Forage in Silver Lake

There has been quite a lot of chatter about Forage since it opened in Silver Lake. But for those just driving by its Sunset Junction location—as I do daily–it managed to open relatively quietly, nabbing the space previously occupied by Town & Country.

Forage’s menu is right up my alley–super fresh ingredients that rotate with whatever is in season. There are lots of fresh options, like the raved about Pork Belly Sandwich or their daily quiche offering. Particularly tempting are the combo plates where you can order a protein, like Jidori Rotisserie Chicken, and  an option of sides–Market Vegetables, Beets with Citrus-Ginger Slaw, Creamy Scalloped Potatoes and more.

Forage also holds a harvest call every Sunday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. You can drop by with your homegrown produce, and members of Forage’s culinary team will figure out how they can use it on their upcoming menu. They also post forage calls on their site of the produce they’re actively foraging.

On my recent visit to Forage, I was hoping to find a Silver Lake restaurant that offers quick, easy, healthy food–something I think the neighborhood needs. Forage comes close, but overall I was disappointed. First of all, it’s minimal bright and clean inside, but this place is small. And with the five or so people ahead of us in line, it felt cramped. Actually, it was fine at first, but we ended up waiting quite a while for counter service–even though there were as many people behind the counter as there were in front of it. When we finally place our order, there was only one piece of white meat chicken left, which was the main dinner entree of the night. My dinner companion kindly took the dark meat. Not that big of a deal, right? But the piece they gave him was super tiny. And my side of Market Green Salad was literally five pieces of lettuce. And both of our Jidori Chicken entrees were cold. Hmm.

The Foraged Citrus and Beet Salad was good, as was the Baby Broccoli, but overall the dinner was a disappointment. And after spending $13.50 a piece before drinks, we were both still hungry and a little annoyed.

Plus, be aware that if you eat in Forage’s small dinning room, it’s loud. At one point we started laughing because we could barely hear each other. Maybe there was just an extra rambunctious group that night? Still, if I make a trip back to Forage, I’ll be carrying out. As for parking, there is a lot behind the restaurant and metered spots on the street.

It bums me out to have to write a bad review of Forage because I love the concept of the restaurant, and I think we need a place like it in the area. I hope they can step up the service and the quality. For the prices that you’re paying, it should be better.

Forage
3823 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 663-6885

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