By Suzanne Parker
I really wanted to like Bonfire Grill, the new café near the eastern end of Forest Hills' Austin Street shopping district, for purely selfish reasons. In these times of gas price and carbon footprint concerns, this happens to be a place I can walk to. It looked like a place I just might be able to make my personal hangout.
From the outside, it looked so promising. From the inside, it looked even more promising. The designer did a flawless job of turning this small space into something stylish and inviting using exposed brick, clever lighting and strategically placed art. The capacity crowd inside, for the most part, looked as stylish as the space. On a weekday at about 7:30 p.m., the extremely cosmopolitan group of patrons ran the gamut from 20-somethings and young families with very young children to the ever-present Forest Hills older set. The noise level was high, punctuated with not infrequent baby squalls, but so were everyone's spirits.
The menu features mainly updated pub grub, kind of emulating certain chain restaurants we can think of. There is a lengthy list of starters, many of which are ideal as snacks if you're just there for drinks. There are four substantial salad options and a bunch of burgers and sandwiches for light meals. The entrees cover whatever ground the other categories missed.
