Forma: Pasta. Tasta: good Italian food.

After a meetup hike to Sewickley Heights Borough Park in Sewickley, PA, I found my stomach rumbling and I looked for cafe options around where the hike was. In downtown Sewickley, I found Forma Pasta & Groceries (531 Beaver St. Sewickley, PA 15143) which caught my eye. Never one to shy away from Italian food and restaurants, I decided to stop in and try their homemade cuisine. My mom thinks that I only go on these hikes to discover local cafes and coffee shops, and although she is partly correct, I do enjoy walking and talking with people I've started to call friends of mine. On a Riverview Park Hike the other day, I was talking to someone who shared that her Uncle (not a blood relative, but a close friend) owns Forma and she said she couldn't wait to read the blog. I was reading reviews on Google of the offerings of Forma. One of the reviews brought my attention to the homemade cheese ravioli dish they had.

Off I went, from the park to the cafe was about a ten minute drive. I arrived to Forma and went in to the establishment. It's a small cafe that probably has ten tables in the dining area. They modernized the process of food to table after paying for it. When I walked in, I ordered at the counter, paid for my meal, and sat down as they handed me a gallon of chilled water and a glass. I did not realize that with every meal comes a salad, so the first thing that was brought out was a salad. I’m not a salad person, so I did not partake in consuming of it, and I felt a little guilty about not saying "hey don't bother making me a salad with my meal". The first dish I consumed was their wedding soup. Made with carrots, about five to six meat balls, spinach, broth, and noodles, this was definitely a hit. I was a bit confused at the offering of both a salad and a soup, as a lot of places are soup or salad. I figured this would cancel the salad out when I ordered, but it did not. For my main meal, I did order the cheese ravioli. It was delicious. The cheese melted in my mouth with every bite. It is made in an amazing tasting red sauce and with homemade ravioli noodles. I was a little shocked I wasn't provided bread with my meal, but overall I was beyond satisfied with the service, the food, and the ambiance of the establishment.

(Wedding soup, the interior of the restaurant, and the cheese ravioli)

I am one to always read reviews before trying a restaurant for the first time, but I am also one to not shy away from negative reviews on a place, because one can never be sure which reviews are truthful and which reviews are just falsehoods of a place. I always leave a review after I leave a restaurant with photos I took at the place prior to leaving. I find the best reviews include photos with detailed descriptions. Browsing Google Maps is hit or miss. There are so many reviews for solid eateries that are just negative for no reason. One star reviews were no stranger to Forma, I am sure in their early days of opening. I read a few, but I feel, I can't judge a restaurant solely on the opinion of someone who rates every place they travel to as negative. Google has a feature where you can click on the person who reviewed the place, and see the rest of their reviews. If a person is just going around and leaving negative reviews everywhere, then truly nothing can ever satisfy them. Forma has 68 total reviews on Google Maps, the bulk of which are five star reviews. I want to share the negative ones, because, we spend way too much time as a society being negative about things, then focusing on the positives. I also want to share the positive reviews to show there are two sides to every story.

Negative reviews:

Amy writes six months ago and gives a three star review stating "nice little place, but the girl at the counter was unfriendly. I asked her how long to cook the fresh pasta and it was as if I was bothering her. Wedding soup was so-so, the vegetables were very raw, very little noodles, and large pieces of greens made it hard to eat. Overall not super unimpressive. Not sure I will return".

My thoughts with Amy's review: firstly the last sentence makes no sense at all and makes me cringe a bit, as a writer. Secondly soups can change over time, maybe she would feel differently if she came back at a later date. Thirdly, unfriendly is subjective. If the customer is rude and unpleasant, then maybe it isn't the counter person being unfriendly, maybe it is just a response to the behavior of the customer. Although we live in a society where we are taught "the customer is always right", this truly is never the case. I am glad Amy didn't just give a one star review. Three stars means "needs improvement".

Karen (actual name) writes a month ago "had a horrible experience here". Karen rated it one star, and probably asked to see the manager. I would have been curious if there was more detail added to why this experience was so horrible.

A local guide named Fup Biz rated it four stars and in a long review describes the several times that they have been to the restaurant but mentioned the bread served with the meal as being underwhelming, as the dishes are large, and the bread portion is small. "Prices are very reasonable, quality superb (bread the exception)". They do mention that there is literally zero parking which is correct. The parking area was a bit of a throw off for me. It is tucked in a strip mall area and without proper marking of spaces, it is difficult to know where the cafe's designated parking area is. I parked on the street.

Of 68 reviews, I believe one of them was a one star review, two three star reviews, and a four star review. The rest of the reviews are five stars, including my own. What that tells me is either Karen was confused at what restaurant she was at, or that is just her prerogative. Clicking on Karen's profile, she has made four total reviews, three of them one star ratings.

