David Burke & Donatella

[NY News Team]

David Burke will partner with Donatella Arpraia (Cellini, Bellini and Acqua Pazza) to open an American Restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Il Valletto at 133 East 61st Street. The opening is set for next fall. --Joseph Bavuso

(source: NY Times, August 6, 2003)

[inventolux]

I heard it was supposed to open last march. Anyway I cant wait to see how Burke has evolved over the years.

[Kim WB]

I heard it was supposed to open last march. Anyway I cant wait to see how Burke has evolved over the years.

David just left the NY Rest Group in June...and considered a few options before choosing this one. The construction is underway, and I think David is going to be very happy to be back in the front of the stove. In addition to his Executive Chef position with NYRG, he's been involved during the last few years in product development, which did keep his "creative" side fairly busy, but there's just no replacement for being in the kitchen.

I also know that he had gotten quite a bit of support for his decision to leave NYRG...while the well known chefs are indeed competitive, there is also a support network there...especially the "old guys" that were all cooks and sous together during 1985-1990.

AS I type, he's in Greece with our almost-16 year old son.

[SobaAddict70]

A lobster flan, made with Sauternes, is topped with miniature home fries and lobster meat ragù. This accompanies a shiitake dumpling and a boned leg of quail with a shiitake filling, the quail wrapped in pasta, the drumstick bone serving as a handle. Next to it sits a quail breast, coated in Asian spices with a dusting of dried orange peel. And that's just one dish.

David Burke & Donatella (Marian Burros) (from today's DIGEST. You may have to scroll down for the relevant link.)

Chef David Burke, formerly of the Park Avenue Cafe, along with Donatella Arpaia (owner of Bellini), invite you to partake of the culinary equivalent of a fashion statement.

Foie gras with candied kumquats and Armangac/port-poached grapes, anyone? Sounds simply divine....like a revisionist deconstructed French kiss.

Soba

[jogoode]

Hasn't this place only been around for a month? That's early to review a place, right?

[Suzanne F]

Hasn't this place only been around for a month? That's early to review a place, right?

Big names get special treatment?

[lamb]

My co-worker and his fellow Wall Street traders were there last evening. He has declared it his new favorite NYC restaurant. Of course, that is being said with an expense account paying the way.

[joiei]

This sentence of the review caught my attention

There's foam, too, a weird last-year touch, this one made with lobster broth.

Does that mean the Spanish influences are now starting to be passe in terms of foods. So where do we go from here?

[tommy]

didn't a few chefs over do the foam thing over the past few years (at least in the eyes of critics, and possibly, the dining public in general)? maybe that's what the author is referring to.

[jogoode]

Isn't there bacon foam in Asiate's Caesar Salad Soup (I remember FG mentioning it)? And Citarella's online menu lists "Roasted Sea Scallops with Warm Potato Salad, Cabbage and Horseradish Foam."

[jogoode]

And the writing in the review seems a bit different than Burros' last few reviews. More energy, maybe.

[Fat Guy]

Foams aren't going anywhere, because used judiciously foams are great vehicles for flavor. I'm inclined to think Tommy is right: we got a bit overloaded with amateurish use of foams so now there's a bit of a backlash.

A few of us were at the media cocktail party at davidburke & donatella, which isn't the sort of event where you get to size up the restaurant's cuisine -- it's mostly an opportunity for all the media people to see their media friends. Still, we got to eat a whole lot of Burke's hors d'oeuvres and as the token other heavy guy in the room I chatted with Burke for quite awhile. I've always liked the guy's food and he has really thrown himself into creative high gear at his new restaurant. Although the whimsical flourishes are the most noticeable aspect of his cooking, what I find most interesting is that he's constantly inventing new cuts of meat and fish, new ways to present food, etc. He's heavily involved with the food industry on the research side as well -- he consults for one of the big flavor companies and holds a number of patents.

At the end of the evening, after a few drinks, Burke suggested I try the "Bronx style" veal filet chop (for lack of a better description) and I thought it was terrific though undersalted: it had the tenderness of a filet but the flavor of meat cooked on the bone. Also came with some excellent pistachio ravioli.

Theoretically, I'm going to visit Burke's butcher with him in the Bronx as part of the research for my book, so if that happens I'll give a brief report here. Also supposed to have dinner at the restaurant next week, but I might have to cancel. One of my pickiest friends has been there 3 times and it's her new favorite place.

[Pan]

Why do you think she didn't give it three stars? Because of her objections to the things that "need rethinking"? The review seems like pretty much of a rave until paragraphs 4-6 on page 2.

