmentioned.
How could it be? I sat down in one of their burlap club chairs, and Chris started telling the story of the building’s history. While remodeling and preparing their new restaurant space, Kelly had pulled up a floor-board to reveal an old architectural schematic that showed how the building (which is one big space today) had actually been two separate spaces within the same building. The light-bulb was glowing brighter, and I went back to the Maynard Park map and zoomed in at 400% and the mystery was solved. The Artisan Table is located at one of several “jagged” points that punctuate the Maynard Park neighborhood districting map. The point of the neighborhood boundary enters from the back (or front of the former other business) and extends halfway through the building to the mid-point of the current restaurant space. So, we were both right. The address and front half of the Artisan Table is in that other neighborhood, but the kitchen (located in the back, where all the food is prepared) is totally and completely in Maynard Park. My job is reviewing the food, not reviewing the front door, and that’s what counts.
I highly recommend the Artisan Table, but my advice for Maynardites is to definitely sit near the kitchen!
