the best of everything
Raskin

Birmingham eatery celebrates four years in business.
H

e was only around 10 years 
old years when working with 
Mom and Dad at their pres-
tigious Middle Eastern restaurant in 
Highland Park … He continued with 
them at their same-named Phoenicia 
eatery owned by Sameer and Leila 
Eid in what has become somewhat of 
a family dynasty.
But as the years rolled by, their son, 
Samy Eid, might have also nursed an 
ambition to someday likewise own a 
fine dining restau-
rant and perhaps 
help at both.
It may have 
happened back 
in 2015 when 
Samy opened that 
supposed dream, 
buying the former 
Forest Grill from 
Brian Polcyn … 
now celebrating 
its fourth anniver-
sary as the Forest 
on Woodward 
and Forest in 
Birmingham. 
Sure, there is 
caviar, but also 

signature dishes with Mediterranean 
influences of Spain, France, Italy, etc. 
… Five-course chef’
s tasting menu, 
black rice, farm egg, caviar, braised 
short rib, Bolognese, duck breast … 
and a wonderful branzino among its 
best sellers.
All baked goods at Forest are made 
in-house as are the desserts and pas-
tas … And, of course, a 1,000-bottle 
wine cellar … plus a sleek glassed-in 
kitchen … Forest is open Monday 
thru Saturday from 5 p.m. until 
closing about midnight … Seating 
includes 65 plus bar stools for 10.
Have you ever eaten Japanese 
eggplant? … And, if you are a sea-
food lover, you’
ll enjoy the branzino, 
salmon, striped bass or Dover sole … 
Also, the duck with a portobello cider 
glaze and liver mousse, lamb with 
polenta fennel jam and corn mousse 
or a New York Strip Steak that has 
been aged for 28 days.
These and more are the ingredients 
that make for classic dining with 
inspiring taste and have made Forest 
a four-year success. 
MAIL DEPT. … From Andrew 
Alterman … “You wrote at one time 
about model Kate Upton loving sushi 
and wondered if she found any good 
ones in Houston, Texas, when her 

husband, Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin 
Verlander, was traded to the Astros 
baseball team. My wife, Alice, and I 
are going there soon and we both love 
sashimi, too.”
(Super model Kate Upton, I am 
told, eats sushi about five times a 
week along with sashimi selections 
and has found several wonderful 
Japanese restaurants in Houston.)
OLDIE BUT GOODIE … A 
mechanic was removing a cylinder 
head from a motor when he spotted 
a famous heart surgeon … “Hello, 
Doc,” shouted the mechanic. “I also 
can open this engine, take the valves 
out, fix ’
em, put in new parts and it’
ll 
work like new. So how come you get 
the big money, when you and I are 
doing basically the same work?”
The surgeon said to the mechanic, 
“Try doing it while it is still running!”
CONGRATS … To Kathy Morley 
on her birthday … To Melissa 
Litvin on her birthday … To Scott 
Raskin on his birthday … To Samuel 
“Norton or Naughty” Finegood on 
his 95th birthday … To Erwin and 
Elaine Waldman on their 40th anni-
versary. 

Email Danny at dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

Danny Raskin
Senior Columnist

VIA FOREST FACEBOOK

Samy Eid

COURTESY OF SAMY EID

Forest 
Continues 
to Grow in 
Popularity

 OCTOBER 24 • 2019 | 61

Reservations at www.thewhitney.com
 (313) 832-5700

201
9
T
HE
 
WHI
T
NE
Y

Now serving Lunch 

Monday-Friday 
11am – 2pm

Lunches start at
$12