Positive reviews:

A week ago: Jason writes "food was delicious, staff was extremely friendly and professional" five stars. Two months ago: Lori writes "love their food, servers are great, cute little vibe to the place, can't wait to go back" five stars. A year ago: Kyle writes "Forma makes the best raviolis! I get them delivered and they have all sorts of great flavors, a recent order included their mushroom and ricotta raviolis, we love their fresh pastas as well" five stars. Others mentioned the pasta making and pierogi making classes and rated the establishment five stars. A review from two years ago made by Marissa is also a five star review, "both times we have been here, we were blown away by their staff and the quality of their food".

It is truly a sentiment of life that a few bad apples can ruin it for the rest. I am sure some people have seen Karen's review or Amy's review and not gone to try it for themselves, while missing the countless positive and five star ratings. A couple bad reviews ruining potential business opportunities. Overall, I rated Forma five stars. I was impressed with their raviolis and the wedding soup, and how despite not ordering a drink, they still provided me with a jug of water.

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Personal reflection:

I remember going to New York City a lot when I was little. My parents both wanted me to experience culture in other places of our country. We had a family tradition of going to the city over thanksgiving weekend almost every year. We had only ever had Italian or steakhouse cuisine when we went. One time I asked my parents, "why do we only ever go to steakhouses or Italian places". My dad had one of those shocked looks he had and said "ahh because that's all you like". They would go to Chinese places if it was just the two of them. We also went to diners in the morning for breakfast. The Cosmic Diner and the Astro Diner being two of our favorites, that we still make it to each time one of us is in the city. I haven't been to the city in a long time. I think the last time I was in the city was for a New York Mets baseball game at Citi Field. My mom goes every so often for Broadway musical productions. Any time we travel anymore, we have our favorite restaurants if it is a place we have visited many times. In Steamboat Springs, Colorado, there is for me a personal favorite of the Ore House, which is a steakhouse that offers cinnamon rolls with every meal. My parents loved The Laundry and I believe it was there, where my dad got to eat dessert out of the Stanley Cup the one summer when they visited there. There was a goalie from the Tampa Bay Lightning who won the cup, who was vacationing there with his wife during his personal time with the Stanley Cup.

When we used to vacation as a family to St. Simon's Island, in Georgia, we would go to the same restaurants every time. Brunch at the King and Prince Resort before going to the beach, seafood at Spanky's (which is no longer around), seafood for dinner at the Crab Trap, and sometimes lunchtime barbecue with my dad at Beachcomber BBQ and Grill. We still have the Beachcomber shirt my dad bought for himself the one summer. He wore it for yard work, relaxing around the house, and walks with the dog in the summer time.

We are all creatures of habit. Even now there are places where we shop, eat, drink, hang out, and attend events that we have been going to for as long as we can remember. When I did attend church as a child, we had long been going to Brentwood Church, but then started to go to my father's church Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church in Mt. Vernon, PA for a really long time. My mom then started to attend church at her hometown's Elrama United Methodist Church. but after my dad passed, she returned to Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church because she shared "I feel at home there". We are creatures of habit. We feel comfortable doing things that feel like home. My mom and I after my old therapist appointments in South Hills Village, an area of Pittsburgh, we used to get brunch at Eat 'N Park. Recently, my mom and I met for dinner at an Eat 'N Park and it felt nice just to be back in a familiar setting. We shared with each other we needed to continue to get out to places of our past to enjoy meals or hang out.

Because of the habits we form, breaking them is always the hardest thing to accomplish. I used to be a habit finger nail biter, which drove my mother and father insane. Now because I work in a hospital, I rarely ever bite my nails. I trim them with a nail clipper. The habits formed with my dad alive were a midday nap with the dog when he would be home on the weekends and my mom always saying to me when I got to the house, "don't wake him up". Now I wish I would have, just to spend some more time with him. Bedtime in the house is still about 9:30pm and Augusta knows it. She is in bed ready to sleep right around that time and will not accept anything else from anyone who tries. For my mom, the habit of sleeping next to someone changed when my dad passed. I feel for her. I know Augusta is there and will often sleep either near her or on top of her (a sixty pound golden retriever who thinks she is a lap dog), but it is not the same.

(Augusta, likely tired from the nine miles of walking she does every day with my mom and trying to keep my mom sane at the same time)

It is hard to accept change. In grief, accepting change means accepting loss. I feel I have accepted my dad's loss. I accepted it when it first happened, because it is life, and it cannot be changed or reversed. I cannot bring my father back. I can, however, keep memories of him alive in the way I write because writing is an outlet for me. As NF shares in Therapy Session for music being his outlet: "I think sometimes people, they confuse what i’m doing, I write about life, I write about things that I am actually dealing with, that I actually have experienced. This is real for me. This is something that helps me as well. I am not confused about who gave me the ability, God gave me the ability and he gave this to me as an outlet. If I feel something that is anger or frustration, this is where I go, this is the whole NF real music thing, this is real for me, I need this, this is a therapy for me". This writing is an outlet for me. I need this. I share these writings with family, friends, and social media. Throughout all of this process, I am thankful for the friends, family, and experiences I have gained, knowing every step of the way, my father, although no longer here in person, is WITH me always.

(this is the song I mention in the last paragraph. NF has gotten me through a lot, and this is the first song I ever heard by him. He is a Christian who raps, but his music is very clean and inspirational)