Art Is Served At The Table (& Gallery)

On the wall next to the entrance of The Table & Gallery, located at 1209 Chapel St., is the ​“Blue Vein Mural,” which encapsulates everything that the culinary and artistic space is all about.

The mural is made out of pages taken from two eighteenth- and nineteenth-century books on patriarchy and the oppression of women, covered by flowing blue shapes that recall water droplets flung into the air. An educational message is transformed into a work that evokes cleansing and freedom, as well as the idea of going with the flow.

The mural is the work of Sonal Soveni, a filmmaker, artist, entrepreneur, and founder and owner of The Table & Gallery. During the process of opening her business, which launched a year ago, Soveni often found herself frustrated. To relieve stress, she started doodling on the pages. Suddenly, ​“Lo and behold, it was a mural,” she said.

For Soveni, The Table & Gallery was all about ​“making sure that I am giving back to the community by connecting local talent with established talent, and connecting food with art.” Diners are invited to enjoy their food while consuming an equally flavorful mix of art, music, and film.

Initially, Soveni wanted to open a gallery. She grew up in the hospitality industry, and described it as toxic and male-dominated, so she had little interest in returning to that world. But the location she chose came with a kitchen, so Soveni decided to heal her restaurant-related trauma by reentering that kitchen on her own terms. ​“Wounds to wisdom,” as she put it.

“I wanted to extract the prominent colors of my artwork and use the plate as a canvas of art,” Soveni said.

Art had been a way for her to process her emotions; now The Table & Gallery was too. ​“I’ve changed the narrative in the kitchen, where we all come together and it’s a safe space,” she said.

Even though The Table & Gallery has been a success for Soveni — she has displayed the work of an Emmy-awarded filmmaker, and had another artist fly in from Peru to exhibit his artwork — she is still conscious of the sexism rampant in her industry. ​“Many blessings, but I still feel as females we have to stand taller, speak louder to be heard,” she explained.

Customers at The Table & Gallery ​“have to be open minded,” said Soveni. ​“Because this is such a different concept, and the concept is that we’re utilizing all of these different elements to heal ourselves. I want to put normalcy around healing.”

The Table & Gallery is all about healing, and it’s also about unity, both representing your own story and appreciating others. The titular table ​“signifies everybody coming together,” according to Soveni. And at this table, everyone gets a seat, especially creatives. ​“There’s no starving artists at The Table & Gallery,” she said.

No starving customers at all. Every month Soveni serves tasting menus from four resident chefs. Each chef develops their own menu under Soveni’s guidance, and they are encouraged to cook dishes that represent their cultures. ​“It’s to support them to bring out what they grew up eating, what inspired them,” said Soveni.

Chef Michaela Ucich prepared Wednesday’s tasting menu, inspired by her Sicilian roots, and her mother and grandmother’s influence. The first dish was a kale-Caesar salad, with fresh parmesan, pepita seeds, and house-made Caesar dressing. The kale lent an earthy taste to the classic dish, and the bread crumbs were small enough to add texture without making the customer crack a tooth.

The second dish was arancini balls, served with vodka sauce. The risotto balls had the texture of mozzarella balls without any of the heaviness, with a crispy outside and a soft core. The vodka sauce added balance to the flavors, and the careful presentation made the plate resemble a minimalist Wassily Kandinsky painting. The dish felt light and filling at once, but not so filling that the customer didn’t have plenty of room for what came next.

Next, Ucich served porcini mushroom ravioli, with parmesan cheese and a white wine butter sauce. The subtle flavors created the perfect contrast between the slight bitterness of the mushrooms and the salt and bite of parmesan on top.

For dessert, Ucich served le biscoff, a biscoff cookie tiramisu. It was airy and not too sweet, with a slight edge from the coffee. The tiramisu practically melted on the tongue, and, like the other dishes, it was perfectly proportioned. The complete meal of four courses left the customer satiated and not too full, while providing a complex mix of textures and flavors.

Soveni also offered Calling in Love Ceremonial Cacao, provided by Yehudah Russel. ​“The mission is to create sustainable economies for Indigenous and Colombian farmers,” he said. Russel also hosts popular cacao ceremonies at The Table & Gallery, which are all about music, sound healing, and learning to love yourself.

In her description of the Blue Vein Mural, Soveni describes the process of opening The Table & Gallery as full of fear and anxiety. But she also describes herself pushing past it, learning to claim her own space and move as freely as the water droplets that scatter the pages. ​“There is a story to be told,” writes Soveni.

The Table & Gallery is Soveni telling that story, and also providing other creatives, from visual artists, to filmmakers, to musicians, to chefs, the space to tell their own stories. Art becomes more than something to hang on a wall when it impacts the lives of the people who look at it, and food is more than a combination of ingredients: it’s a way to support each other. Every dish served at The Table & Gallery is more than just a dish, it’s artwork. And it’s also a story, one that Soveni and her chefs are telling, one that the customer is invited to tell as well.