I haven’t had a hate read like this in ages. The second and third paragraphs are embarrassing, with the breathless descriptions of insipid people amd the designer labels they’re toting. And closing with the latest genre of food porn: taking pictures of food that won’t be eaten. I’ll take old school any day.
75
Just a guess, but this crew has nothing on say... Lady Miss Kier, Towa Tei, Dmitry Brill
12
I agree with Lou Andrews....ALL restaurants should ban smartphones. Would the NYTimes please do a piece about smartphone etiquette.
There's nothing worse than someone texting or talking when they should be having a good time.
If the conversation is so dull, it's time to find some new friends.
It was interesting to observe the way the French concept...just leave the room.
I don't often write comments at 3 am, but my neighbour raises fighting cocks, they're up early and they're making a big racket.
ancient Canadian in a Mayan fishing village
13
Brings back memories for me- my mom was a lawyer, and she would often comment on having dinner at Forlini's after a case when she was down at 60 Center St. Yes, a real New York institution. Also, I went to college with one of his daughters- sorry no scandals or scuttlebut- I didn't date her, just knew her from around the cafeteria- which is an interesting contrast- the college cafeteria vs really good New York/Italian. I can hear dad saying, "how can you eat that crap. Come down town, I'll take care of you."
From how my mom described it, they took great care of the customers. The trend will pass- the good will persist.
Thanks for a pleasant memory.
17
This restaurant didn't exist before this evening? What a langer, as we might say in Cork.
42
Well....I'm happy for the owners, glad they can enjoy some extra business, but the rest of the story is sad. There's a hollowness about the description of all the "Instagram famous" and their overpriced, name brand togs. Someone following someone on Instagram even though they're a nobody? That line speaks volumes, and not in any way that relates to the reality. Sorry, but the real, non social media world and good restaurants that haven't been "discovered" are much to be preferred.
26
Glad to read that the so-called "beautiful" people are relegated to the back room out of the way of the real people. Shame, though, that any of the great food is wasted when there are people in the city who are starving.
21
Is the food good?
4
Was never tempted to enter Forlini's, too many SUVs with Jersey plates sitting outside. Opted for Nha Trang instead.
6
"This restaurant only matters because of Jenné Lombardo. This restaurant did not even exist before tonight." What hubris!! Just shows what little these hipster know. I used to go to Fiolini's in the 1980s. What a place - the best Old world decor.
33
I would rather dine with Lynn Taylor than Jordan Barrett.
You KNOW she'd have much better, more interesting stories to share.
21
Those too quickly alternating photos are INCREDIBLY ANNOYING !!
81
Hipsters conform to all the rules of non-conformity.
20
A stampede by the herd of independent thinkers.
16
In “Surviving the instagram horde”, what kind of self-involved world do we live in where 21 year-old surfer/models who will be yesterdays news in a nanosecond determine what “matters”? Or where delicious Pappardelle Bolognese is photographed for Instagram, but not eaten? Style over substance run amok!
I can only hope the author quoted them as an inside joke to the reader so we could all have a good chuckle to start Sunday morning.
21
What will do in the Red Sauce restaurants is a few things. In Manhattan the high rents and comong $15/hour min wage will kill them off. In BK, QNS, BX and SI the higher rents and $15/hr min wage also hurt but as the original owners age their college-educated children don't want to run the family restaurant because of the hours and dedication required.
On SI many Italian restaurants own their buildings which is why they are still doing well. But those properties are worth a ton of money now and money talks. Another factor is that Italian-Americans are slowly leaving NYC as higher home prices have convinced many to sell their homes for top dollar. Money talks.
3
Forlini's used to be a bookend with Peggy Doyle's pub as a "neutral corner" where city inspectors, factotum, and lobbyists could trade favors and paper bags.
Peggy Doyle's was aided by its proximity to the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals, where variances were dispensed.
Forlini's cooking has always been undermined by its reliance on jarred garlic. But, its escarole has always been a reliable side. I wish its pasta had met their sauces not just prior to arriving at my table.
