fork

anyway, the food at fork was outstanding to look at and equally as good to eat! all of the forks in ourplacesettings were different from each other. my son noticed this halfway through our appetizers. we asked our server about it and she explained the mission of the restaurant and what the “forks” actually represented. i believe she mentioned the phrase “farm to fork”, and local ingredients, etc… i am sure you have heard it all before: organic, local, sustainability. slow food type stuff. i love, and buy into, many of these concepts. i am just not very good at describing them without sounding like a bad advertisement for a whole foods market, or a “fresh, new, healthy” item on a mcdonald’s menu.

not impressed. after reviewing their menu online i thought the food looked great, i was excited to try it out. the space itself is great, very cool vibe with a big, open dining area. the bar looked like a greatplaceto hang out for a few cocktails too. after ordering, one thing i noticed is nothing is served right away, such as something as simple as fresh artisan bread and oil. this is usually the mark of a restaurant that isn't too guest-centric i've discovered, in regards to the food. anyway, not a big deal but definitely noticeable to someone who's eaten in many excellent restaurants in quite a few cities. the first course salad was honestly terrible. i was in the mood for something simple, so i ordered their wedge salad. i got about half a head of iceberg with maybe 3 tablespoons of creamy blue, a tablespoon of crumbly, a few red onion rings, and a few grape tomatoes. none of the ingredients tasted all that fresh, and the salad had way too much iceberg and not nearly enough blue cheese. in short, it sucked. a wedge is a hard salad to screw up too.

onward to the entree. i came in looking forward to a ny strip or ribeye (like i saw on their outdated menu online), but they only had a filet on the menu that night. not the end of the world, i like filet as well. the meat came out on a skillet platter, which shocked me. why... on earth.... would you serve a cut of meat that's cooked to temperature on a skillet platter that's about 300 degrees and will continue to cook the meat long after it left the window? i can tell you why. stupidity. my medium rare filet was heading upwards to medium well by the second, as it sat there in front of me. i almost sent it back for being overcooked on arriving to the table (it was medium by this point) but decided against it. the truly terrible part was it was a quality cut of meat, the kitchen just overcooked it with the presentation. the sauce was pretty good. the polenta that it was served with was awful. overcooked and with little flavor. scale of 1 to 10 thisplacegets an 8 for ambiance and a straight up 1 for food. it's in no way a good value and not a memorable experience. at least not in a good way.

i've eaten at fork consistently since they opened, and it never disappoints. the service is great and the food is to die for. the short ribs are the best you will ever have and they have a fantastic tomato soup. if you want great tasting local food, good drinks, and friendly service, this is theplacefor you.

maybe because it was a training night???. first let me say that this is the first review i have ever posted for anything; tripadvisor, amazon, bestbuy.com, urbanspoon, etc.

had family in town and wanted to show them a 'local' dining experience. wife had eaten here before and liked it, her friends eat here all the time and love it.

appetizers:
3 orders of their rosemary fries - all 3 servings were cold when delivered to our table. waiter apologized and within a few mins we had warm fries. i was just very surprised that aplacelike fork would serve cold food.
1 order of roasted artichoke - not sure where they purchase their produce but there was zero 'meat' on the petals. roasted flavor was great but that was only experienced by sucking on the petals.

soup:
2 orders of their soup-of-the-day which was italian wedding soup. my parents said the flavor was great, ingredients were perfect, but guess what...the soup was warm but not hot. below freezing outside and they serve lukewarm soup???
1 order of tomato bisque which was warm, not hot, and my wife said was great.

entrees:
3 monday night spare-ribs specials with their signature potato salad. 2 racks were from a poor cut and my rack was like the 'back-strap from hell' with the striated membrane intact. the potato salad was 90% corn and the varied sizes of potato pieces were not cooked evenly. worst ribs in my life. waiter cleared my plate with 95% of the food left.

the kids meals, my wife's grilled cheese (which had ham at first even though she asked for no ham), the drinks, and the wait staff were great. grey goose martinis helped too.

i will always give a business a second chance and will do the same for fork.

i know this might seem like a 'troll' post so my name is todd, i live in eagle, id and my # is 208-286-8076.

solid and quality. i've been to fork 3 times - the first being for father's day brunch. i had the chicken & waffles which were tasty but the chicken was a bit dry. the second time i had a burger which i have to say was one of the best burgers i've ever eaten in my life. ground on site and perfectly balanced this burger was not just a meal - it was an experience.

