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Forged Restaurant & Bar: Where Chefs and Farmers Create a Tasteful Balance

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On a recent drive through Hudson Falls, I saw a sign for Forged Restaurant and Bar. After researching it on line, I was intrigued enough to give it a try.

The concept of Forged is to make everything in house and to use every ingredient at least twice. It’s a true farm-to-fork restaurant with a responsibility to reduce waste and their carbon footprint.

As we looked at the menu, we knew we would be ordering multiple plates and sharing them. We all wanted a little of everything. We quickly ordered the Tri of Cauliflower and the House Bread to get the party started. The cauliflower was pickled, roasted with curry and cooked in brown butter. The pickled version tasted sweet, like a beet. The brown butter preparation was my favorite. The curried cauliflower had a nice blend of spices but I am always shy of eating curry early in a meal. Sometimes it dulls my taste buds, so I ate this sparingly. The bread was a wedge of house-made sourdough served warm. It had a delightful crispy crust and soft hearty interior that was made better by the addition of kefir butter and Kona salt.

The next round was a Cheese and Charcuterie Plate that was perfectly balanced with two locally sourced cheeses, Coppa and Speck, sliced paper thin, pickled onion, zucchini and radishes, each with their own distinctive flavor, fig jam, whole grain mustard, roasted shallots, cherry tomatoes, house-made bread, toasted and razor-thin-sliced green apple. With so many combinations, each bite was different. We also indulged in a plate of the Fancy Fries made with truffle oil, shaved pecorino and bacon served with a truffle oil aioli. Either of these two dishes could have been a meal in itself.

Here’s where we went in different directions. One companion ordered the Salt Roasted Lake Trout. The trout was topped with succotash and sage brown butter on top of a roasted corn puree with a side of puffed black rice. My companion loved the salt preparation and was impressed with the thought that went into the other flavors in the dish that were delicious in their own right, but still let the trout be the star.

My other companion chose the Grilled New York Strip. We all agreed this was the most beautiful presentation of a steak we have ever encountered. It was topped with Bourbon mushrooms and spinach and served atop duck fat roasted fingerlings potatoes! It’s one thing to look pretty, but it was the flavor that truly amazed. For my main course, I chose two smaller items. First was the Burrata, a simple basil olive oil, oven-roasted tomatoes on the vine, Kona salt and pistachios that let the creamy, indulgent flavor of the Burrata seamlessly blend the other ingredients into one incredible bite. Next came the Grilled Romaine Heart. The romaine is grilled just enough to bring out a peppery flavor. Then a frico, which is pecorino melted into a thin, flat wafer, was seared into the romaine followed by a cascade of almonds and sugar corn. The dressing, a Rioja wine allowed to turn to vinegar, fashioned into a vinaigrette, then frozen into a slush, was added tableside. As the slush melted it seeped into the salad and created a perfect complement.

We could have easily ended the meal here, but we decided to taste a trio of house-prepared ice cream. The flavors change frequently, but our sample consisted of chocolate pretzel, maple and peanut butter. We each had a different favorite, but they were all amazing.

Forged is the kind of place you want to go back to again and again. The prices are very reasonable and there was not a wrong bite all night. ■

Visit Forged Restaurant and bar in the historic courthouse at 122 Main Street, Hudson Falls, New York. Forged is open seven days a week; call 518-565-0122 or preview menus at forgedhf2.wixsite.com.

Written by: Joanne DiMarco

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Joanne DiMarco lives most of her life living the Good Life in upstate New York.  She graduated from Paul Smith’s College with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management.  She is known for her exceptional networking skills, fund raising and charitable works.  Check out her blog at UpstateGoodLife.com.