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“Forge”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Tribeca	Moderate	Good

’s chosen a brief menu of seasonal American plates to demonstrate his skills.

But before you get to the menu, you’ll have the pleasure of having the fresh baked potato bread rolls which fill the dining room with the delicious aroma of butter melting on a stove. This eau de beurre comes from the centerpiece of the restaurant, an old farmhand’s wood-filled stove where the rolls are heated and then painted with pools of (yes, yes) melted butter, and sprinkled with sea salt before they are delivered to your table (where you will devour them and then look pleadingly at the busboy to bring you more.)

I’ll be honest with you. My expectations were pretty high after I dug into one of those potato pups—soft and warm plied with plenty of melted butter. They continue to climb when cocktails are so spare and perfectly balanced. My tequila drink (shaken with agave and lime) was tart and sweet—just perfect ($12). But things started to get a little shaky when appetizers arrived.

The heirloom tomato and bacon salad was good, with summer’s luscious late August fruit piled high with hunks of Midnight Moon Goat Cheese, and a slice of brioche topped with smoked onion marmalade and thick cut smoky bacon ($12), but the bacon was very tough and somehow the salad didn’t quite come together to wow me. I was also let down by the watermelon soup with lump crabmeat ($15), which was thinned out so much that it lost all its flavor and body and tasted more like watermelon water. The lump crabmeat garnish didn’t add anything or get anything from swimming in the soup either. I found it to be a rather odd accessory. The kampachi tartare ($18) was wonderful—a beautiful dice of silky fish adorned with red radish and diced avocado, with crisp, salty Saratoga potato chips, but it was immersed in a cloying bath of overpowering sweet soy that washed away its pristine flavors. I’d plate it without the soy, and let it be. A bowl of fresh black pepper linguini, however, was terrific—its peppery bite was nicely matched with a clutch of briny clams ($14).

As Kiri and I chatted in between courses, I tried to resist the second round of rolls that had been placed in the center of our table. But the butter was so warm and I watched it slip down the sides of the rolls, and I was a goner. I was now on roll number two, with four days to go until I had to fit into my wedding dress. Not g ... [more, click below]

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Posted: August 29, 2008

Other restaurants in Tribeca :
+ Lunchbox Food Company--Closed   + 66: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Ola-- Closed   + Bouley   + Dominic   + Landmarc   + Pace-- Closed   + EN Japanese Brasserie   + Centrico   + Cercle Rouge   + The Harrison   + Turks & Frogs Tribeca   + Devin Tavern   + Dani-- Closed Now   + Bacaro/Smith & Mills   + The Harrison   + Matsugen, By Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Forge   + Macao Trading Company   + Harbour   + Review text tbd...   + Mehtaphor   + Brushstroke   + Jung Sik   

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