“Never judge a book by its cover.” That was the motto when it came to eating at this restaurant.
That evening, hanging with a best friend that I hadn’t seen a long while, the entire City of Birmingham was our oyster. With no particular restaurant in mind, though both of us had a mild taste for Thai food, we just happened to snag a parking space at the intersection of Old Woodward and E. Merrill Street, smack dab in front of the Forté restaurant.
Stepping out of the classic, less than tricked out ride that was the “G” of horsepower undercover, both of us looking less upscale than the restaurant’s patrons dining in the window and the restaurant itself, our hunger outweighed our jeans, dickies, and my “hard” Air Jordans attire, as we boldly stepped foot in the restaurant.
We were greeted happily by the hostess and a dinner menu that revealed a mixture of what was considered to be some of the city’s top swanky meals, including Duck in Two Styles, a dish of boneless, seared breast and crispy duck rolls cooked with Portobello mushrooms, grilled pineapple and sweet chili sauce for $29. And more my flavor: a three-cheese, gourmet flatbread pizza for only $9.
Forte was also running a 3-in-1 dinner special. For $25, you can choose from three different entrees, soup or salad, and three different desserts. After 10 p.m., bar dining prices are reduced.
Headed to the bar, we ordered a cognac and wine, buying us time to mull over the menu to determine where our appetite would lead us, here or at the Thai spot around the corner.
Served by our new favorite bartender, Jerry, his humorous joking was in direct contrast to his introverted brother Kenny.
Beginning to develop a taste for the truffle chicken pot-pie, cooked inside a soft crust and blended with carrots, peas, mashed potatoes and an expensive truffle oil made from truffle mushrooms that gave it it’s lightly sweetened twang for a mere $19. My eat-in partner was sold once he saw someone else’s six-ounce filet mignon served in red wine sauce, with au gratin potatoes and deep green spinach, for $27.
The food was delicious, though there was barely any room left to savor its light taste after demolishing two baskets of in-house garlic bread served with two different butters, regular butter and truffle-blended butter.
Time was in fast forward between the time we ate the bread and our meal was served; I wasn’t sure if it was the chef’s quickness or our jokes that lost us in time.
The service, on the hand was a whole different bowl of soup. From our first interaction, it was a downward spiral of service, particularly with me. I asked her to keep the extra eating utensils and napkins on the table next to us though no one would be joining us and she asked why. Needless to say, I did not respond but just told her to leave them there. Sure enough by the end of our meal, it did look like two other people ate there. With my propensity to drop forks on the floor and needing replacements, the amount of crumbs present and our need to use lots of napkins – I’m left-handed, he’s messy – what can we say?
Once we received our meal, we asked for our fourth basket of bread and butter. Our waitress told us she would have to charge us. We declined. Afterwards, our waitress was no where to be found until she served up our $67 bill.
Nearing the end of our enjoyable meal, during which at times I was literally in tears from gut-busting laughter, it was another waitress that provided the courtesy check to see if we were having a pleasurable dining experience and enjoying our meal.
It’s unfortunate that our original waitress forfeited her service reward since both of us generously give 20 percent and more for attentiveness. Let’s just say that Jerry received a better tip off a lower bill.
At the end of it all, the bar service was excellence, the food was great, but the eat-in experience just wasn’t our forte.
Forté Restaurant is located at 201 S. Old Woodward Ave. Birmingham, MI 48009. For more information, call 248-594-7300 or visit www.forterestaurant.com. Deanna Dunham can be contacted at deannadunham@yahoo.com or visit her web site at www.deannadunham.com.
