Our Five Forks Market Experience

The Five Forks Market is not new to Rockford but it was new to us.  I've heard good reviews, but just never made it over there, until last night.  Wow.  What have I been missing?  This is one of the finest dining experiences in the city.  We set out to celebrate our 13th Wedding Anniversary, and it was a perfect setting for this occasion.  Quaint, out of the way, yet fairly busy for a Monday evening, we enjoyed our table along the back wall with an exquisite bottle of cabernet wine from the Washington area vineyards chosen by our "cork dork".  The dining room was tastefully decorated and the lighting reflected the sparkling water bottles and glasses brought to each table.  We almost requested seats at the bar to watch the chef prepare the tapas, however, we opted for a small, secluded table to gaze into each other's eyes for the anniversary "date".  It was very romantic and did not disappoint.

Moving right along, we paired our wine with two "small" tapas being crab cakes and the risotto of the day.  I admit, I Googled "Tapas" before going.  Appetizer sized portions or small samples best describe the process.  The curry lamb meatballs came in a pair that made it easy to share while the risotto of the day came in a small glass boat in which we spooned out onto our plates.  The meatballs were fun to try but not a big hit with me, however, Mr. is a huge fan of lamb and mutton and thoroughly enjoyed them.  We shared with his portion being the meatballs and mine was the goat cheese in the sauce.  After much debate on the spices of the risotto, we had to ask the waiter.  I detected a cinnamon while the Mr. detected a hint of cherry. We were both correct.  The sauce was cherry inflicted while the duck sausage was cinnamon flavored.  Delicious on all accounts.

Next we moved on to the "medium bites" and chose the crab cakes and the gnocchi.  The crab cakes were perfect texture and served in a lemony, corn salsa type sauce. Definitely a favorite of the evening in my opinion.  The gnocchi served with butternut squash, kale and pine nuts also had a lemon cream sauce topped with Parmesan.  I would love to take credit for choosing two tapas with coordinating sauces but it was by chance.  We loved the gnocchi combination, though I felt the lemon taste in the creamy sauce was a bit overpowering.  Very good and still would get 4 stars.  I learned the bold tastes are much easier tolerated in small portions and really enjoyed this type of dining experience. Besides, we were still hungry for desert.  

Ah, yes desert.  Mr. ordered the crème brulee.  Soft, creamy, custard with the perfect burnt caramel topping and a blackberry.  As for my choice, the mascarpone cheese mixture layered fillo dough triangles sprinkled with powdered sugar was off the one to five star rating system.  A definite 10.

Five Forks Market is definitely a must visit dining destination.  Overall we rated our experience five stars and were already discussing our choices for future visits.  Happy Anniversary Mr.!  And many more.