Restaurant Review - The Good Fork, Brooklyn

3) The Good Fork - 391 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY

In getting back to the original intent of the last post, my dining companion and I wanted to treat ourselves to one of the many restaurants featured on the pages of the various cooking magazines to which we subscribe. Due to time constraints -- i.e. trying to see everything/everyone we wanted in such a short period – we were forced to make a reservation the morning of our desired evening out. After many attempts, we finally secured a reservation at “The Good Fork,” a small restaurant in the burgeoning neighourhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn. This restaurant had been featured in one of the latest issues of “Bon Appetit” in a section devoted to various small up-and-coming restaurants. Given the choice of a 6:30pm or 11:00pm reservation, we opted for the earlier of the two, which meant leaving “the city” at least an hour beforehand.

Getting to the restaurant was the first adventure. Our hostess had suggested against walking the 20 minutes from the subway stop, as this area of Brooklyn is mostly a collection of warehouses and housing projects with a couple of tony streets thrown in for good measure. We ordered a car service (de rigeur for Brooklyn) and made it to the restaurant only a few minutes late. First, let it be noted that the décor in this place is incredible. The restaurant is a mixture of exposed brick and copious amounts of blond wood. As you enter the restaurant you first notice the molded wood ceiling/wall piece which curves from the ceiling down onto the brick. The effect is not unlike a ship’s warm interior and adds to the cozy feeling of this little romantic restaurant. As for the service, it was likewise warm and attentive – we were given, in my opinion – the best table in the house, a little cozy window alcove near the front of the restaurant, but far enough away from the door. We began our meals with cocktails, I had a lemon gin drink (the name of which escapes me, although I think it might have been French) and my man friend ordered a “Dark and Stormy” his new drink of choice, since sampling it at a yachting event. As for our starters, we tried the roasted beets (which were perfectly done and nicely enhanced by walnuts, shallots and ricotta) and the featured appetizer which were sweetbreads, also quite delicious. For our main courses, we sampled the seared duck breast with French lentils and the homemade ravioli with radicchio ricotta filling and mushroom chestnut cream sauce. The duck was perfectly done with an accompanying red wine reduction and the lentils were out of this world (which are strong words for lentils). The ravioli was equally as satisfying and the perfect amount of pasta to boot.

On the whole, this was one lovely dining experience. The only off-note came when we ordered a 2004 bottle of California cabernet, only to be brought the 2005 without explanation. Although, in a night filled with plusses, this was really the only minus. Two last things: upon perusing the list of main courses, I was thrown off by the “Korean-style steak and eggs” and it was only upon later reading the magazine article that I found out that the owner’s wife, and chef of the restaurant, is Korean, which would explain the faint Korean leanings in an otherwise fairly bistro-esque menu (next time I will definitely try the steak and eggs). And finally, I want to mention that although we had an early dinner reservation and presumably they had the table booked for a later reservation, we never felt rushed and loitered for two and a half hours capping off our evening with a piece of key lime pie and excellent espresso.

8.5/10

Mains: $10-20