Table 52

Upscale casual dress. This is how the hostess described the dress code at Table 52. A southern comfort restaurant that offers the tastes and smells of the south mixed with a sleekness you've come to expect from a downtown establishment. The exterior of the restaurant is very nondescript. It actually looks like a house from the outside. I say sleek because there is not any of the extra fanfare created by some of the overexposed restaurants you find closer to Michigan avenue.

We arrived a little early for our reservation (called a week ahead and could only get 9pm)...and were greeted by a smiley hostess with a southern accent. A charm that we found throughout the entire meal. They gladly sat us early and outside (per our request). Next up our enthusiastic waiter asked what we'd like to drink and without pause I ordered the Rose' flight and the boyfriend ordered one of his favorite wines Conundrum. This was a special meal as the boyfriend had just been promoted. I was quite pleased with my choice when I saw the mini little pink glasses arrived. Too cute for words. I loved the first 2 I tried however for some reason the third was absolutely undrinkable. I shared my distaste with the waiter in the nicest way possible and without even a bat of an eye he was like "no problem, i don't like that one myself either." Awesome! I mean not only did he accommodate my request, he also didn't make me feel bad about it.

OK, on to the food. For starters biscuits were brought to the table which the boyfriend devoured and went on to say that they were the best biscuits he's ever had. With his look of complete satisfaction I believed it. Then we were served an amuse bouche (a small gift from the chef) of deviled eggs. This is a classic food item that I didn't grow up eating but that I have grown to appreciate. I mean what's not to love about hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise and paprika. To give the waiter even more credit, I had at first forgotten to take a picture of the eggs...so I asked for another set, again I was given a quick yes which was soon followed with a huge grin by me.

For an appetizer, we ordered the risotto to share. This was a potato risotto served with an over easy egg yolk on top. Yes more egg...as this was a southern meal, it was expected that our cholesterol would be at a high level at the conclusion of the meal. When the risotto arrived I was surprised to see that there was no rice in the risotto. Being an Italian girl, I couldn't quite wrap my brain around it. I figured it was going to be a mix of arborio rice and potato...yes an odd combo but you never know. I later found out from the waiter that risotto is a method of cooking and not only made with rice. I thought the overall flavor of the dish was good...but i was left yearning for the rice. I found that the potato did not sop up the juices as well as the traditional dish.

For my main course I had the pork chop with a side of roast sweet potatoes. The boyfriend ordered the short ribs with sides of mac & cheese and cornbread (drizzled with honey and sprinkled with bacon). My potatoes were great...but I must say I felt saddened by my gluten restriction as the boyfriend dove into the melty goodness of the mac & cheese. He loved it so much we went back a week later!

For dessert, I ordered a set of ice creams, one of which was made with goat cheese. I was once again pleased with the presentation (served in little cups) however the ice cream had melted by the time it was served. I have to applaud their efforts though as the ice cream by itself wasn't listed on the menu.

Overall it was an amazing dinner on the front patio of Table 52...a beautifully warm summer evening, great company and wonderful comfort food.