Forsythia Tasting: Lower East Side
Forsythia, an Italian restaurant on the Lower East Side, offered a five course tasting menu for dinner the other week. This was my first time visiting the restaurant, although I previously attended their block party in collaboration with Dante and Caffe Panna. The room we were seated in for dinner felt like an intimate, casual dinner party with wooden accents, dried flowers, and a fridge with copious amounts of homemade pasta. I loved my experience at Forsythia, but I will say I don’t think I would’ve been so in love with it if I had dined there for a normal dinner rather than the five course tasting. I had heard reviews about the portions being small for the price— I agreed with this completely but didn’t feel it impacted my experience since I was trying so many dishes. I definitely thought the meal, service, and wine pairing was worth the price. Here’s the rundown of my tasting at Forsythia!
Tasting menu
Nebbiolo for our wine of choice
The tasting menu had 4 sections listed, and then a dessert option not shown on the menu but included as the fifth course. Each person could pick one dish from each section, and since I was with two other people we had some shared dishes per section, and for other sections we opted to have our own dish. I highly recommend going with a few people and each person ordering a different dish per section so you can taste a larger amount of the menu!
Suppli (fried cacio e pepe risotto with mozzarella) + Topinambur (Jerusalem artichoke with whipped citrus mascarpone)
Along with the wine, the first thing that was brought to the table was house made focaccia with whipped butter, and then shortly after the first course came out. The Suppli is one of the most popular dishes at Forsythia, and was the one dish featured at their block party. It tastes exactly as it’s described: rich, cheesy, delicious, with a hint of pepper. While that was a crowd favorite, the Jerusalem artichoke appetizer dish was absolutely incredible, and we were surprised how much we loved it. It was crispy while still being super light. Definitely try this dish if you’re able to.
Zuppa di fagiolo (soup with mushroom broth, beans, and garlic confit), Porchetta (pork loin with salsa verde and orange zest) + Insalata di radicchio (mix of lettuce, hazelnuts, mint, citrus dressing)
As you can see we all chose something different this course, and since my sister doesn’t eat meat and I wanted to try the porchetta, we didn’t really share. However, I tried the soup which was her pick for the second course and it was definitely my favorite from this round. It was so garlicky and had a savory depth of flavor, with slight notes of chili and rosemary. If you like really earthy and light soups, you’d love this. The Porchetta was good but the thin cut of it made it hard to appreciate the quality and texture. The salad was also good but nothing special, it wasn’t super flavorful but was refreshing and a nice change of pace from the first course.
Spaghetti alla carbonara (spaghetti with egg yolk, pecorino romano, black pepper, and guanciale on the side) + Mezze alla norma (confit eggplant, pomodoro, pecorino romano)
The third course was definitely a highlight course for us. Similar to the Suppli, we knew that the Carbonara would be amazing. It’s hard to mess up a cheesy, creamy spaghetti dish. It was in fact amazing and just as good with the guanciale (bacon) on the side. The eggplant pasta was incredibly delicious too, with a jammy cooked down eggplant sauce that completely blew us away. The deep tomato flavor with a hint of cheese at the end was so perfect, I wished I could have had ten bowls of this! Definitely order this, a must try at Forsythia.
Fregola (pearl couscous, lobster tomato broth, clams, mussels, octopus, sea bass), Malloreddus (gnocchi, shallot puree, sausage, oregano) + Fagotini (stuffed pasta with celery root puree, trumpet mushrooms, crispy kale)
This was my favorite course since it was so interesting and unlike any other pasta dishes I’ve ever tasted. My favorite, hands down, was the Fregola with mixed seafood. All of the seafood was cooked to perfection and had so much packed into it, you really got to taste a lot of quality in this dish. The tomato broth with lobster laced through this dish had a rich umami flavor which I loved. The gnocchi was pretty good, I liked the toasted herby breadcrumbs on top. The stuffed celery root pasta was another standout, who knew celery root could be so delicious? Not me. The crispy kale and mushrooms really tied the whole dish together and added a ton of dimension. Forsythia might be pricey but they definitely know how to put out some interesting, high quality, insanely yummy pasta dishes.
Gelato sundae (vanilla bean gelato, cherries, chocolate sauce, candied walnuts)
You think we’d skip dessert?! Think again. This sundae actually rocked my world. I’m definitely more of a savory girl than a sweet girl, but this dessert was so balanced, between the sweet creamy gelato, the tart cherries, the slightly bitter chocolate, and the crunchy walnuts coated in sugar. Wow. Run, don’t walk, to taste this bowl of goodness immediately!!!!!!!
All in all, this was an amazing meal. Always so grateful to live in a city with such vibrant food cultures. Their tasting menu changes all the time and they also have a lower price option, which is one appetizer and one main dish + a glass of wine and scoop of gelato for $40 (walk-in only). If you happen to find yourself at Forsythia and try any of the dishes above, let me know what you think!!! Onto the next restaurant :)
