Sam Horine, 6/17/08
What you are looking at here is not a distant cousin of the EU or Stanton Social or any other AvroKO beauty, though it'd be right to make that assumption. The custom made glass, reclaimed wood, and "vintage, well worn feel" (says the press release) that you'll find at the two day-old Tribeca restaurant Forge are from the designers of Rayuela over on the LES. No matter— she's a pretty one. That and the fact that the name behind this place, Forgione, carries some weight means Forge could be a big success in Tribeca, depending on the price point and the early reviews.
The chef behind the restaurant, the 29 year-old Marc Forgione, is the son of chef Larry Forgione of An American Place and has worked in the kitchens of Patricia Yeo and Laurent Tourondel. The cuisine featured here is, what else, New American, and all the details of the dishes and their prices (mid-30s for entrees) are already up on their website if you want to take a peek. From the look of it, this place is going to get some attention, both from the amateurs and the pros, in the next few weeks. Perhaps it will do more for the nabe than other recent bigger openings, Ago and Matsugen.