Table 6
  Canton, Ohio             Date of Visit:  06/21/15           
  http://www.91rg.net/restaurants/table-six-kitchen-bar

In Canton to catch a flick (complete failure) before catching up with mother-dear in Hartville at the enormous complex which has spawned around the Hartville Kitchen. The movie was sold out so we headed to lunch instead. Table 6 is the third location run by the group, which has been operating 91 Prime since I worked down in Canton. This is our first journey to any of their properties, this one chosen after checking out the menus and the long standing fancier seeming place only being open for dinner. A kitschy blend of furnishings and open layout are served by an open kitchen and service station. Our server was friendly but the pacing of the whole event was frustrating.
 

The managers run a good bit of the food and apparently during dinner hours whenever the kitchen puts a plate in the window it goes to the table with a focus on sharing. I was surprised how quickly our appetizers made it to the table but they would have been better off slowing it down as the time between apps and lunch was noticeably lengthy. Lots of people looking very busy, just didn’t translate to service as well as others manage to accomplish.

We started with devils on horseback and maple pecan bacon. We’ve had much better bacon wrapped dates, the bacon was fine but the sweet chew of the date never materialized. I did like the addition of the super green cilantro pesto, it was bright and fresh but everything conspired to hid the fruit. The bacon was better. Steph flip-flopped over enjoying it, I found it fairly good but oversold. Thick rashers are candied with maple and nuts with something that gives the whole smoky strip a warm spice on the finish. Good, but not extraordinary. I did appreciate the little piggy serving apparatus which was warm and kept the bacon thusly as well.
 

I’ve had Monte Cristo’s on the brain for a bit and they have one with ham, turkey, Swiss, and Gouda, which is served with raspberry preserves and a maple syrup infused with bourbon. My pet peeve has always been uncooked egginess on the French toast and they avoided it well. Everything else was just as expected, sweet, salty, lots of stringy cheese, just what I wanted, solid sammitch. I ordered a side of fries, wet. The wet was a beautiful gravy, and I think a couple of cheesy curds which I could have eaten as a soup. The fries alone had seen too much hot grease and were seriously bitter at the end. If you scooped enough gravy, it overcame the sharp bite.
 

Steph ordered the lobster street tacos with a tequila and jicama slaw, Mexican corn, lemon aioli and cilantro. These little treats were really, really, really good. If the Monte Cristo sandwich scratched an itch, the tacos created one. Steph said she would drive back down just for them. They certainly don’t need to be lobster, it’s impossible to pick the lobster flavor out of the mélange of other deliciousness but that deliciousness makes you care a bunch less. The lemon boosts the acidity of the slaw and the sweetness of the corn balances both. There is also an unreported ingredient which packs a bit of peppery bite, Campbell’s good with three Mmmmms. I wonder if you can get the chicken or Korean bbq tacos with the additions made for the lobster?
 

Even though we were headed to pie central, Steph had trouble reducing the dessert options to two, neither of which were as good as they sounded. The apple crisp had a nice filling and even better cinnamon ice cream, but the oatey streusel on top was more of a damp mush than a textural foil. The crème brulee is what really put the desserts in the have to try category. It’s layered. Traditional baked custard is stacked with liquid peanut butter and chocolate ganache before being roofed with crunchy burned sugar. The custard itself would have needed something, rubbery and under vanillaed, it would have been a disappointment alone. The chocolate and cream addition worked well but both of us struggled with the peanut butter. It was seriously flavorful but obliterated everything else.

Table 6 offers pretty unique and interesting lunch option for the area and delivers better than most, just not as well as some real standouts.