Forge

Marc Forgione is the son of Larry Forgione, chef/owner of An American Place, and has opened his own restaurant in NYC's Tribeca area at 134 Reade Street.

The decor is cozy and rustic with exposed brick walls, wooden doors and a 100 yr old wood burning oven. Each table is graced with delicious rolls that are baked in this oven. When they are extracted from the oven they are generously brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with kosher salt.

Then we were presented with an amuse bouche - a small spoon with carrot puree and a small dish of tartare (not sure what fish).

"J" had the special appetizer of lamb bolognese with papperdelle pasta and mint ricotta cheese ($14) and a ginger ale ($5)

I had the Kona Kampachi Tartare with avocado, saratoga chips, toasted pine nuts and served with a separate small spoon containing a Seczhuan "button" which looked like a tiny yellow wildflower and made my mouth tingle ($18) and a Spiced Apple Cider cocktail ($12).

We both had the Beer, Bacon & Butter entree - braised suckling pig, spiced red cabbage and smoked whipped potatoes ($29 each). We both thought there was too much liquid which made the pork and potatoes too soggy. Although we thoroughly enjoyed the large sheet of crackling served atop our dishes...delish!

For dessert I had a tough time deciding on just one...I finally selected the Mini Meyer Lemon Pies - with lemon ice cream and "crumbles" ($12). They were warm crescent shaped donuts filled with lemon curd and dusted with powdered sugar.