Table Kitchen and Bar

It took two trips inside the building to jog the delivery man’s memory. His eyes adjusting to the intimate restaurant interior, he set down a box of unchristened dinnerware and let out a low, emphatic breath. “Oh!” he said. “This is where they used to have the most hoppin’ Halloween party in Baton Rouge ...” The crew of Table Kitchen and Bar, taking a lunch break from their own preparations, laughed knowingly at the reference to the building’s longtime former tenants, Southdowns Bar; they’re well-versed in the city’s restaurant history (including the all-too-brief chapters of the last three businesses that fought to hold down this location).

In the months leading up to Table’s opening on April 28, husband-and-wife owners Scott and Michelle Wilson have become diligent students of the industry at large, looking to carve out their own enduring niche in a city that’s proven itself a stern market for budding restaurateurs. According to Scott Wilson (who previously owned the now-defunct Dublin’s Irish Pub, located in Tigerland in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s), the couple logged “a year-plus of research and traveling” across the country to glean the various elements and concepts on which Table stands.

“They’re not getting in their own way,” said restaurant consultant Chris D’Mers, who offered his expertise to the couple along the way, of the Wilsons’ meticulous preparations.

Plenty of restaurants have survived the choosy epicureans of Baton Rouge, but Scott Wilson balks at hitting all the usual notes. “Here, so many people open up restaurants that are just a new tire on a wheel,” he said. “But I’m trying to recreate the wheel.”

Table Kitchen and Bar won’t have jetpack-lofted waiters or virtual tapas in its post-modern approach. Wilson knows these tricks won’t hold the crowd’s attention after opening week; they’ll be off to sample the next craze. “Baton Rouge loves newness,” said Wilson.

At Table, the Wilsons hope diners will be attracted by the farm-to-table concept, which casts staple items as the menu’s stars. In fact, staples are the only thing patrons can reasonably expect out of Chef Curtis Froelich’s kitchen, where the chef and his team will produce a revolving bounty of dishes.

“There will be a backbone of the main proteins,” outlined Wilson. “Each night we’re going to offer a beef dish, pork dish, chicken dish, a pasta, a fish/seafood, and a steak.”

But it’s not “just like Momma used to make.” Beyond the protein stipulation, ingredients are up in the air, testament both to the season and the chosen stylings of Chef Curtis. (He offered up a few iterations of poultry that he has in mind: roast half chicken with smothered greens, Vietnamese chicken wings, and even a take on lamb lollipops.)

The menu is subject to change as often as the kitchen restocks. Table’s goods and produce hail from over twenty farms in the region. Three of these farms even rumble their trucks right up to the restaurant’s door, affording a mobile farmers market to the kitchen crew. “We shop right off the truck!” said Wilson.

A chef’s-table section of the restaurant, seating twenty-four, will allow further creative freedom for Chef Curtis, whose culinary pedigree includes sous chef positions at Mansur’s on the Boulevard and the Country Club of Louisiana.

“There will be two seatings a night,” said Wilson. The tables will be granted a three-course menu (appetizer, entrée, and dessert) with wine and cocktail suggestions. (All classic cocktails, pledged head bartender Tony Gambino, “but there will be a theatre to it.”) Presentations from Chef Curtis will accompany each course.

“It’s not really my comfort zone,” laughed the chef, about his scheduled time in the spotlight. “But I know it’s necessary to make this work.”

Faith in Chef Curtis Froelicher and his talents is key; it will create the same kind of guest loyalty that makes any restaurant last, especially in Baton Rouge, where diners favor what they already know.

Two weeks before the opening, Table’s kitchen echoed with preparations and potential menu items put to the test. Short ribs braised, bacon smoked outside, and, in one corner of the kitchen, a hog’s head simmered in its mercifully tall stockpot.

In the restaurant proper, light streamed through the half-circle windows onto bare butcher-block tables. Before long, though, they’ll hold curious guests and classic cocktails … and whatever Wilson, Chef Curtis, and the crew cook up next.

Details. Details. Details.

Table Kitchen & Bar

4205 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, La.

tablekitchenandbar.com