Entertainment - Dining

POSTED: Thursday, Oct. 01, 2009

The Fork at Agate Bay is well worth the visit

Gina and John Russell are turning out some splendid meals in an unlikely location: the old Agate Bay Store building on North Shore Road.

This one-time gas station and corner grocery has housed a succession of short-lived business ventures over the years, but most of the time it has been empty. Now, as The Fork at Agate Bay, it's a new destination for those who seek out the most sophisticated local dining spots. I've been getting a trickle of e-mails recommending it ever since it opened about three months ago. Based on the quality of the meal we enjoyed here recently, The Fork is taking its place in the elite rank of local dining options, with a creative menu that trends toward the freshest seasonal fare.

We started our meal with duck confit spring roll and prosciutto-wrapped black mission figs, $8 apiece. The finger-sized spring rolls came with two rich dipping sauces, a hot sweet variety and a soy-based alternative, accompanied with a tangy daikon radish salad. The figs were especially good, stuffed with a bit of melted blue cheese and accompanied with an arugula salad that looked as if it had been plucked from the garden seconds before. A balsamic reduction with olive oil rimmed the plate, providing a perfect sauce for the house rolls.

Those opening courses raised expectations that our main courses met and exceeded.

Wild mushroom stuffed chicken roulade, $18, was crispy on the outside, with perfectly-cooked, tender white-meat chicken around a subtle and savory filling. It came with a side of patty pan squash tossed with bacon and ricotta gnocchi.

The saffron pumpkin spaghetti, $15, also featured wild mushrooms-in this case, lobster mushrooms and chanterelles. I'm not sure I've ever seen lobster mushrooms on a menu before. In the wild, they are big, ugly orange-rimmed fungi that do look a bit like cooked lobster. I sampled their firm, chewy flesh some years ago at the annual exposition put on by local mushroom aficionados, but never expected to enjoy them in such a sophisticated setting.

The spaghetti is made at the restaurant and good enough to make one almost welcome the onset of fall. It and the mushrooms were enlivened with marsala, garden herbs and pecorino.

With all this plus drinks and dessert-a fine cheese cake with a berry compote-our tab barely topped $75. Portions here are not colossal-you're not likely to make the next day's lunch out of your leftovers. But those with normal appetites won't leave the table hungry either.

The restaurant also has a breakfast and lunch menu, as well as an evening "bar fare" menu with sandwiches and such in the $10 range, if you want a more frugal meal.

THE FORK AT AGATE BAY

Address: 2530 North Shore Road

Phone: 733-1126

Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Price range: $9-$25

Reach JOHN STARK at 715-2274 or john.stark@bellinghamherald.com.