I attended the opening night of North Fork on March 18. I have attended many Northern Michigan University events from the Culinary Program and was anticipating this new menu and the new chefs who helped compose it. It was a four-course meal and provided a litany of menu items that catered to those with dietary restrictions. For some courses, I was let down, but in others, I tasted the most spectacular food yet.
To start, I would like to comment on the customer service. I have yet to match any dining experience that can hold up to the student staff of the North Fork. It is always a delight to be served by them. Now, onto the food.
The first course was an appetizer of a savory take on a macaron. This dish will change week by week. I found this to be really unique and a leap into new horizons. It did not work for me. The base provided a sweet crunch, and the top was savory and soft. These two sections did combat in my mouth, and I was left reeling. I am sure some would enjoy this, but I did not.
The second course was either soup or salad, with options such as a Lemon Caesar salad, a Blood Orange Blackberry Salad, Gazpacho, Clear Soup and Whitefish Chowder. This was accompanied by either Fry Bread or Rice Bread. I chose the Whitefish Chowder with Fry Bread, and I was absolutely blown away. It was a brown chowder stocked with Indigenous flavors. I anticipated a New England chowder, but this new chowder far surpassed what could have been. The fry bread was crisp and soft and was beautifully paired with the chowder.
The third course was the entrée with options such as Maple-Smoked Duck, Filet Mignon, Gnocchi, Cauliflower Cutlet and Shrimp Scampi Pasta, which is what I chose. I have never had a better shrimp scampi. It was powerful with lemon flavors and was buttery. It was served with softly cooked whole grape tomatoes, which provided a great palate cleanser to break the powerful flavors of the scampi sauce. The shrimp were lightly charred and well-seasoned, not to mention how well done the pasta was. Nothing was amiss with this dish, and it will be my new standard for a great shrimp scampi.
Finally, for the fourth course, dessert. It included such items as Chaga-late Cake, Strawberry Entremet, Panna Cotta and Profiterole Beehives. I ordered the cake and was sorely disappointed. I am quite familiar with chaga and was looking to the chefs of North Fork to do something unique with the earthy mushrooms. Yet, the cake I ate had no such flavor, and the only prominent taste was the sugary buttercream frosting, which dominated the cake both in terms of flavor and portion. The frosting encircled the cake and was between every layer. This made it mostly frosting, which felt heavy. If only the frosting had been lighter and the cake had a stronger earthy flavor, it would have been something truly special.
Overall, the meal was an amazing treat, and as always, the chefs served very creative courses that pushed against the norm and tried new things. Some of them did not work, but others were amazing and surprising. If I could, I would go back again and try some of the other options. Avoid the cake, but definitely go back for the scampi. However, everyone’s palates are different, and the only true way to tell how good the food is, is to try it for oneself.
North Fork is taking reservations through April 22, and I recommend anyone able to go experience this gourmet four-course meal. The cost is $55 per guest, with a two-step structure. First, there is a $15 per person reservation deposit, and then at the end of the dinner, the cost comes to $40 plus the cost of any Dry Bar items. Parties may not exceed six guests, and beginning Tuesday, April 1, walk-in guests are welcome to sit at the bar. Walk-in guests must arrive no later than 6:30 pm, and service is first-come, first-served. Walk-in guests will be served a full menu at a one-time charge of $55 plus the cost of any Dry Bar items.
Editor’s Note: The North Wind is committed to offering a free and open public forum of ideas, publishing a wide range of viewpoints to accurately represent the NMU student body. This is a staff column, written by an employee of the North Wind. As such, it expresses the personal opinions of the individual writer, and does not necessarily reflect the position of the North Wind Editorial Board.
