The Forge Restaurant | Wine Bar by Shareef Malnik

Mother’s Day is coming up in just over a month. Celebrate your favorite woman by bringing her to the best environment in Miami: The Forge Restaurant.

You can make a reservation for this sumptuous brunch by calling  305 538 8533 or just with a click of the mouse.

Eater has named The Forge one of Miami’s essential restaurants. Recognizing the magnificent transformation of the space, menu and ambiance by owner Shareef Malnik, as well as the choice of his new chef, Dewey LoSasso; they are a winning combination of elegance, intelligence and cuisine.

The picture above is of the famous boxer Andre Berto who celebrated his birthday at the Forge. Berto is a Haitian-American welterweight and is the current IBF Welterweight champion. Also in the house was the famous basketball player for the Boston Celtics, Glen “Big Baby” Davis. What a night.

Miami Beach, FL – July 29, 2011 – Carlos Felix and friends celebrated his birthday with style last Friday night at The Forge Restaurant and Winebar. Louis Aguirre, entertainment reporter and anchor of Deco Drive, was in attendance as a toast was raised and feast was had on this night of celebration.

Flavia Antony, Carlos Felix, Krystain Wojtiuk, & Dr. Sigrid Nilssen

Alan Araujo, Carlos Felix, Christopher Nardi, & Cristina Souza

Alan Araujo, Fernando Souto, Carlos Felix, Eliana Torres, & Monica Souza

Christopher Nardi & Cristina Souza

Dr. Deborah, Alex, Gigi, & Carlos Felix

Jorge Hulian, Louis Aguirre, & Carlos Felix

Jay Witrock & Susanne Witrock

Louis Aguirre & Carlos Felix

Hunter McIntyre, Carlos Felix, & Matt McIntyre

Noa Ben & Lee Binks

Lily O’Dare, Valentina Sarria, & Antonio Misuraca

Valentina Sarria, Lily O’Dare, & Browyn Knight

images and article from: Nightlife by Seth. Credits: WorldRedEye

Famous great restaurants establish a stellar clientele. Minka Kelly and Annie Ilonzeh were seen at the Forge drinking wine, sharing appetizers and entrees including lobster and a three mushroom risotto. Minka Kelly, the only daughter of former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay is known for her starring role as Lyla Garrity in the series Friday Night Lights. Annie Ilonzeh, is known for her role on General Hospital as Maya Ward. These two young beautiful actresses now form with Rachel Taylor the new Angels for the remake of the Charlie’s Angels series by ABC. The show premieres on Thursday September 22nd. The Forge offers a fabulous ambience and exceptional menu.
image above: The Miami Herald, August 2, 2011, “Scene in the Tropics,” Justin Goes for a Drive by Lesley Abravanel
image below: Charlie’s Angels

Jennifer Lopez has had a spectacular career and has more in store of her. Negotiating her second tour as a judge for American Idol, she is also learning a new part of her life: being single after seven years of marriage. For her 42nd birthday, she, with her entourage of 16 spent this past weekend in Miami. Miami has become a true hot spot for celebrities, and Miami loves them back. A major city for television production and Spanish language media, Miami over the past decade has come into its own. It’s elegance factor has risen extensively and it has been able to generate events such as the important art fair Basel Miami Beach and world class restaurants such as The Forge. This is what attracts the famous jet setter crowd to Miami. Not surprising that Ms. Lopez chose a very private evening at The Forge Restaurant as part of her Birthday celebration; choosing the private wine cellar as the perfect environment: “Jennifer and her group arrived around 9pm and went directly to the private wine cellar for a pre-birthday dinner, an insider said. It was very secluded and beautiful among the bottles with bold and vibrant labels. The meal was served on a long rectangle mirrored table with cloud-like chandeliers hanging above.” The Forge Restaurant is very appreciative of their celebrity clientele and of the generous media coverage that these spectacular moments receive. Happy Birthday Jennifer.

