‘Farm to Fourchette’ comes to Petaluma

Eatery offers tasty breakfast, lunches on the business side of town.|

Fourchette (French for “fork”) burst onto the Petaluma food scene early last year, providing fast, healthy lunch options delivered directly to the cubicle warriors of local business parks. Starting with simple “grab and go” tables in the lobbies of several office buildings, the business has grown quickly. Recently expanding into a restaurant space on the north side of town Fourchette strives to bring the “farm to fork” philosophy to the business crowd. Fourchette is poised to add character and flavor to what might otherwise be another “business as usual” area of town.

Cherry Valley School moms, Heidi Overman and Melita Reyff, bring a mix of business, restaurant, and event planning experience to the table. The partners exhibit an air of simpatico anchored in their common vision to bring healthy food alternatives to those who are simply too busy. “Business people can’t afford to drive all over town searching for healthy food so we bring the lunch to them,” says Overman. “People also want to show off the bounty of our region when clients come to visit. Whether they opt for catering, or want to come in for a business lunch, we have great choices for them.”

I first tried Fourchette’s catering at last summer’s Taste of Petaluma. Based on their Argentinean steak sliders (a style of steak served with chimichurri and lime crema), it was no surprise to hear that a few months later Fourchette had expanded into the restaurant space formerly occupied by Lydia’s Sunflower Center.

True foodies are impressed with good, honest, healthy, local food - regardless of chef pedigree. But with stints at John Ash and Zin, Chef Omar Gonzalez is a thoroughbred and his passion for fresh local ingredients keeps his menu relevant and seasonal. Sharing the Fourchette kitchen, Sally Ann McGrath’s award-winning Forget-Me-Not Cakes pair perfectly with Fourchette’s flavor and quality standards. One bite of McGrath’s Purely Pistachio cake and you can stick a fourchette in me; I’m done – this is my perfect cake.

A bit off the beaten path, your hunger should draw your eyes to the forked Fourchette sign on the north end of North McDowell Boulevard, in the Redwood Business Park. The fork motif is repeated on their awning, as well as inside. The interior is surprisingly quiet and calm for being so large, and has several different seating areas throughout. Fourchette encourages guests to come and stay, offering free Wi-Fi, plenty of power plugs and comfortable couches. With seating for up to 300, enjoy the provincial views that we’ve come to expect from our beloved hometown: rolling hills, redwood and oak trees and lazy country lanes meandering past grazing cows.

Fourchette offers a full breakfast and lunch menu, with dinner and happy hour specials coming soon. Although known for their benedicts and hen-house breakfast, I’m a sucker for good french toast and it was perfect – slightly eggy but firm, moist but still able to soak up syrup. A rarity on local menus, I also could not resist ordering the cheese blintzes, which lived up their reputation as cheesy, creamy little pillows of tasty happiness. Soups, salads, sandwiches and wraps all grace the lunch menu, but so far, I have opted for the pizzas or burgers. My favorite pizza was featured creamed leeks and smoked bacon, and I highly recommend the truffle burger special, when it’s available.

Plans are also in the works for various night-time events, such as comedy shows, TED Talks, a dinner and speaker series, and cooking demonstrations and classes. In addition to regular restaurant services, Fourchette is available for private rental, charity events and continues to offer full-service catering.

With “good fast food” virtually an oxymoron, Fourchette aims to break the mold. Delivering healthy meals directly to the local suit-and-tie brigade, coupled with excellent catering and restaurant service, Fourchette has set the bar high. Having gone from concept to caterer to full blown restaurant in less than a year, I predict Fourchette is up to the task.

Fourchette is located at 1435 North McDowell Boulevard and is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more details, visit fourchettetoyou.com or call 665-5444.

(Houston Porter blogs at http://rivertown.blogs.petaluma360.com/)

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