Before I get into the details of their intricate dishes, I feel that a restaurant of this caliber deserves at least some mention of its deftly crafted ambience. Like any classy joint, Tabella is dimly lit and subtly scored by some jazz standards. While I am normally turned off by the finer things in life, I must say I felt strangely comfortable amidst Tabella’s hoit and toit. But sensory description alone will account for only half of Tabella’s tone. The commitment to locally grown organic ingredients was as potent of a mood-setter as Ray Charles’s all-too appropriate “Greenbacks.” Unfortunately, the fervent localism detracted from the overall experience. It is only so many times that a man wants to be reminded of the fact that none of what he’s eating has ever been more than 5 miles away from him.
Despite the irksome reminders from the wait-staff, dining on locally grown food does have its advantages. The salads at Tabella were wonderfully fresh and the citrus vinaigrette was a light and pleasant accompaniment to the crisp greens. I wasn’t as big of a fan of the arugula salad with chèvre, pecans and watermelon dressing. Although the disparate flavors didn’t argue with each other, they didn’t exactly compliment one another either.
Thanks to the small plate format and my large party, I was fortunate enough to get a least a small bite of everything on the menu. It’s not every day that you get to walk into a restaurant and say, “bring us one of everything,” so I relished the opportunity. Ambience and appetizers aside, let’s talk turkey, well… chicken. Tabella’s Moroccan grilled organic chicken thigh was by a wide margin the best prepared piece of meat that has ever danced across my taste buds. It was absolutely flawless. It had just the right amount of burnt flavor combined with a tenderness and juiciness that should have been impossible given its pyrogenic nature. The cider glaze was an ideal compliment to the potent smoky flavor, but it colored the dish’s mashed potatoes a bit more than I would have liked. I think this offering would have been inarguably perfect had the mashed potatoes been salty rather than sweet like the chicken. Side dishes ought to harmonize, not chorus. Still, the chicken alone was more than enough to make me yearn for a second helping.
Unfortunately, not every dish was as spectacular as the Moroccan chicken. The flambéed pumpkin and leek risotto with parmesan was just mushy and bland, and the citrus herbed olives were so salty that I feared no amount of water would ever be able to cleanse my pallet. Speaking of water, Tabella’s just wasn’t cold enough. They made a great choice of small-circumference glasses, but forgot that water must be ice cold if it is to be truly refreshing.
The only other two dishes that are really worth mentioning are the gratin and the portabella lasagna. I have always been a major proponent of potato-leek soup, so I was excited by the prospect of potatoes au gratin with “Astarte Farm organic heirloom leeks.” For once, my expectations were actually exceeded by a highly anticipated dish. The potatoes were perfectly cooked, and the cheese had just the right amount of boldness to allow the more subtly flavored leeks to play their part. As for the lasagna, let me say first that the cheese was top-notch. But compared to such quality cheese, the rest of the dish was a major letdown. The sauce’s flavor bordered on sour, and the overly potent portabella was a sobering reminder of why lasagna has been made with noodles for hundreds of years. With a slightly sweeter sauce and maybe some local noodles, Tabella could have something truly excellent on their hands. Instead, the portabella based offering presents a challenge: enjoy some legitimately wondrous cheese without letting anything else contaminate it.
Cross-contamination in general ran rampant throughout the meal. Sampling dish after dish resulted in an abundance of sauces, garnishes, and other accoutrements building up on my plate. While this sometimes led to some pretty marvelous synergy, the results were usually much less palatable. That being said, the sheer level of variety that comes with small plate dining more than trumped the occasional unwanted hybridization. Variety is the spice of life, and variety of spice gives life to a meal.
Overall, Tabella offers an excellent dining experience. Despite the high-brow overtones, the dining room manages to be comforting, especially if you can overlook their big-headedness about serving locally grown fare. In truth, their egos are usually justified, as the quality of the ingredients often outshined the preparation thereof. The chicken alone is worth the trip, and it’s definitely worth the price if someone else is footing the bill.