Out to eat: forkheartknife

The delectable food at forkheartknife includes a risotto cake with roasted yellow squash and piquillo mayo (foreground), butternut squash soup (left) and toasted pita with edamame dip. (Credit: Amanda Davidson | Metromix)

When I walked into forkheartknife and ordered everything on the menu, no one seemed too surprised. Except for me.

"Twenty-eight dollars," said the woman behind the counter. I reached for my wallet, trying to do the math in my head. She stopped me.

"Wait."

I was gonna say. That's not nearly enough.

"It's 26."

OK, I'm not even going to pretend to understand the magic going on at forkheartknife, a cozy little eatery at the corner of Main and Liberty in Over-the-Rhine. After I handed over my cash, my friend Dale and I opened a bottle of wine (forkheartknife is BYOB) and inhaled the food that kept arriving at our table. I couldn't believe what we got for our money.

First was the "tomato bomb" ($7), a juicy red tomato stuffed with cheese, garlic and herbs, roasted until it was practically bursting. We carved into it and spread it onto crostini and I fought to slow down, not wanting to spoil my appetite.

In the haze of great food, I can't remember which came next, but let's say it was the butternut squash soup ($3), piping hot and tasting like all of Thanksgiving dinner blended into a cup. Then there was the BLT salad ($6), a hearty dish with hunks of tomato and bacon and ranch dressing and hard-boiled eggs. Oh, and the heavenly portabello pizza ($6), a garlic-roasted mushroom layered with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese and roasted yellow squash.

I thought dessert would be too much until I dipped a spoon into the lightest lemon mousse ($4) I've ever had. I kept at it long after Dale tossed in her utensils, feeling slightly sad when I reached the bottom of the cup.

Yes, this is what is called gushing. Forkheartknife is that good. The food is beautifully simple, wonderfully seasoned and absurdly cheap. The menu, written by hand on a giant scroll on the wall, is ever-changing, though I have no doubt anything this place would offer is delicious.

But let's balance out this fawning praise. There are a few drawbacks to forkheartknife. It's only open three days a week. It is so small that, unless you stop by during a rare lull, you might have to wait for a table. The takeout boxes could use liners to prevent leaking. And Dale and I wished we'd been given two plates instead of one so we could more easily share our dishes.

But I'm reaching here, folks. Forkheartknife's owners, Sierra Laumer and Leah Heisel-Grande, have something special going on at their restaurant - the setting is intimate, everybody seems happy and the food, well, you know how I feel about the food. All that for $26. Ridiculous.