This restaurant is aptly named because "The Curious Fork" experiments with Italian and Genovese…read moreclassics - and its curious concoctions delight the palette. We began our Easter brunch with two dishes (both of whose names escape me, unfortunately): a kind of hot, spinach fritatta nestled on top of a perfectly parmesan, cream sauce; and a fish cake that was a terrine of fish spiced with fresh ginger and citrus. The former was rich without being heavy, while the latter tasted bright and fresh. As secondi, we shared a steak in a cognac and honey sauce and a trio of traditional Genovese "cakes," which might be better translated as English "pies" with cheese. The steak may have been just a tad too rare, but it was seared beautifully, and the rosemary-spiced sauce was so good that all residual beckoned to be sopped up and consumed with table bread. The pies consisted of a leek and two spinach variations (one with ricotta?), all of which showcased the best in each vegetable and had obviously been prepared with homemade dough. We rounded off our meal with an Easter dessert of dolce latte fritto ("sweet fried milk") and a slice of torta di pistacchio ("pistachio cake"). Admittedly, the dolce latte fritto - crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside - was better than the torta, yet still the lemony pistachio filling on the cake was complimented well by its buttery crust. My only criticism of the meal would go to the house red wine, which although passable, was overwhelmed by tannins.
In reading this review, you may be inclined to believe that the restaurant relies too heavily upon sauces to create flavor within its dishes; I would like to assure you that the dishes served with sauces were each sampled without said accoutrement, and the flavor was always palpable.
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of our Easter Brunch was the impeccable service: The food was served quickly. The waiters respected our space, yet never veered far from the table. The owner, Roberto, was eager to interact with clients and to recommend items on the menu. Indeed, he made us feel comfortable immediately upon entering the restaurant and even brought us small glasses of a local, dessert wine to taste. La Forchetta Curiosa was not only a wonderful restaurant in which to spend Easter brunch while traveling, it is a wonderful restaurant.
