Bistro Fourchette, a casual restaurant offering French bistro classics, has made its debut in the old downtown in the space long occupied by the Melody Inn.
Chef Stephane Becht, a native of Alsace and until this past spring executive chef at Windsor, realized his dream of opening his own place in part by turning to internet crowd funding (a recent innovation for restaurants) to raise more than $5,000 to date from online donors for renovations.
With wife Loretta greeting customers and overseeing the dining room, this new casual French restaurant seemed to be running smoothly only a week after its opening.
Headline news: Perhaps because Becht grew up in Alsace only a short hop from the Swiss border, the culinary approach – at least for the moment – doesn’t seem much changed from when this restaurant was the Melody Inn. That’s good news for those who loved the French-Swiss dishes of Hans and Margaret Burri.
Look & Feel: Totally redecorated, Bistro Fourchette now has a far more open, casual look than the old Melody Inn. While it seems a bit austere for a French bistro, the use of mirrors as wall decorations enhances the feeling of space. Two-thirds full on the night we visited, the noise of diners drowned out the effort to add ambience with French cabaret music.
Food: On our initial visit, we sampled new dishes introduced by Becht as well as favorites we remembered from the Melody Inn.
For starters, I ordered the Prince Edward Island mussels mariniere ($10), my husband had the escargots bourguignon ($9) and our companion had the soup of the day ($6), which was mushroom.
The mussels, steamed in a garlic, herb and Chablis broth, were very tender, but very mild in flavor. The snails, however, flambéed with cognac and then baked in an herb garlic butter, were absolutely sumptuous. The mushroom soup also was very smooth and tasty.
For entrées, I went for the Wiener schnitzel ($27), my husband opted for the steak au poivre ($26), and our companion had the Bistro Forchette crab cake appetizer ($12) as a main course.
The lightly breaded veal cutlet was perfectly prepared and in a reminder of old days, was served with Alsatian spätzle and mushroom fricassee. The flank steak was a new addition to the menu, and at my husband’s request, was served with spinach instead of potato. The grilled hanger steak was cooked rare as ordered and topped with a very tasty peppercorn sauce. The crab cake – served with bibb lettuce, pickled radishes, edible flowers and remoulade dressing – was pronounced one of the better around.
For dessert, we had a very good espresso ($3) and shared a plate of coffee ice cream profiteroles with a warm chocolate sauce ($6).
Drink: Bistro Fourchette at this point has a fairly small wine list, and prices seemed a bit stiff for a bistro. But the owners say they plan to carry on the Melody Inn policy of half price on wines on Tuesday nights.
Service: On our visit, we had an excellent server whom we remembered from the old Melody Inn days – and co-owner Loretta Becht was a very visible presence in the dining room, making sure we and all other diners were happy.
Prices: Entrée prices start at $13 for a croque monsieur (a classic French ham and gruyere cheese sandwich topped with béchamel); $15 for a croque madame (same but topped with a fried egg); and $15 for the Bistro Fourchette Black Angus burger. With a couple of glasses of wine, our guess is a party of two is likely to spend in the neighborhood of $90 to $100 before tax and tip.
Initial impressions: During our first visit, we saw more young people at tables with parents than we recall seeing at the more formal Melody Inn. Our guess is the Bechts have found a sweet spot in the Vero dining firmament, and we look forward to seeing how their concept of a family-friendly French bistro continues to evolve.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