[slkinsey]

At the end of the evening, after a few drinks, Burke suggested I try the "Bronx style" veal filet chop (for lack of a better description) and I thought it was terrific though undersalted: it had the tenderness of a filet but the flavor of meat cooked on the bone.

Interesting... I really enjoyed all the little bites (loved the oysters), but the veal "fillet mignon" dish didn't do so much for me. It does make a spectacular visual presentation because it is truly gigantic, but in the end it is mostly bone. I wasn't quite sure what it was about it that made it worth ten dollars more than a typical osso buco. I guess I have to admit that it would have appealed to me a lot more had it been priced at 26 dollars instead of 36.

I'll be interested to try it again sometime. There are definitely a lot of interesting ideas coming out of the kitchen.

[KatieLoeb]

Also came with some excellent pistachio ravioli.

Tell me more about these. PLEASE!

[Kim WB]

And not only does he cook well, he breeds well. ( Oh, c'mon, someone must have expected that comment! )

I thought it read like a 3 star review as well...bias aside. And I agree with Fat Guy, it is always interesting to see how David approaches food in a technical way.

[Fat Guy]

At the end of the evening, after a few drinks, Burke suggested I try the "Bronx style" veal filet chop (for lack of a better description) and I thought it was terrific though undersalted: it had the tenderness of a filet but the flavor of meat cooked on the bone.

Interesting... I really enjoyed all the little bites (loved the oysters), but the veal "fillet mignon" dish didn't do so much for me. It does make a spectacular visual presentation because it is truly gigantic, but in the end it is mostly bone. I wasn't quite sure what it was about it that made it worth ten dollars more than a typical osso buco. I guess I have to admit that it would have appealed to me a lot more had it been priced at 26 dollars instead of 36.

I'll be interested to try it again sometime. There are definitely a lot of interesting ideas coming out of the kitchen.

slkinsey is such a cheap bastard that he's complaining about the price even though we got TWO OF THEM for free!

Seriously, though, db&d is an expensive Upper East Side restaurant. Burke told me his ingredient cost on that dish is more than $10 just for the piece of meat, and there's other stuff on the plate too, so it's certainly not a bad value from the pure cost perspective. That clientele won't mind paying $36 for the dish, as long as it's good (and even if it isn't).

[Fat Guy]

Just got a press release saying that David Burke is now serving a Shad Roe “BLT” at davidburke & donatella. The roe is sauteed, piled with pancetta and frisee, chives, and chervil, dressed with tomato mint butter, plus more pancetta, and topped with a quail egg. Served as an appetizer special at lunch and dinner until the end of shad roe season.

[Suzanne F]

Can't believe I didn't post after my lunch there. But: everything was excellent, and not, I suspect, just because I was with Kim. I especially remember a sinfully creamy macaroni dish (truffled, IIRC) that I just wanted to wallow in.

[baw]

I ate dinner at david burke&donatella last nite and the food was amazing!

We had 5:45 reservations, so we were seated right away. The tables in the main dining room were very close together and the room got loud quickly, but it didnt interfere with our meal. I couldnt tell exactly what the amuse was .. it was OK .. a little puff pastry bite with a wee piece of dried prosciutto, some tapenadey type stuff and some soft white colored stuff.

I started with 'spring pea raviolis'. The appetizer was served stew-style in a white ceramic lidded container. There were (put the adjective 'little' before each of these) 5 clams, 3 ravioli, 3 barely cooked garlicky duck sausage meatballs, and green and white asparagus in a delicious broth that tasted of lemongrass, garlic, and some other flavors that my tongue had trouble sorting out. I would have sopped it up with my bread, but I needed to save room. I was skeptical of how such an incredible number of ingredients and flavors in my dish would work, but they did. My dad had some caviar that came with yummy blini (they served his vodka in a tiny chilled mug .. very cute!) The friends we were with had the salmon pastrami and the gazpacho and raved about them. We had a '99 Trimbach Riesling with this course .. I wasnt blown away by the wine .. the dad said it was too cold so maybe that is why it wasnt as floral as I would have expected.

For my main, I had homemade mushroom cavatelli and short rib. The short rib was placed on top of the 'shroomy pasta+some chanterelles (i think) and was covered with finely minced carrots/celery/something else. The waiter placed a dollop of white truffle mousse on the top. There were also some crispy wild mushroom chips on the plate. Everything about the dish was delicious! The short rib was tender and juicy .. completely melted in my mouth. Dad had a steak .. it looked 'medium', not the 'medium rare' that it was ordered .. but no matter because he couldnt stop raving about how buttery and wonderful it tasted. (The steak was gigantic .. half of it is sitting in my fridge now). With this course, we had an outstanding '95 Bordeaux (how do you spell that?). I dont remember which one..

