The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/148479
A16 A17 Perfect Ten Eatery offers sophisticated, hyper-local food with heart It's easy to drive right past Bloomville's Table on Ten. There's no flashing neon and no garish red arrow. There's just an unassuming tan house, tucked into a hillside, and state Route 10 runs a few feet from the front door. But any eater — especially one who loves this region and all of its bounty — would be poorer for not having stopped. On Friday and Saturday evenings, when owners Inez Valk-Kempthorne and Justus Kempthorne fire up the wood burning pizza oven, the place is easier to spot. Crowds gather at the picnic tables on the side lawn. Live music plays. The smell of smoke fills the air. The restaurant itself just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Valk-Kempthorne and her husband have been in Bloomville a few years longer. They moved up from New York City, where she worked as a model and he as a carpenter. "I don't want to make too much of a model becoming a baker — but that is what I did," ValkKempthorne says. Her accent is hard to place until she mentions that she is Dutch. "The idea of Table on Ten kind of came to us. We wanted to have a communal space with no dynamic of 'your place' or 'my place.' A place which was open to everyone who could get together to get inspired, to collaborate," Valk-Kempthorne says. The bulk of the raw ingredients come from within a 10-mile radius of the restaurant. Supplier Lucky Dog Farms, of Hamden, is one of the few excep- tions. But the idea of locals helping locals is never far away. "People literally come in and have a crate of cherry tomatoes and ask 'Can you do something with this?' Valk-Kempthorne says. "Because we have such a small menu, we usually can." While, yes, the menu is small, the taste of the food is mighty — so much so that the restaurant was profiled in the February 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living, and in a recent issue of the Wall Street Journal. Current breakfast offerings include treats like "eggs in a glass," which is local eggs soft-boiled and dusted with herbs, or Meyer Lemon marmalade on toast, or house-made granola. Lunch features a crispy and airy baguette stuffed with Tilsit, pickled onions, arugula, and safflower mayo or mozzarella, prosciuttos and basil pesto. The weekend pizzas draw from old favorites like smoked pepperoni and soon-to-be new ones like ricotta cheese, local honey, chocolate, and Maldon sea salt. And there are always specials, which spring into existence based on what looks best in the local market right now. What excites Valk-Kempthorne most right now are "the ice cream sandwiches. Every week we're coming up with flavors inspired by what's around." These aren't the frozen novelties you'd buy off of a truck. A few of the recent Table on Ten combos have included balsamic roasted tomato and basil, strawberries macerated with vodka and rosemary, strawberries macerated with vodka and rosemary, and honey lavender. Not every idea makes it out of the kitchen, however. "There's definitely things that didn't work. We post (on Facebook) a lot about what we're doing and at 5:30 we're making the first test pizza. You make it up in your mind — but sometimes you are completely wrong," Valk-Kempthorne says. "We're always learning and improving." The changes to the property haven't stopped with the spare but cozy dining room. Table on Ten just received their beer and wine license. Building improvements continue as well. The couple transformed the top two floors of the house and rents out two guest rooms as well as two offices. Next, they may head down the stairs. "We still have a basement, for example, that can be completely renovated and turned into a sort of laboratory," Valk-Kempthorne says. Beyond the food and the gracefully spare interior design, what is most striking about Table on Ten is how much it feels like a part of the community. From the flyers for events pinned to the front door to the nearly all local back-of-house staff, that sense of connection is no accident and has been nurtured by Volk-Kempthorne. "We have gratitude for being able to work with local farms and know the importance of supporting the local economy," she says. "It's great." It's pretty tasty, too. Photos By Adrienne Martini 16 Inez Valk-Kempthorne. O-Town Scene August 1, 2013 August 1, 2013 O-Town Scene 17 August 1, 2013 O-Town Scene