The Instagram crowd obviously thinks they're on set. As anyone over fifty who is not prematurely embalmed with restaline, botox, and procedures can attest, the world is a prop for a selfie.
14
Hipsters at Forlinis + Instagram = Conspicuous Non-Consumption?
The comments to the article are as good as the article.
Imagine, an Italian restaurant that knows how to make Italian food.
9
I have just one question (my kids will understand even as they groan): "How's the eggplant parmesan?"
8
Like hikers who trample the nature they seek, this is the ultimate irony. I search for pockets of old NY to escape this trampling crowd of outsiders but they're determined to kill every last bit of it. It's now just a backdrop for a generation that can't stop staring at themselves. I get it, 'it's so kitsch it's incredible!' So funny. But this is a real place with real people in it that, like most of New York at this point, will become overrun by the dull and the restless and lose it's authenticity entirely. But we're supposed to love this new New York?
63
@Michael You said it perfectly! Spoiled rich narcissists from everywhere but NYC have taken over every boro (except Staten Island but watch out North Shore). And Brooklyn was cool long before it became a haven for hipster doofuses. I miss my diamond in the rough NY.
21
I cringed as I read this article also, but keep in mind that authenticity is relative, historically and geographically. If you want to be absolutely authentic, you have two choices: sit on the ground or climb a tree.
3
Youngsters craving authenticity. We've all been there once, haven't we?
18
Now Forlini's needs to ban smartphones. Time to remember the moment like days of old. The late, great George Carlin said 20 years ago, "... doesn't anyone in this country look at things.... maybe even, remember them"?
36
They should give this crowd a "Special Menu" with all prices at 3X
55
@thewiseking, Or the Children's Menu.
13
@thewiseking Not legal but a great idea!
4
My uncle used to take me to Forlini's beginning in the late '60s. For the past several years, it's been a go-to when I've had jury duty, as have been dim sum on Mott or Doyers and really cheap dumplings on Mosco Street.
That said, at 66, a bunch of you sound like my father who during the LBJ and RMN administrations constantly asked, "When ah ya gonna cut dat haih?"
21
In the end the groovy people ( snark ) will go off to other places to photo rather than eat their food - but Forlini's will have gleamed this great publicity - deservedly so it appears and for that it worth reading the article.
I am sure, in a decade Forlini's will be there and the people in the photo who think they are so cool , will for most of them , be looking at their photo in this article as the pinnacle of their life.
Empty shells unlike the linguine in clam sauce!
42
Usually you look at a balding head and wrinkles to identify the older generation. In the future, just look for a body covered in faded tatts to fill you in on the generation.
31
If they ever do a remake of Goodfellas, I know how I want them to reinterpret the "Funny How?" scene.
9
Wait until these kids discover Staten Island!
76
@Paul Cantor: I was thinking the same thing about Bayonne...
19
@Paul Cantor Indeed; they've already sent scouts out to the north shore ... sightings have been reported on Bay St. ... there goes the neighborhood.
7
Been a regular since the late 60s, now our third generation enjoys Forlini Salad hot antipasto and linguini with pesto, ... and my two year grandson nibbles breadsticks
7
@Goodman Peter There's always one.
1
Final exam:
Is it sauce or gravy
Is it ladled onto pasta or macaroni or macaronis
5
@Red Chief If its got meat in it, it's gravy and it was always macaroni(s).
2
@Red Chief Its 'sauce' there being no word for 'gravy' in Italian.
