Fork

Written by mojdeh on September 17, 2014 in I Eat America, I Eat...Out with 0 Comments

(boisefork.com) – Downtown Boise, Idaho

How I heard of this place: Being on my own for most of our time in Boise, I thoroughly enjoyed any – and all – conversations I held with the locals; most of whom, I came to find, lived in Seattle for a time, moved to Boise and haven’t looked back. In each of my conversations, someone would recommend Fork as a must-do for dining options. After the third recommendation from friends, foodies, locals and everyone in between, I didn’t give my husband a choice for our last dinner in Boise.

Type of cuisine: “These days, the foodie and restaurant world is abuzz with buzzwords. “Local,” “sustainable,” and “hand-crafted” get tossed around more than a good salad.

Well, it is one thing to say it and another thing to live it. So when, after 15 years of starting and running restaurants, my wife Amanda and I first started playing with the idea of Fork, we knew it would take a lot of effort to make these words mean something again. And that’s what we’re trying to do, by making the ideas—the big ideas—behind these words not just marketing slogans, but at the core of how we spend our day.

It all starts with the food, of course. That’s why we’ve developed our “Loyal to Local” pledge, a commitment that has us sourcing many of our key ingredients from local Boise and Northwest farmers, ranchers, bakers, distillers, brewers, producers and cheese makers. The result is a menu that is as surprising as it is familiar.”

Ambiance: “Fork is located in the heart of downtown Boise, walking distance from the State’s Capital Building, Capital City Market on 8th Street and many of the city’s finest hotels.”

“Beyond the food, we’ve carried this approach to our beverage program and restaurant design as well. 75% of our beer, spirits and wine come from the great Northwest region and we’ve painstakingly restored and updated one of Boise’s oldest downtown landmarks into a comfortable, relaxed dining room. Local artisans used reclaimed or recycled materials to craft elements like our tables and glasses.

That’s our story. Pretty simple really…and that’s how it should be. Amanda and I hope you will find the time to come experience it for yourself. We’d love to have you.”

Set in the old Boise City National Bank, the vault space downstairs has been transformed into a conference room, while the über-high ceilings in the dining space, large, wooden pillars and hardwood floors truly give one space to imagine, dream and think of what it must have looked like…back in the day.

What I ordered: Having studied the menu the night before, I was relatively prepared for our long-anticipated and long-awaited outing at Fork. With recommendations from friends and locals, I knew that we would have share everything – it would just take a bit of convincing with my husband. (And I won.) We started with the Asparagus Fries ($7.95), a large portion of gluten-free, tempura-battered and fried asparagus spears, served al-dente with a ranch dipper,

and the Tomato Basil Fondue & Grilled Cheese ($8.75) with Ballard Cheddar and garlic glazed Zeppole bread.

For our main entree, and at the highest recommendation of our Seattle-native server, we shared the boneless Local Ale-Braised Short Ribs ($19.95) ~ Fork tender Northwest beef, garlic honey mustard sauce & creamy horseradish dollop over smashed potatoes and potato hay.

Our dessert: none other than Fork’s Signature Warm Butter Cake ($9.95) ~ “our age ol’ recipe topped with vanilla ice cream and Oregon berry coulis to be enjoyed today…”

What I loved: Everything from the perfectly cooked and still crispy asparagus, to the enjoyably spicy tomato-basil fondue and sharp cheddar, from the melt-in-your-mouth short ribs to the creamy, yet slightly lumpy mashed potatoes…all down to the steamy, perfect, warm butter cake, local vanilla ice cream and fresh, tart berry coulis. Let’s do it again.

Why I loved it: We were delightfully surprised and utterly impressed with the space, the cuisine, the friendliness of staff/servers and our complete experience.

No one ever told us that Boise is a hidden culinary gem in the Northwest, and we found that to be true with everything we enjoyed at Fork. Seattle truly has competition…where it would least expect it.