Former Joel line cook Jeffrey Wall heads the kitchen at Mounir Barhoumi and Salem Makhlouf's new restaurant. Some of Wall's upscale, vaguely Mediterranean food tastes like it came from a talented, experienced chef. And some of it tastes a touch sophomoric. Wall’s dishes are often full of nuance and whimsy, as with a grilled loup de mer with leeks, mussels in the shell, a saffron emulsion and "crispy fingerlings." Service is a problem, not that servers are inattentive or uneducated -- quite the opposite. The annoying trend of pointing out "some highlights of our menu" hits extremes, with servers going over many items in agonizing detail. There’s a broken-apart-and-reassembled feel to La Fourchette, a sense that passionate but slightly inexperienced hands put the whole thing together.
Price: $$ ($10-$20)