5
Having lived in NYC for 20 years, I no longer become disgusted every time the hip and beautiful trendsetters "discover" a longstanding institution. We all discovered these things for the first time when we arrived here in our dreamy eyed naive youth chasing the NYC of our childhood fantasies, whatever form that may have taken. As a longtime Forlini's fan, I have spent many lazy late afternoons lounging in their bar, which is an ideal casual downtown meeting point for friends visiting from out of town as well as a reliable spot to quell that red sauce comfort food craving. Their old school New York live and let live sophistication is a rare and dying species to be cherished and protected. I find myself more amused then annoyed at the shallow "This restaurant didn't even exist before tonight" attitude. Perhaps the fetishization of old stalwarts such as this may be off putting to some, but good for Forlini's for keeping it real enough for the youngsters to notice. Trends come and go like a flash but I commend Vogue for having the aesthetic sensibility to know a good thing when they see it.
80
Best Steak Pizzaiola I ever had was at Forlini's. Last time I was there was around 1999 when friends from Florida came up to visit. Now I have to get back there. Forlini's will survive the passing hipster parade but I'm glad he's cashing in on them. The only negative is that the hipsters may dissuade some of his regulars from dining there. I just hope he owns the building, you can't tell from the property records.
17
What happened to the paparadelle Bolognese that Phoenix Johnson didn't eat??? Such a waste of fine food! Wait till he's not "famous" any more and starving, then he'll look back at this and pine...
Shame! Hope it's given to someone more appreciative (& deserving).
43
They want to be seen there.
They don't appreciate it for what it is and alter the character of the restaurant for its regulars
The proprietors approve of this because they are nice and increase profits
Fine.
To me, your desire to be seen as a person who has NO need to be seen there is as vain
You're of this generation - and your social media feauture many photographs of yourself in places like this
But its fine because you're nowhere near attractive enough for anyone to notice?
Great article.
12
I fully expected Mr. Forlini to admonish Phoenix Johnson for standing on the chair!
50
Me too!
17
@bubbles
Me too! If I had been there, I would have pulled the chair out from under him. If we're going to subsidize this generation (excuse me, we're supposed to let them default on their billions of college loans?), then they must learn that they are no longer in pre-nursery school, and behave properly when they venture out from their mommy's basement (or the apartment they share with 10 other roomates in Red Hook.)
5
The “hipsters” described in this article have clearly lost a sense of their own “authentic” selves, in pursuit of turning themselves into an Instagram commodity. Therefore they fetishize authenticity and seek it out in unassuming places like this restaurant.
47
I went to HS with several of the Forlini boys. Glad to see the restaurant is still thriving.
20
New York being New York, I expect that just before the passing hipster parade moves along, one of them will quote the great Yogi:
"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."
57
@cruciform
That was in regard to Toots Shore's
5
It's fun to look at beautiful people but when they get old and try to cling to their beauty many of them get ugly and sad in a way we ordinary types don't.
24
When I lived in Manhattan in the 80s and 90s, Forlini's was the best part of a Jury Duty summons.
51
I have different thoughts on this:
- I'm glad for any long-standing, quality restaurant to find new relevance (especially a red sauce Italian restaurant!)
- It's great that the different groups of restaurant patrons find different times to come and/or spaces to occupy so that they can coexist, even just in parallel
- Nice that Vogue reached out to a longtime business instead of the holding a party at the newest venture fund-backed 10-minutes-of-fame restaurant
- This is the second mention of an Australian this week that is changing my earlier pleasant, albeit completely uninformed, opinion on Australian culture
- Forlinis' owners are clearly gracious and wise men. I can see why they have enviable longevity
- Last, but not least, now that I've got Mr Morgenthau's linguini with white clam sauce on my mind - with clams in the shell, no less - my lunchtime salad plan doesn't sound nearly so good!
127
Grew up going to Forlini's for Sunday dinner at least once a month...super outing, and, they validated parking, thereby keeping my dad in a good mood! Tablecloths, delicious food, excellent management and service. 'Authentic cuisine'... authentic's definition may have been co-opted by folks 1/3 my age, but authenticity has always been part of Forlini's fine reputation, ever and always a reliable, clean and welcoming restaurant. Their panzerotti piacentina (sp?) remains my favorite. Now living 2,000 miles away, I've learned to make this exceptional pasta dish, but it only makes me wish the more that I could again slip into one of their comfy booths and be served.
