DINING OUT The Table Restaurant in Bellingham

Given a choice, it's hard to decide whether
to go for the breakfast fare or the lunch
options—as we did, you may decide on both!
A perfect gathering place,
this new restaurant by
The Bellingham Pasta Co.
will have you returning
again and again.
the
might present. Dave Reera, the head chef, was to
be away that day but he was kind enough to send
me the brunch menu via email a few days prior to
our Sunday date. My wife has hinted more than
once, and not too subtly I might add, that I have
control issues. I thought well, okay, I don’t need
to know what I am going to have for brunch on
Sunday and so I chose not to look at the menu
beforehand. Would this be an Italian brunch I
wondered? I don’t know about you, but when I
think of fresh pasta, as I do so often, I think of
Italian cuisine.
table
by John Bollinger
photography by Bridgewing Photography
d i n i n g
o u t
I k n e w t h r e e things about The Table
by Bellingham Pasta Co., the subject of our
restaurant review, before our date to dine
there: First, as the name implies, it was
started by the owners of the Bellingham
Pasta Co.; second, The Table opened in 2010
near the Mount Baker Theater; and third,
they have Ravioli Thursdays!
We were given the choice between dinner or
Sunday brunch. We had yet to review a brunch
so after a quick consultation with the team,
brunch was a go. I was aware of the Bellingham
Pasta Co., owned by Katie and Steve Hinton,
and their stellar reputation for fresh pasta, but
I admit I was curious about the dishes they
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So what is an Italian brunch? I didn’t grow up
Italian or on the east coast, I don’t speak Italian,
and I have never even been to Italy. The only
exposure I have had to Italian family meals is
from movies. I have seen The Godfather, but that
portrayed a different type of family. I remember
watching John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino, and
then later as Tony Manero, eating with family,
hanging with friends, and dancing to the Bee
Gees. And who can forget Cher ’s performance
with Nicolas Cage in Moonstruck. Cher, who
won an Academy Award for best actress for her
performance, has raven hair and was married
to a Bono, but that is as close to Italian as she
gets. Cage, who played a Brooklyn bakery owner,
actually has an Italian heritage. Because of the
bakery parallels I decided that Moonstruck would
be the closest imagery to draw from as I counted
the days to our brunch. Cinematic influences
aside, I was still unsure what an Italian brunch
would look like. Quite frankly, I just assumed
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the table
Instead of cooked on the top of a stove, the
vanilla bean pancakes were baked in a skillet and
served with maple syrup and plump blueberries
sourced from local farms. The pancakes were
presented like a crater that perfectly held the
butter and syrup in place for each bite. The menu
cautioned us to allow 15-20 minutes for cooking
time, and I can tell you they were worth the wait.
Brunch is not brunch without Eggs Benedict. The
Table’s adaptation to the classic dish is to make
croutons from a baguette to replace an English
muffin and to use grilled Canadian bacon instead
of ham. The dish was applause worthy.
For the next act my wife asked to try the glutenfree biscuit balls. To know Crystal is to love
her and her penchant for ordering biscuits and
gravy every time she sees it on a menu. These
biscuit balls were stuffed with green onions and
cheddar cheese, fried crisp, and finished in the
oven. The unique and oh-so-perfect flavor of the
78
people everywhere had traditional breakfast
fare for brunch, with a regional twist, no matter
what zip codes or country codes followed an
establishment’s street address. That was until we
had Sunday brunch at The Table restaurant in
downtown Bellingham.
as a harvest table. When I was later informed by
our waitperson that the owners’ original intentions
were to create a gathering space atmosphere, the
logo, long tables, great food smells, and fresh-cut
flowers all came together quite nicely to set the
table for an inviting experience.
Upon entering the front door we were met with a
sign that invited us to seat ourselves, and we had
a choice between three distinctly different rows of
tables. We opted for a four-top against the wall
and settled in with mild curiosity and anticipation.
As I looked around the restaurant I noticed that
the center row consisted of two long tables that
could each comfortably seat 10-12 guests. I then
glanced at the menu and was immediately drawn
to the restaurant logo. The top of the capital T is
elongated to be part of what could be interpreted
Our waiter, Joe Kensok, greeted us with menus
and took our beverage requests. We selected
two standard brunch drinks, a Bloody Mary and
a Mimosa, and the chef also presented us with a
wild card—the French 75. To my surprise Big Gin
from Captive Spirits in Seattle makes for a crisp,
refreshing brunch beverage—the French 75—when
combined with simple syrup, lemon juice, and
sparkling wine.
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Fall 2015
For the warm-up act we started with pancakes,
a traditional brunch item, but with a slight twist.
All the dishes at The
Table are prepared with
the most fresh, local
ingredients as possible.
The garnish pickles are
made at the restaurant
and in themselves are
delectable
Need dinner? Pick up
some fresh pasta and
fresh sauce to go.
·
DINING
o u t
chicken sausage gravy was a touch of genius. They
could get me to order them anytime I see them
headlining a menu.
I asked Joe if he was local to Bellingham or grew
up elsewhere. He shared with us that he moved to
the northwest three years ago after growing up in
Wisconsin. My first thought was to ask him about
recent Seahawk and Packer games but I chose
not to go there, instead focusing on the merits of
growing up in the land of cheese.
Speaking of cheese, the Beet-Goat Ravs was the
dish that first jumped off the program page.
Anything with goat cheese is always considered,
but as a personal rule of thumb when I see
Pecorino Romano mentioned I almost always
move that item to the top of the list. For 2,000
years chefs have included this slightly salty lamb
production to offset the richness of pasta sauces,
and I was sure I wouldn’t be disappointed. My one
pause for concern was the word beets. I have had
many different food items for meals early in the
day but I have to say that beets have never been on
that list! I was intrigued and so I cajoled, insisted,
and finally implored my wife to let me include the
Beet-Goat Ravs on our tasting request. Truth be
told, she was as eager as I was to taste the dish—I
just thought a little drama would add an Italian
flavor to my review. The dish produced an awardworthy performance. The ravioli, of course, had the
lead but was well supported by the rich taste of the
golden beets. The kale, sage, and parsley worked
well together in their bit parts and finished off the
scene perfectly.
The final act was to be shared by all at our table—
the demi-fredo and the fusilli pasta with the brown
butter hazelnut sauce. The bison-pork meatballs
were an unexpected surprise. Even though I was
already full I think I might have distracted the other
three diners at the table long enough to eat most
of the three delicious meatballs with nary a protest.
The ladies at the table were discussing the graceful
shape of the fusilli pasta, the soft earth tone colors
with the delicate hazelnut flavor, and the hint of
sage. We were satiated at this point in the meal,
but we knew an encore was just an appreciative
applause away.
On cue Joe delivered a crème brûlée and a peach
and white chocolate eggroll. I do enjoy crème
brûlée but it was the eggroll that had my fullest
attention. I have been a white chocolate fan since
my older sister introduced it to me so many years
ago at the Northgate Mall—so many years ago it
was the only mall! Paired with peaches and housemade ice cream, it was the perfect ending to our
culinary entertainment. Bravo to the entire cast of
The Table restaurant for a production worthy of
repeat performances! nwm
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