American chef Marc Forgione opened Restaurant Marc Forgione at 134 Reade Street in Manhattan. “Halibut en Croute, Hazelnuts, Sauce Proposal” is a popular dish, and many diners have wondered about his “proposal sauce.” Forgioe explained in his 2014 cookbook:
 
“Sauce Proposal was originally called a rather predictable name—Caper-Raisin Emulsion, which is what it is—but as time went by, more and more people asked me if I was married after tasting it. Thus, the name ‘Sauce Proposal’ was born. It sounds a little more fun than its previous name and it now comes with a story. Try making it for your significant other or your crush—and see if you can get a proposal out of it!”
 
Forgione opened American Cut Steakhouse Tribeca, at 363 Greenwich Street in Manhattan, in September 2013.
   
     
Wikipedia: Marc Forgione
Marc Forgione is one of the Iron Chefs competing on Food Network’s Iron Chef America and owner of restaurant Marc Forgione in New York City. He was born on December 16, 1978, and raised in Bellerose, New York. Chef Forgione competed on and won season three of The Next Iron Chef in 2010.
 
Restaurant Marc Forgione (134 Reade Street, New York City)
Halibut en Croute, Hazelnuts, Sauce Proposal 34
 
American Cut Steakhouse Tribeca (363 Greenwich Street, New York City)
DOVER SOLE Hazelnut Sauce Proposal
 
Star Chefs
Rising Star Chef Marc Forgione
Marc Forgione | New York, NY
Whole Roasted Halibut, Cauliflower Purée, Crushed Hazelnuts, and Sauce “Proposal”
Adapted by StarChefs.com
Yield: 6 Servings
 
INGREDIENTS
Sauce “Proposal:”
½ cup lime juice
½ cup light soy sauce
8 ounces unsalted butter
1/4 cup chilled brown butter
½ roasted onion, brunoise
2 tablespoons chopped capers
3 tablespoons roasted cauliflower floret pieces
3 tablespoons roasted romanesco floret pieces
2 tablespoons toasted, crushed hazelnuts
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
 
Twitter
Marc Forgione
‏@MarcForgione
Baby Halibut for 2, Parsnip Black Butter, Sauce Proposal http://bit.ly/dzGt5U
2:56 PM - 1 Feb 2010
     
Twitter
Zagat
‏@Zagat
Course 6—the infamous baby halibut with “proposal” sauce. You can eat the spine! - @rklas http://yfrog.com/0wh0bij
8:25 PM - 7 Apr 2010
     
Follow the Chef
Sunday, June 12, 2011
I like Marc Forgione much better than I like MARC FORGIONE
(...)
I had to (and wanted to) order the halibut en croute with sauce “proposal”. Apparently, it is so named because a customer proposed to Marc after tasting it.  For my own part, and as charming as Marc is, I wouldn’t even call it sauce “engagement”, or sauce “first date” for that matter. The halibut itself was perfectly cooked, gently, it’s “croute” simply a thin slice of soft, white bread toast broiled onto the top, which was a sort of homely amusement, and tasty enough. Within that sauce “proposal” lurked 1/2 and 14 of a small fond of artichoke, despite our waiter specifically iterating that all the entrees came with “substantial vegetables”. This amounted to approximately three tablespoons of vegetables, maximum.
 
Twitter
Indagare
‏@indagaretravel
“Proposal” sauce at Marc Forgione deserves its name. May need to go to the kitchen and steal the recipe…or the chef
9:06 PM - 26 Jan 2012
 
The Daily Meal
The Wine Pairing You’d Never Expect: Red Wine and Fish
Screw tradition, grab a pinot noir next time you’re cooking fish
November 9, 2012 | 11:24 AM By Matthew Conway, Special Contributor
(...)
Working with Marc Forgione is a pleasure because he is not only open but excited about new and fun ways to eat and drink. When I was hired to open his first restaurant we spent a lot of time experimenting with different food and beverage combinations. Over the years one of his fish dishes became so popular it found itself a staple here. The fish is a thick cut of Atlantic halibut that has been crusted in bread and served over cauliflower purée with sauce proposal. Sauce proposal is the key here; rich, tangy, salty. The sauce is then mounted with hazelnuts, golden raisins, and cauliflower fleurettes. This dish not only works with red wine, it excels with it.
 
Tribeca Citizen
First Impressions: American Cut
October 17, 2013 • Restaurant/Bar News
(...)
And the cauliflower in Forgione’s “sauce proposal”—so named because women propose marriage, or something, to Forgione after trying it—was probably my favorite dish of the night.
(...)
American Cut is at 363 Greenwich (between Franklin and Harrison), 212-226-4736; americancutsteakhouse.com.
 
Google Books
Marc Forgione:
Recipes and Stories from the Acclaimed Chef and Restaurant
By Marc Forgione with Olga Massov
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
2014
Pg. 83:
HALIBUT EN CROUTE + SAUCE PROPOSAL + ROMANESCO
SERVES 4
Sauce Proposal was originally called a rather predictable name—Caper-Raisin Emulsion, which is what it is—but as time went by, more and more people asked me if I was married after tasting it. Thus, the name “Sauce Proposal” was born. It sounds a little more fun than its previous name and it now comes with a story. Try making it for your significant other or your crush—and see if you can get a proposal out of it!
   
The Huffington Post
The Most Romantic Restaurants in New York City
Posted: 08/27/2015 5:14 pm EDT Updated: 08/27/2015 5:59 pm EDT
by Gloria Dawson, Condé Nast Traveler
(...)
1. Restaurant Marc Forgione (pictured above)
Marc Forgione’s Tribeca restaurant exudes romance: there are weathered brick walls, gilded mirrors, and pillar candles, which supply almost all of the light. Share the spicy lobster chili, served with Texas toast to soak up the broth, or the rich chicken under a brick (since it’s a special occasion, splurge on the shaved black truffles for added decadence). The Halibut en Croute’s sauce is nicknamed “proposal sauce,” supposedly for the amount of times diners have asked Forgione to marry them after trying it.