23
I'm torn between cheering for the boost in revenue for Forlini's and dread that this might mean the end of a great, unpretentious NYC institution. Also, I have a deep seated fear that if it becomes the next cool thing, I'll no longer be able to afford their lasagna. THAT'S the real tragedy.
27
@A. T. Cleary
Not to worry as the great Yogi Berra once said about a restaurant that became exceedingly popular " don't worry its so popular now nobody goes there anymore.
ps the best pasta, broccoli rabe and sausage you ever wanted.
11
New York also used to have an abundance of Spanish restaurants that had been founded by those who left Franco's Spain, and remained in business for decades. Several are still in existence, but not nearly as many as once were.
6
And there goes the neighborhood....
23
I carefully looked at all the photos.
The "regulars" and non-hipsters were all eating good old fashioned Italian food. The glitterati were sitting at tables with no food in front of them.
I suppose that is how they stay so thin and in shape while patronizing all of these restaurants.
63
I can't wait for the day when taking pictures of your meals becomes very uncool. Can't hipsters just learn to enjoy the moment without recording it? They emulate the artificial and wonder what is killing the soul of the city. Look in the mirror.
73
@Cate R - Never was cool, isn't cool now, will never be cool in the future.
20
@Cate R
Only the most gauche people take pictures of their meals. And those so-called hipsters - are they still around? Jeez, I thought it was over with a decade ago.
11
@Expat
Like rap, all forms of the ridiculous and disgusting not only survive nowadays but flourish, living on and on and on.
2
Now, I am really HUNGRY!!!!
24
As a law student working at the DA’s office in the 70s this was where the ADA’s and defense bar rubbed shoulders. Food was unremarkable; collegiality is what I remember. Bygone era.
7
"This restaurant only matters because of Jenné Lombardo. This restaurant did not even exist before tonight." Ugh, sometimes i hate my generation.
135
By reading all the vapid comments from all these "hipsters" being interviewed, I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry!
57
So I have to point out that this crowd would consider the Times to be old/stodgy... yet I am sure the reporter had zero trouble in finding a quote.
Most self-serving generation ever known.
16
Oh no, Forlini’s is now over, so over.
8
Let's check Forlini after NY fashion week... the beautiful crowd will be in Milan next week for Milan fashion week then Paris for Paris fashion week starting on the 25. When they come back in town for the next NY fashion week in Feb 2019 they will discover another hidden gem...
15
Probably taking pixs of the penne with gravy because they've never seen it before.
33
One of the favorites for municipal workers in the 1960's, along
with #16 Mott St for Chinese. More comfortable than Umberto's,
just as delicious. Very nice to see the old place doing so well.
12
Great Broccoli Rabe as a side dish.
God Bless Little Joe Forlini.
20
@times - It was escarole. But, that's OK.
1
It was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived in New York starting in 1970. I always had to explain to taxi drivers how to get to 93 Baxter Street, an address I still remember fondly. Always ordered the saltimbocca.
10
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the photos. Ironic.
10
Tablecloths! Oh how I miss restaraunts with tablecloths.
39
“I’ve never heard of Jordon Barrett. Jordon Barrett didn’t exist before I read this article. The only reason Jordon Barrett exists is to serve as the reporter’s example of what is wrong with our society.” Sounds like a fun crowd...
201
Thank you so much. I couldn't agree more. I don't know who he is, and I don't care enough to find out. I love and miss"old-school" New York, with places like Forlini's, but if this Instagram-addicted crowd is a sign of the future, count me out, and call me happy to be un-cool.
35
I've never heard of him or Jenne Lombardo. And I feel like I wasn't missing much.
10
Well, that was an absurd read. At least Forlini's is getting good business. I love the place and would hate to see it disappears because it was falling out of favor.
25
Lots of cringe, but I think that's the point. Nice capture of some of the absurdity of the city.
93
I can't believe I read this whole thing. Now I've got psychic indigestion. I need a seltzer.
146