An East 60’s dwelling girl, I’ve been lucky to have David Burke—the man, the chef, the concept—living in my ‘hood. His whimsical restaurants have long been part of my dining out repertoire. I liked David Burke both before and after Donatella at Townhouse. The fish tacos at Fishtail, one block over, are something I often crave. I stop into (or order out of) David Burke at Bloomingdales with overindulgent regularity (white chicken chili, truffle fries, pretzel panini), so when I heard David Burke was headed to SoHo to share his culinary wealth with my counterparts below Houston Street, I was happy for them. See, I knew they were in for a treat.
Capitalizing on his relationship with the James Hotel in Chicago where he has a restaurant (Primehouse), Burke’s downtown act, David Burke Kitchen at the James Hotel New York, is something to be reckoned with. The Grand Street entrance’s staircase still smells of sawdust and paint – yes, it’s that new – but the place has it down pat. Already. Ambiance, service, presentation, and execution equals 1, 2, 3, 4 stars—and I ain’t gonna lie; I’m sometimes stingy with my stars.
It’s airy in David Burke Kitchen; you don’t feel subterranean. The blue and white-checkered napkins, wooden barnlike ceiling, and woven leather chairs designed by the James Beard Award winning Thomas Schlesser create a breezy picnic vibe. A front bar serves drinks like The Border (tequila, mezcal, and beef jerky, $15) and Good N Plenty (orange vodka, grapefruit juice, and good n plenty candies) and keeps the mood light. Come spring, there will be an outdoor space, doubling capacity. Staying on theme, the first starter is called Ants on a Log, a playful take on bone marrow and snails ($16).
We settled into our table, a spot directly in front of the carving station where dishes are prepped before landing on tables. Part of the attraction of Burke’s food is the colorful arrangement of each dish, and you can’t help but find yourself curious about what’s being showcased. After much deliberation, we chose four different appetizers and three different entrees. If nothing else, we’d taste as much as we possibly could.
A selection of bread (whole grain, rosemary, olive) arrived first. Snacks and Jars, a menu sidebar, whet the palate. We chose chili, lime lotus chips ($3) that come in a brown paper bag, and a jar of tomato, eggplant, and ricotta ($6), a silky layered spread for accompanying crostini. Then, the parade began. A few of the starters were familiar—favorites from Burke’s uptown joints like the Pretzel Crab Cake ($16)—but we went with new dishes like scallops and oxtail, an inventive pairing of land and sea topped by a perfectly cooked quail egg ($16), and the Camembert ravioli which oozed suggestively when split open. Both of the soups, the split pea ($10), topped by poached egg, prosciutto, and ham, and the lobster, a rich broth with bulging dumplings and a coconut fennel crème ($14), were highlights.
Dinner came in the form of bay scented hake with clams, cauliflower, and guanciale ($28)—a generous piece of cod-like fish—a perfectly smoked pork chop, and a holdover from Burke’s arsenal, handmade cavatelli and braised short ribs ($34). Served with a tangled mess of wild mushrooms and laced with truffle mousse, the short ribs continue to be my favorite David Burke dish and I was thrilled to find it on the Kitchen menu. Crispy potatoes with spicy horseradish ($7) rounded out our proteins, but dinner wasn’t over. Oh no…not by a long shot.
To call something Monkey Bread (to share, $16) makes people wonder (and order). Burke delivers on the promise. Monkey Bread is a tin of brioche topped with caramelized bananas, caramel, fresh whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, and powdered sugar individually plated at the table. Oh. My. God. Every monkey plate was licked clean, and my friend, Lori, was looking for seconds.
“Wow,” said her fiancé, looking around the table when we finally finished our meal. “Everything tonight was just wow, right?” Yep, that about sums it up.
Thank you (yet again), David Burke.
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