Restaurant Marc Forgione Reopening After Renovations

Photos: Restaurant Marc Forgione                                                                

Restaurant Marc Forgione will reopen on Friday, April 21, after undergoing renovations with a new “classics” menu. The menu features some of Chef Marc Forgione’s most popular dishes. It will also serve as a send-off from the restaurant's current iteration at 134 Reade Street before relocating later this summer to the iconic space at 30 Hudson Street, once home to David Bouley’s Danube and later Brushstroke.

Menu selections include favorites like Forgione’s Chili Lobster, Texas Toast (top) described as a riff on one of Singapore’s most famous dishes, the Chili Crab, and Reade St. Chocolate Cake, an ode to Lady Ashton, then-hostess Ashton Warren, who after introducing the cake earned the title of pastry chef.

Here are few other classic offerings with equally classic Chef Forgione anecdotes:

Pastrami Hanger Steak, Ramp Kraut, Smoked Gouda, Caraway

"In college there was a sandwich at Amherst deli called Rueben with a twist that I ate religiously about 2x a week. This is my ode to that sandwich. We’ve replaced the bread with caraway crusted fried tripe, the slaw is made with fermented cabbage and ramps, we layer in smoked Gouda cheese and of course there is a play on Russian dressing to complete the transformation."

Notkotori

"In 2017, I went to Hong Kong to do a pop-up there and one night I had an amazing dinner at Yardbird. And it made me realize that there are parts of the bird from our Chicken Under a Brick that we weren’t using. So now we put the hearts, oysters, and sometimes the neck on skewers and we grilled it over our small charcoal grill."

Smokin’ Hot Oysters

"The Smokin Hot Oysters came from a trip to Hog Island oysters with my family and we had these delicious grilled oysters. When I came back from that trip, I knew I had to put something similar on the menu. I even worked with a ceramicist to develop a special dish that’s basically a bowl that we put embers in and place a plate with holes over it so you can see the smoke coming out."

Lumache, Pig Face Ragu, Green Garlic Gremolata

"The pig face was something we became known for and was a real showstopper when it came to the table. I would have loved to just serve the pig face but the company we used to get it from is no longer in business and I couldn’t find a suitable replacement. So we decided to turn the dish into a ragu with some homemade pasta."

You can view the menu in its entirety here