Fort Willow

 

 

Having gone to Ada Street many times, I have gotten to know the people that work (and have worked there) and I will frequently follow the chefs that have moved on.  Opening Chef, Zoe Schor, moved on to open her place, Split Rail, last year.  Joanna Stachon, her Sous Chef, was Executive Chef for about 3 years, but has moved on to be the Executive Chef of Anglo-Indian Pub, Pub Royale. Now, Dierdre Quinn, Chef Joanna's Sous Chef has moved on and is serving as opening chef for Fort Willow, DMK's latest venture which is located around the corner from Ada Street.  Like Ada Street, it is largely done in black on the outside and the entrance is kind of unobtrusive.  In the case of Fort Willow, while the building fronts Elston Ave., the entrance is around the corner and in an alcove in the back on Willow Street (hence the name).  There is a neon sign in the alcove pointing to the door, which is good because there is also a stairway there that leads into the unknown.  Once inside the door, you are confronted with a space that is long and narrow with a tree (made of slats) in the middle and next to the bar.  You walk by the kitchen window to get to the dining room and bar (and the tree).  The "crown" of the tree stretches over the bar and dining room.  If you are going to have a tree, a tree swing must be had, and there is one sitting next to a large standing table at the front of the dining room.  As you move past the tree, the large bar is on the left and table seating is on the right.  Seating at the bar is on two sides, opposite the tables and at the end of the bar well into the restaurant.  In the far left corner of the dining room beyond the bar is a blanket fort booth for about seven people and on the far wall is a map of the world for explorers.  As you can see, the design is full of whimsy and tries to bring people back to their childhood imagination.

 

For the cocktails, they serve drinks in House or Classic Form.  In the classic form, they have many classic cocktails like Moscow Mule, Negroni, Martini, or Whiskey Sour, presented as you would find them in any bartender book.  With the house cocktails, they take the classics and serve them with a twist.  Generally that twist is an addition of spice, though some change the liquor.  The comparisons on either side of the House-Classic Line are not completely even, but they generally try to aim for the same style of cocktail.  I am an adventurous eater (and drinker), so I decided to focus on the House side.  For my first cocktail, I went with a Traveler's Sour, which could be compared to a Whiskey Sour.  While a Whiskey Sour starts with Bourbon and adds Lemon, Egg White, and Angostura Bitters, The Traveler's Sour started with Gin and Mezcal and went with Black Peppercorns, and Midori Melon Liquor, finishing with a Blood Orange Garnish.  Admittedly, this was a stretch to compare the two, but the Traveler's Sour did have a bitter start with a sour finish and it was very good.  I am generally not a Midori drinker, but the smokiness of the Mezcal and the peppercorns was able to tie it together with everything else.

The food menu is international and is largely small plates, with each dish labeled with the country (or region) of origin.  For my starter, I went with something called Ikan Bilis, which is a popular Southeast Asian bar snack.  It consisted of Crispy Anchovies, Peanuts, Chilies, and Onion.  While I knew that there would be anchovies, I really didn't know what to expect.  It started out salty, but the anchovies had a nice crunch and while there were chilies in the mix, the heat built gradually.  This was addicting as hell and I could have easily eaten two or three bowls.  There was other food to be tried, though, so I moved on.

When I go out, I always try to at least get some green vegetables and looking at the menu, I saw something that would fulfill that requirement and looked really good.  I ordered the Charred and Chilled Broccoli with Garlic Chips, Pickled Chilies, and Spicy Peanut Sauce.  This was labeled as from Thailand.  While the broccoli used looked like American broccoli and not the Chinese Broccoli that I would expect in that area, I will give it a pass because it was really good.  It was very fresh and crisp.  The char brought out a bitter sweetness which played well with the spicy peanut sauce.  Ada Street did a chilled broccoli dish for a while which this reminded me of.  The Ada Street recipe used tahini, though, and this was more spicy.  In any case, it was very good.

On the bottom of the menu there was something called The Big Bite with the description Chef's Whim.  This very much piqued my curiosity, so I had to ask.  It was a French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Short Rib Stew.  I love French onion soup and the grilled cheese sandwich was a win with Gruyere Cheese and Caramelized Onions on Texas Toast.  The Short Rib Stew that went with it was also very good, but the grilled cheese sandwich hit it out of the park.  The creativity alone was a win, turning the idea of the French Onion Soup with the Beef Sandwich on it's head, but the combination of the two was also fantastic.  They went very well together.

My second cocktail was not as much a stretch between Classic and House Cocktails.  The Classic that the House Cocktail was riffing on was a Negroni, a Gin Cocktail with Sweet Vermouth and Campari.  I imagine the House Cocktail, the Tree Fort Punch, was lower in alcohol than the original because the only liquor it used was gin, but it was very good.  In addition to the gin, it used Sencha Green Tea, and Mint.  It was bitter with an herbal and botanical flavor as Negronis do, but it was lighter than a Negroni and had a punch-like flavor.

To finish things off, I had a choice of Mochi or a Horchata Creme Brulee.  While I am a little picky about my Creme Brulees, I like a crust that sounds a noticeable crack when tapped, but I like Horchata (Cinnamon flavored Rice Milk popular in Mexico and South America) and I really don't care for Mochi, so the decision was easy.  The custard part of the creme brulee was very good and I thought that the cinnamon rice noodles added the flavor of horchata very well, I was a little disappointed with the crust and thought that it could have been bruleed more.  Despite this small disappointment, I thought that it tasted good and made for a nice ending to a very good restaurant.  I will definitely return for more adventurous tastes and will invite friends.