Mark Traugutt and Alfonso Duron first opened Fork and Hen in a teeny-tiny space on North Tamiami Trail in June 2022 after brief stints at food halls in Tampa and Orlando. Despite the tight confines, the pair built a devoted following thanks to their creative twist on Southern classics—like a crispy fried chicken sandwich served on focaccia and topped with housemade pickled vegetables, or a dreamy baked macaroni and cheese that magically did not turn into a gloopy mess.
Now the two have relocated, opening Fork and Hen in the Main Street space vacated by Made last year. You’ll still find that chicken sandwich ($22) and mac and cheese ($20), but also an expanded selection of other quirky spins on classics.
The appetizer selection, for example, highlights a “porky poutine” topped with a coffee-flavored gravy and queso Oaxaca ($18), as well as drop biscuits crossed with crab Rangoon ($18), in which the guest spreads a pimento crab dip across piping hot biscuits. There’s also oysters Rockefeller ($18), smoked fish spread ($16) and a crab cake ($26), if you’re looking for something a little more traditional.
Fork and Hen has attracted several bartending titans from Sarasota’s craft cocktail scene, who developed a tantalizing drink list. A “1944 chai tai” is made with spiced rum, lime juice, orgeat, Curaçao and mint ($16), while a “Southern paloma” blends tequila, watermelon and lime ($15). The drinks carry the restaurant’s strategy of iterating on beloved standards into its bar program, a new feature made possible by a full liquor license the owners didn’t have at their former location…