Forma

Yet another birthday celebration at Forma. I was very happy to introduce my friend Mary to this restaurant. She loves good Italian food so what better place to celebrate than to take her to Forma.

She gave me the liberty of ordering which I love to do for newcomers.  We first ordered a nice bottle of red wine and some bread. This is Italian style in that they do charge $3.00 for bread.  Before you get excited, I have to tell you that the $3.00  is worth every penny. You get quality and not quantity. The bread not only looked beautiful but tasted oh so good with the olive oil and the tomato spread.

 I ordered their wonderful Crispy Artichoke Salad which is fried artichokes with peas, walnuts and goat cheese sprinkled with shredded Parmesan. For our entrée, I ordered their Chitarra Cacio e Pepe with lots of pepper tossed in Pecorino Romano and the Tortellini with mushrooms, light cream, truffle oil tossed in Bela Lodi Cheese. I had Mary go over to where they have several large wheels of cheese to witness how they finish these dishes by tossing them into a specific cheese wheel while the man in charge scrapes more cheese from inside the wheel and mixes it with the pasta.

Everything was delicious as ever and the pasta was perfectly cooked aldente. While we savored our food, Mario, the owner came out to say hello. It is always nice to see him. This is probably another reason why everything is always done right because he has his watchful eye on the operation.

Our charming Italian server Omar was animated and attentive. At first, I thought he said his name was Oma but he promptly corrected me and said: "Omar, like Omar Sharif". I was impressed he knew Omar Sharif since he was a young man.

I knew what I wanted to order for dessert but before I had a chance to do so, they brought Mary a birthday treat which she happily shared. She did comment that she was full but I insisted she try another dessert. I told her she couldn't leave Forma without trying the Banana Pecan Tart with chocolate. That did not disappoint.  It was as delicious as ever!

Forma is always good. A friend that is currently on a diet told me she can't wait to go back there soon. Forma is located at 1610 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, California. They are open for lunch and dinner.