Table Fifty-Two

Art Smith, who recently finished fourth on Top Chef Masters, has a restaurant in Chicago called Table Fifty-Two. Service was decent, but a little spotty. Two incidents come to mind: the more expensive (twice as much) version of the wine we ordered came to our table, but when it was questioned, we were reassured it was the wine we ordered. It was NOT. Then our 2 desserts came at least 10 minutes apart - the latecomer was a piece of cake that just needed to be sliced and plated with gelato and canned pineapple - doesn't seem like there was an excuse for this. Nevertheless, most of the food here was wonderful. There were maple short ribs that were not too sweet; buttery baked catfish, sophisticated yet homey mac and cheese, and tangy collard greens. We were hoping Art Smith would peak his head out of the kitchen, but he did not. Maybe next time!