of course my third time i had to try the burger again and once again i was blown away with the amazing quality of every ingredient and the care in which they were prepared. these people do it right. they source locally, treat their ingredients with respect and craft dishes thoughtfully. then they prepare their dishes with passion and care you can taste. the same holds true for their cocktails which blew me away. their bar staff were very helpful describing how they create their amazingly complex and nuanced libations. fork is everything that is right with a great restaurant.

my new favoriteplaceto eat out.

one time bad experience?. everybody that mentions thisplaceis always chattering about how great it is and wonderful and rainbows. however, when i went there, i was less than pleased.

first off, our waiter was cold and unfriendly. secondly, the pasta i got was undercooked and hard, and the salad the waitress offered me was $5 for a handlful of wilted ice berg lettuce - which she made seem like the salad came as a part of the meal. guess not.

maybe i just had a bad one time experience but i probably won't return.

short ribs and mash to die for. trout is the best i've had and i don't like fish much. kale on the side is way too salty so maybe substitute for something else. bosc pear salad is ok. thisplaceis a must eat.

i'm getting to be a regular :) don't understand the negative reviews, since thisplaceis always busy. still crave the raspberry butter cake dessert. still very good atmosphere. still love it!

way overhyped!. i can't figure out why there are so many good reviews of this place. i've been four or five times now and i've never had a good meal. i keep thinking it must just be bad luck? i've tried the "famous" fork urban burger several times. it's just a regular burger. the presentation of the burger is fancy, but nothing else about it is special. the burger at bittercreek or the falcon is much better. the parmesan-rosemary fries have no rosemary on them half the time. they’re bland and uninspired. i had the grilled portobello sandwich a few weeks back and it was really bad--slimy with tasteless avocado slathered all over it. yes, the atmosphere is nice, the service is generally good (although not always), and the concept is a nice idea. thisplaceis so overrated. there are much better choices in downtown boise. go ahead and try it yourself, but i think i’m done paying premium price for a below average meal at fork.

a boise favorite. the ambience of thisplaceis just amazing. and with outdoor seating too it is a perfect summer time haunt. i would come back again and again just for this aspect alone. i honestly haven't tried much of the menu yet. i went with some work acquaintances and we just ordered some appetizers. the cheese plate was delicious and our waitress explained to us about each one. the crostini was the best i've ever had - it wasn't all hard and crunchy which i hate. i also got a 100 calorie margarita martini, which i also enjoyed! i think this is my new favorite spot when visiting boise for work. also good location! can't wait to try more dishes and will update when i do.

~cd~. the people that say they don't like thisplacehave never tried their hamburger. probably one of the best burgers i've ever had, and that says a lot since i'm overweight (so i've tried a lot of hamburgers) and was born in nj and worked in nyc, where the burgers are plentiful. they use a mixture of brisket and sirloin, that makes for an unbelievably moist burger. my only complaint was that i was too full to tackle the parmesan rosemary french fries, that were also out of this world. the bartender (not sure his name) spent time walking me through the menu, pointing out his favorites. he helped create the drink menu and was very helpful in selecting a beer. overall the atmosphere of thisplaceis great, all the food looked awesome, and not that i'm in boise often, but will definitely go back to fork the next time i am.

epic. i visit fork every chance i get and it's my "go-to"placefor taking out friends and having important business meetings. the entrees are fantastic - don't miss the warm butter cake. seriously, don't miss out.

absolutely wonderful. beautifully renovated historic building and delicious food with local roots make fork a wonderfulplaceto share a meal with friends and loved ones. excellent service, great atmosphere, and mouthwatering meals bring me back again and again. this is my favoriteplaceto dine in boise!

you'll be hooked!. everything you could want! amazing, uniquely prepared food of very high quality served in a setting that is one of a kind and comfortable (take your friends to see the old bank vault downstairs). order the urban burger on the menu with one of the ever-changing beers on tap, rosemary fires, followed by (and this is an absolute must every time) butter cake. it's sinful, incredible and just flat out awesome. plenty of less indulgent yet tasty dishes to choose from---but i recommend the burger. their seafood is excellent, as well. salads are always fresh. quality has been consistent over many visits with different items ordered every time. can't recommend thisplaceenough. greatplaceto stop by for just a drink, as well. go. you'll go again after that and bring friends back with you. order the butter cake. it's awesome. love me some fork!

great food, great atmosphere. thisplaceis hit the mark. you will find a great urban atmosphere with very tasty food. the sliders melt in your mouth and the butter cake is addicting. you will not be disappointed.