Call Table & Main a Southern tavern, because owner/general manager Ryan Pernice does. Yet by any appellation, his new restaurant taps current homey but hip leanings, jumping into a Roswell dining scene that's booming.
Pernice grew up in Roswell and likes to emphasize his hometown connections. Inspired by the song, “The Weight” by The Band, he invites guests to relax, grab a drink and “take a load off.”
The look: Table & Main is situated in a restored 100-year-old house on the quieter side of the bustling Canton Street corridor. A covered porch offers a lucky few a quaint perch with a view of the garden, while a brick patio features rows of umbrella tables. Inside, the original rooms are divided into a small bar area, a casual front parlor and a more formal dining room with white tablecloths in back.
The scene: One Friday evening, energetic young servers skipped between the crowded porch, patio and indoor dining spots, offering tastes of cheese straws pscked into petite jelly jars. A group of women with a pile of shopping bags stowed under their table went from confused to pleased when they found the check stuck like a bookmark in a paperback copy of Pat Conroy's "Prince of Tides."
The menu: Executive chef Ted Lahey is an Athens native who formed the jam band, Day By the River, before going to culinary school and working at Five and Ten, East-West Bistro and Pricci. At Table & Main, Lahey's menu rocks classic Southern with the likes of pulled pork barbecue and Napa cabbage slaw tucked into chive crepe pockets ($8). Gulf shrimp and gouda grits topped with bacon-tomato gravy ($17) and country-fried veal with tomato, arugula and pickled onion ($24) play around Italian influences.
The drinks: Table & Main has a full bar, but bourbon, featured on a separate list, is Pernice's favorite and a sort of specialty of the house. The concise, locals-only draft beer list ($5 per pint) includes Terrapin Hopsecutioner IPA, Red Brick Brown ale and Jailhouse Slammer wheat.
The extras: The "pie of the day" ($7) is sourced from The Pie Hole bakery, located directly across the street. Later in the fall, outdoor dining will wind down, but look for a new weekend brunch menu.
Dining out
Table & Main, Roswell
5-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 5-10:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 5-9:30 p.m. Sundays.
Appetizers, $7-$14; entrees $13-$29; sides, $4-$5; desserts, $5-$7.
1028 Canton St., 678-869-5178, tableandmain.com