Far too stuffed for dessert, one of us ordered some dark chocolate torte thing and we all had a nibble. The cake part was OK. The toasted marshmellows on top and the chocolate ice cream on the side rocked.

The restaurant was absolutely packed by the time we left at 8 and that the bar area was crammed with people that I assumed were waiting for their tables. I was glad that we had an early res. Overall, we were all suprised at how delicious the food was. I couldnt help but mentally prepare it to the last high-end meal I had, which was at Jean Georges several months ago. Of course, they are entirely different dining experiences, but the enjoyment I got from the food at DBD last night blew my food experience at JG out of the water. Im sure that my different expectations contributed to that, but the food last night was truly first rate.

[oakapple]

A friend and I visited davidburke & donatella last night. It is the best two-star restaurant I've been to, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it gunning for three if a re-review comes along.

The restaurant is a beautiful space, decorated with the kind of wit that you find in Burke's inventive menu. There are two dining rooms, and we were seated in the larger of the two. It seems the owners were determined to use every inch of available space, as there was barely room to navigate between the closely-spaced tables. It was hard to hear over the din.

When we sat down, a folded paper menu was on our plates. This was the day's tasting menu — five courses, $75. It was a typeset menu, on top of which Burke had scribbled additional daily specials and witty artwork. I was tempted, but my friend was not, so we moved onto the main menu, which our server came by and handed out.

Bread arrives — cooked in its own copper casserole, and steaming hot. The butter comes as a modern art sculpture that you almost regret cutting into. There wasn't quite enough time to appreciate this before the amuse-bouch, a small confection of salmon ribbons.

To start, I ordered the foie gras and lobster appetizer. It came in two hollowed-out egg shells, each with its own tiny little spoon. My friend had the gazpacho, which came with a shrimp profiterole and a mound of guacamole.

I had read about the origins of Burke's "Bronx" veal chop on eGullet, and I had to give that a try. The difficulty with this dish is that the chop itself is an awkward shape, and it's a struggle to find an anchor point for your fork. It was a tasty piece of veal, but I don't like to fight fight for my food. My friend had the pork chop, which I tasted. It had a wonderful char and was perfectly tender.

The wine list is a confusing jumble. Within the standard categories (red/white), the wines are grouped by degrees—that is, each of the main headings is a number with the little "degree" symbol. Was this the degrees latitude where the grape was grown? The temperature at which the wine is stored? We could not tell. It is also a pricey list, and we struggled to find a good choice in our range. Finally we asked the sommelier for a suitable choice under $60 a bottle, and he produced an off-the-menu chiraz at $55 that we were pleased with.

DB&D is known for its desserts. The table next to us were friends of pastry chef James Distefano, and they got a free sample of everything on the menu. You would have to carry me home if I ate that much dessert, but it certainly gave us an idea of the range of creativity on offer here. I had the Coconut Layer Cake, my friend the Dark Chocolate & Praline Torte, which were both winners.

David Burke himself seemed to have a few friends in the house last night, as he came out of the kitchen several times to greet diners. I expected a light turnout, given that it is a holiday weekend, but the restaurant was packed. However, we got an 8:00pm reservation that I called for only on Wednesday, which perhaps wouldn't be available on an ordinary weekend.

There is much to appreciate at DB&D, and on one visit I thought we had barely scratched the surface. I will have to return.

[robyn]

Going to New York in a few weeks. A relatively spur of the moment trip for us (family bar mitzvah - lots of family I haven't seen in a long time). Want to try some new places. I made a reservation at David Burke & Donatella. Sounds like fun. Very much over the top and not too serious (I seem to have spent the whole summer ducking hurricanes or dealing with doctors - so over the top and fun suits me fine at this point).

Have any of you been there? If so - what do you recommend - not recommend? What are the hits on the menu - and the misses? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Robyn

[robyn]

Hmmm....

I searched on Donatella - and then Burke - before I posted this message - and came up empty-handed. I'll have to make sure my search options are set properly. But thanks for putting my message in the right place. Robyn

[Kim WB]

Chef Burke will be on ABC Evening news tomorrow, I think the local early edition, with a pretapped segment on school lunches. Joined, I might add, by an extraordinarily adorable and talanted and smart and kind young man, Dillon Burke.

Edited September 21, 2004 by Kim WB (log)

[Suzanne F]

Kim, thanks for the heads-up.

Robyn: Actually, the room(s) are not at all over-the-top, but very, very classy. Definitely a place to get dressed up for, if you want to, but not that you have to.

And as I stated above, there is a truffled macaroni dish that is one of the best (and richest) things I ever ate. If you get it, make sure that you have someone to share it with, it is sooooooooo rich. (Although once you taste it, you probably won't want to give any of it up.)