Restaurant Review The Baker's Table.

The Old Port's Signature Bistro Has A New Owner.

The Baker's T·able.

BY DENNIS GILBERT.

ITH every eyecatching real esut'te transaction in the Old Parr, that darling quarter <if the city reveals itself anew as - an out-of-balance econosystem - not so much a complex of interdependent life forms hovering on the verge of collapse, but clearly the domain of a species of Bigfish whose carp-like voracity will always and without fail drive out such delicate indigenous creatures as . artists. And shopkeepers peddling useful objects rather than tinselware. Another critter quickly going the way of all small-fry is the Old Port cafe', that intimate, qualityconscious, bistro-style restaurant of which the Baker's Table is a prime specimen, if not an institution.

Of course the Baker's Table is not in any danger of going out of business, as many of its neighbors have done. But now that it is the property of .joseph Soley, whose Seamen's Club is far more similar in its current style and appeal to Reidy's or Horsefeathers or the Oyster Club than to its own former self, are we to expect a dramatic metamorphosis in a restaurant that has been a standard of quality in town since it opened its doors more than a decade ago?

We dined there recently and found that some changes had already taken place. Foremost of these and perhaps most predictable was a turnover in certain members of the staff. This always happens, for a number of reasons, but unless the entire crew or at least its most essential members walk out, most places survive. And ~n th.is l?articular evening, the servICe dldn t show any lack of professionalism or familiarity with the menu. We w~re also informed that lunch servICe has been changed from cafeteria-style to table-side, which seems to us like an improvement. . ·We also noted other improvements which might be made, or duties which might be more faithfully attended to, such as straightening the overwhelmingly VIsible art . collection on the low brick walls. The area most in need of change, though, is the entryway so that diners might feel more that they have been welcomed into a fine food restaurant rather than admitted through the back door of a kitchen to hang up their coats like preschoolers. delicate viands in between. It also varies broadly in price: for less than ten bucks you can have dinner with a salad and glass of wine.

We spent a little more, starting with country pate and smoked chicken with a horseradish mustard. These two dishes were minor disappointments (and the only ones in the meal). The pate, a three-layer concoction of veal, chicken, and pork, was overly homogenized for a country pate and subsequently dry, primarily for lack of fat content, which may be best from a health point of view, but if you are going to eat a pate you might as well eat the moist version. The smoked chicken, too, was a wee bit dry in texture and too smoky, although its skin was crusty as treacle and the sauce snappy and the practice of serving it warm an interesting twist.

Entrees here are served with choice of soup or salad, and we ordered one of each. This course had a pleasant nostalgia about it, partly because of the cream of carrot soup's Mr. Natura( cream-of-pumpkinpie richness and partly because of this restaurant's Hollow Reed reverence for salads and dressings'- to wit, the vegetable vinaigrette, a clever method of mixing vegetables marinated in lemon juice and red wine vinegar with nutty oil so that both are eaten together but each is tasted quite separately. .

Best of all was the main' course broiled halibut (fillet not steak) with a Maximillian sauce, which is a hollandaise flavored with anchovies and garlic, and scallops baked with cognac, mushrooms, and cream. Each of these is difficult to cook halibut by nature and scallops by this method of cooking - and both were expertly done: The texture of both remained delicate, with peak flavor, and at the same time the food was served hot, not warm. The Maximillian sauce was particularly interesting since the unavoidable saltiness of the anchovies seemed to have been transformed by the meaty fish. The scallops were very sweet, spared the raunch of improperlyburned-off brandy, and I couldn't help wondering how they would have tasted with a good dose of Maximillian sauce.

It was really the food we had come for, though, and on the whole we were very pleased. One reason for the Baker's Table's perennial success is the broad range of its menu. Within a compact and manageable size, it includes vegetarian dishes and meat and potatoes and a creative sampling of the seafoods and more

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