"I can't seem to make the half star symbol work because I'd give Table 17 three and a half stars. I found myself there late last night where I met up with an old friend for dinner. I have been wanting to go there for a while so when I found myself on the eastern side of the city dealing with a late day work issue I seized the opportunity. \n\nI can't say all that much about the decor as we sat on the side western side of the restaurant right by the door (in all fairness, we just walked in and had no res so we knew it would be hit or miss). The other side of the restaurant, from what I could see, looked lovely and it appears that they have one of those large chef's tables as well. \n\nSpecials of the day included an unusual app of deep fried Zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta (3 on a plate). The waiter explained that these flowers were only available for about two weeks of the year and it was a very special menu addition. The main menu is not that large with approx. half the mains being some sort of fish (arctic chair, salmon, halibut, scallops). \n\nWe started with the charcuterie board because I wanted to compare it with the charcuterie board that my fellow yelper, Deanna and I shared at Swirl the day before. The bread they served was very unusual, some sort of blueberry bread with walnuts in it. Very fresh but very heavy. The board consisted of four different types of meats, a small terrine of chicken pate, a couple of dried figs with walnuts shoved in them, no cheese of any sort, nor any savory (I have this thing for olives!). Pate was pretty good but not anywhere near as good as the pate we chowed down on at Swirl. Would have loved the figs if maybe they had squeezed some mascarpone into them and then shoved the nuts in. I'm such a foodie critic. To drink we ordered the McManis Cabernet Sauvignon ($55) and it is a very reliable bottle of red. \n\nI opted for (let's be predictable Christine) the steak frites and my friend had the poached halibut. The steak was delicious and cooked to order (medium rare). The frites are so crispy, crunchy and tangled, just the way I love them but what the hell is up with all the salt? I mentioned this to the waiter when he asked me how my meal was and then to his credit he brought out an little bowl of frites sans salt. He insisted. He also apologized for the kitchen as he said sometimes they don't realize how much kosher salt they are tossing into the bowl when they shake up the frites. The halibut was meaty but bland as hell. Then again, it is poached. Great if you are on a diet. Personally I felt it could have been poached in perhaps a court bouillon with lots of fresh herbs. My friend began picking at my plate which tells me that she wasn't sated by her dinner because she dived right into the bowl of extra frites. \n\nWe passed on dessert. After all that meat there was no way I could eat dessert (urp!). All in all, I liked Table 17. The service was great, our waiter as friendly and stayed on top of making sure our glasses were looked after. Still, something just felt slightly off for me and I can't quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it may have just been our location inside of the restaurant, I never really felt like I was in it. I would be willing though, in all fairness, to give Table 17 another go. The lamb sounded wonderful as did a couple of the specials of the day. I so gotta learn to step outside my steak obsession!"^^ . . "2"^^ . . . "2"^^ . "2009-08-07T00:00:00"^^ . "3"^^ . "2"^^ .