Danielle Steel, who is known the world over for her dramatic Romance novels has sold more than 800 million books. She is a record holder in that her novels have held their place on the New York Times bestseller list for 390 consecutive weeks. Steel was born in New York, her father a descendant from the Lowenbrau beer family and her mother was the daughter of a Portuguese diplomat. Spending her childhood between New York and Paris she was raised within the very chic environment of the rich and the famous. This environment influenced her writing and the stories that she narrates in her novels. Ms. Steel has been married five times, has had children, and has always written. In her stories, she always includes daily details of the complex lives of her leading high society characters. In her most recent novel, “Happy Birthday”, the act of the birthday- a celebration of a new year in one’s life and the planning of a new and better year to come becomes an important undertone of the novel and the birthday is also a very important day for many of us. Often in her books she names the famous restaurants in New York and Paris where the glamorous people go. In “Happy Birthday” the main characters go to Miami and dine at The Forge. Ms. Steel knows what elegance is. The Forge Restaurant | Wine Bar is a fabulous place to celebrate a birthday.

It’s not often that a restaurant has both scene and substance, but the Forge is that rare exception. The decor is mad, trashy, Miami-baroque – wood paneling, over-sized chandeliers with lamps at crazy angles, huge gilt mirrors, random collections of divans and thrones to lounge on. The menus come backed by heavy mother-of-pearl stuff and the bill comes in the same sort of box with a mirrored interior (we expected 1/2 a gram along with our credit card back to be honest).

The people – well, on first glance it was more family orientated that I’d thought. There were lots of large, inter-generational tables noshing down. But on closer inspection, perhaps they were more Families with a capital F – the fathers were distinctly hard-eyed and twitchy, the daughters just the wrong side of tarty, the mothers overdyed and overstuffed. There was a lot of Russian being spoken. One party consisted of a guy accessorized with enormous blingy chains with diamond crosses, a skintight t, steroids, his girlfriend and – of course – his mum. He attracted attention from the other patrons like a celebrity and we wondered whether he was a minor reality star or a major player in the local sub-economy. It was all a bit Scarface 2011 and I loved it.

But apart from the local fauna, I’d come to the Forge to eat anytime based on this first meal. Every plate was beautifully presented and portions were European without being stingy. Oysters were lovely (perhaps not quite as good as The River but no matter) and tuna tartare and citrus-marinated salmon starters were nicely sized and extremely tasty. For seconds, a grouper fillet special was topped with an enormous scallop with mash on the side and went down very well, as did grilled salmon which let the fish shine through rather than being overpowered with Japanese flavours. Our smallest co-diner had the largest dishes, disproving the adage that you shouldn’t eat anything larger than your head. His burger and fries disappeared swiftly, followed by the excellent, enormous pre-ordered chocolate souffle with very good ice-cream, which the rest of us helped him out with. Mr. R&R then had a nougat cheesecake chaser, which he very much approved of. The service was speedy, accurate and solicitous (after initial experiences with BLT this week that was a relief) and the bill was a pleasantly reasonable surprise, probably reflecting the slightly out-of-Miami-beach location.
Overall – go dressed for Jersey Shore, but expect superb food.
Written by Zoë on April 22, 2011 from R&R

MIAMI Magazine’s July/August Issue has arrived and the cover story: ” To Live and Dine in Miami”, by Riki Altman, Margit Bisztray, Virginia Gil, Jen Karetnick and Luis R. Ruigal spotlights The Forge Restaurant as one of the top dining establishments of Miami. The fabulous grilled shrimp waffle topped with caviar, one of the new temptations extraordinaire from chef Dewey LoSasso is the cover image. Shareef Malnik won his bet. A very courageous and difficult decision to close The Forge after 40 years and re-brand it’s look and style was also a costly one. After a $10 million dollar renovation, the choice of a new executive chef, with the emphasis on a more modern and contemporary ambiance, program, and dining experience, Shareef Malnik has demonstrated that he really knows his business, and the recognition received in this month’s MIAMI Magazine is very well deserved. Do not worry, the menu favorites are still there, the amazing steaks and soufflés, but, they are complemented by the “Savory Snacks”, think Pomegranate BBQ Lamb Spare Ribs, “Starts”, think The Forge Grand Raw Bar Sampler for Two, as well as a choice of “Sides”, imagine Sage Roasted Fingerling Potatoes. Of course all served and executed with the rare elegance needed for the ultimate exquisite dining experience.

Murano glass is a very important part of Italian history and culture. Murano is just off the coast of Venice and has been an active port since the 7th century. The glass trade became its trademark industry, having started in the 9th century. The glass objects of Murano are known throughout the world because of the unique techniques used to render the magnificent color and surface of the glass.
The Forge Restaurant hosts a number of Murano chandeliers that brand the superb ambiance and elegance of the restaurant.