New Orleans Menu Daily Five-Star Edition

New Orleans Menu Daily Archived Article
By Tom Fitzmorris
Originally published August 31, 2007

Final Table At Table One Sunday

Table One, the contemporary French-Creole-American restaurant on Magazine at Washington Avenue, closed its doors this past weekend. The premises will be remodeled into a new, more casual restaurant.

The press release from Three Of A Kind Restaurant Group, which owns Table One along with the five Byblos restaurants and delis, says that the new restaurant will offer "everyday affordable and take-out friendly dining."

The first thought I had when I read that was "Camellia Grill." One of the three principals of Three Of A Kind--Hicham Khodr--is the new owner of the Camellia Grill, and he'd made no secret of his plan to extend the diner to other locations.

Which would not be a big deal, really. For all its fame, the Camellia Grill's menu and style as as simple as that of any chain restaurant, and should be easy to reproduce. But I'm only guessing here.

Hicham and Gabriel Saliba and Tarek Tay (the other two of a kind), had very good luck with Table One when they opened it a few months after the storm. Chef Gerard Maras, whose past history in New Orleans is a long and impressive one, was in the kitchen. For months, it was difficult to get a table in the restaurant. With good reason: the food was Gerard's usual polished, French-inspired eats, and the two-story building--a former townhouse that had been an auto parts store for a long time before its conversion into the restaurant--was comfortable and charming.

The owners did all they could to keep the profile of Table One high, with monthly benefits for a host of local charities. But as the restaurant community returned to pre-storm strength, Table One seems to have been squeezed out. The reopening of Commander's Palace, two blocks away could not have helped.

But my guess is that the exacting cookery of Gerard Maras is simply not for everybody--or for enough people, anyway. One was either a fan of his food (as I was), or one didn't understand what the big deal was (judging from my audience's comments).

This is the most significant closing this year, and it will be pointed out by some as sign of weakness in the restaurant business. But we are still well below the pace of closings in past years, and far, far below the pace of restaurant closings in other major restaurant towns. I'll miss Table One, but I have too many other restaurants to try for me to miss it a lot.

© 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com

Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published August 31, 2007 Final Table At Table One Sunday Table One, the contemporary French-Creole-American restaurant on Magazine at Washington Avenue, closed its doors this past weekend. The premises will be remodeled into a new, more casual restaurant. The press release from Three Of A Kind Restaurant Group, which owns Table One along with the five Byblos restaurants and delis, says that the new restaurant will offer "everyday affordable and take-out friendly dining." The first thought I had when I read that was "Camellia Grill." One of the three principals of Three Of A Kind--Hicham Khodr--is the new owner of the Camellia Grill, and he'd made no secret of his plan to extend the diner to other locations. Which would not be a big deal, really. For all its fame, the Camellia Grill's menu and style as as simple as that of any chain restaurant, and should be easy to reproduce. But I'm only guessing here. Hicham and Gabriel Saliba and Tarek Tay (the other two of a kind), had very good luck with Table One when they opened it a few months after the storm. Chef Gerard Maras, whose past history in New Orleans is a long and impressive one, was in the kitchen. For months, it was difficult to get a table in the restaurant. With good reason: the food was Gerard's usual polished, French-inspired eats, and the two-story building--a former townhouse that had been an auto parts store for a long time before its conversion into the restaurant--was comfortable and charming. The owners did all they could to keep the profile of Table One high, with monthly benefits for a host of local charities. But as the restaurant community returned to pre-storm strength, Table One seems to have been squeezed out. The reopening of Commander's Palace, two blocks away could not have helped. But my guess is that the exacting cookery of Gerard Maras is simply not for everybody--or for enough people, anyway. One was either a fan of his food (as I was), or one didn't understand what the big deal was (judging from my audience's comments). This is the most significant closing this year, and it will be pointed out by some as sign of weakness in the restaurant business. But we are still well below the pace of closings in past years, and far, far below the pace of restaurant closings in other major restaurant towns. I'll miss Table One, but I have too many other restaurants to try for me to miss it a lot. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com