Research.
DBGB Kitchen and Bar {NYC}
Our last dinner spot in NYC was Daniel Boulud’s DBGB Kitchen and Bar. I’ve had the burger at Daniel’s DB Bistro Moderne which is just one of his many restaurants. DBGB is his answer for the meeting of French brasserie and American tavern. There were tons of house-made sausages, twenty-two tap craft beers, burgers, and several other dishes to please your palate.
We started with ordering the hand-cut steak tartare. It came served with grilled ciabatta, quail egg, cornichons, and pickled ramp. There was nothing wrong with this dish, and as Anthony Bourdain will tell you, putting a runny egg on anything will make it taste good. I could have used a little more ciabatta, but the pickled ramp added a good amount of acid to cut through the raw meat.
My brother and his girlfriend joined us for dinner, so it was nice to see the other plates and hear what they thought. My wife ordered the pork loin schnitzel; it came served over a spinach and bacon salad with fingerling potatoes. I had a few bites of hers and would order it in a heartbeat if we make it to DBGB again. Not that mine was mediocre by any means, hers just had tons of great flavors. The warm spinach salad was full of flavor and a nice contrast to the schnitzel. The potatoes had some flavors I couldn’t even put my finger on. Hey, look at that pun, fingerling potatoes.
Anyway, I ordered a burger called the Piggie. This burger was a six-ounce beef patty topped with bbq pulled pork, jalapeno mayo, mustard vinegar slaw, and Boston lettuce on a cheddar bun. The burger definitely had a smoky flavor coming from the bbq. The jalapeno mayo added a little kick but certainly didn’t overpower. I could have used a little more flavor coming from the mustard vinegar slaw to contrast with bbq. My brother also ordered a burger; he had the Frenchie which came with a tomato-onion compote, confit pork belly, and morbier cheese. He thought his had a little too much of a smoky flavor, but he has spent too much time in front of a smoker (having worked as a chef in a BBQ joint).
Out of the two upscale burgers I had in New York (ABC Kitchen and DBGB Kitchen and Bar), I would have to say ABC Kitchen was a little more daring with their burger.
BKLYN Larder {NYC}
My last lunch spot while in New York was a placed called BKLYN Larder. Located in Brooklyn, it was a cheese and provision store, offering quality olive oils, breads, cheeses and a few lunch items. They were written up for their egg sandwich, and I have to say, for being an egg sandwich, it was pretty amazing. The sandwich consisted of a hard-boiled egg, bacon, mayo, and lettuce all on white toast. The lettuce was tossed with cracked pepper and olive oil which, I will say, completely changed the way I make egg sandwiches now. The bacon was baked and the egg was cooked perfectly. I ordered a side of couscous made with golden raisins and almonds, which was a light and flavorful addition.
This Little Piggy had Roast Beef {NYC}
I had my third lunch in the city at This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef. This joint is known for their roast beef sandwich and their pastrami on rye. I went with the roast beef. They had their own take on how to order your sandwich, and I’m pretty sure they picked it up from Pat’s Cheese Steaks in Philadelphia. You could either order “This way” or “That way,” and I went with “This way.” "This way" came on a bun with cheese wiz and aujus, but if I had opted for the "that way," it would have come on an Italian hero with gravy and mozzarella. I also ordered the hand cut fries which, as the picture shows, weren’t your typical hand cut fries. My sandwich was good and reminded me a lot of Pat’s, so it couldn’t have been that bad.
ABC Kitchen {NYC}
On Wednesday night, we went to one of the most anticipated restaurants on our list. ABC Kitchen was recommended to us months before we headed to New York. Along with the recommendation, I read about it in both Esquire and Saveur magazines. Esquire magazine gave it restaurant of the year in 2010 and Saveur magazine named it in one of the top restaurants & chef in the nation. When I decided to write this blog, it was mainly going to be about burgers, so after researching the menu, I wanted to give their burger a try.
The restaurant had an amazing atmosphere. You could see the slogan of local, organic, and home all throughout the space: whitewashed hardwood floors, white brick walls, driftwood sculptures, and a series of eclectic lights hanging from the ceiling. We sat down at a table for two, and we couldn’t keep our heads from turning to side to side. Different chandeliers hung in different parts of the restaurant which only added to the home-like feel. The bread plates on each table were each a different design of china that looked like something you might find in your grandmothers cabinet. The waitresses were dressed in jeans, button-up vintage shirts, and simple tennis shoe (Converse, for example). Fresh bread was brought to our table with good olive oil, and for an appetizer we ordered the crab toast with lemon aioli. This restaurant isn’t into impressing you with overly complicated ingredients. For example, our crab toast consisted of crabmeat atop homemade toasted bread with a light lemon aioli. A few lemon wedges came on the side for the extra squeeze if you wanted. Put all these ingredients together, and that’s what it tasted like: simple, yet incredibly fresh and delicious.
As an entrée, my wife ordered the fried organic chicken, which was served with creamy mashed potatoes and the best brown gravy I’ve ever had. After talking to our waitress, I found out that white wine and smoked chilies were the distinct flavors coming through on the gravy. The fried chicken was in a brine for twenty-four hours, lightly deep-fried, and then topped with lemon zest. The lemon zest and gravy coming together was a beautiful thing. The chicken was served on top of a ginger bok choy, which was their answer for collard greens.
My burger was made with akaushi meat. Akaushi is a Japanese Wagyu breed of cattle. It is richly marbled with fat, and even though the meat-to-fat ratio is the same as most burgers (80:20), the high percentage of monounsaturated fat intensifies the flavor. Even by looking at the meat itself, you can see the difference just by the texture. The burger was served with an herbed mayo which consisted of arugula, basil, and chives. Pickled jalapenos, which actually had a very subtle taste, were laid on top of the homemade mayo. The cheese was a Bloomsday; it had a nutty, medium sharp flavor and was micro-planed on top of the burger. To end all of the flavors, there was a little arugula beneath the meat. When you think you taste jalapenos, you taste the sharp yet delicate cheese, and when you think you taste cheese, the fresh herbed mayo surprises you at the end making this burger full of surprises. To end it all, a side of hand-cut fries that were fried with parsley, garlic, and rosemary came in a small dish.
All right, I’m done. I can’t say enough good things. If you know you’re going to New York, find a way to go here. Be sure to make reservations though.
Emporio {NYC}
For dinner one night, we tried a place that came highly recommended. Emporio is located in the Soho district at the crossroads of Mott and Prince Street. The atmosphere was dark and cozy, making the space feel unexpectedly rural. Each table had a rustic candleholder and a candle that looked like it had been burning for hours with wax sculpturally drizzling down the side. The tables and floor looked liked they had been sanded over and over again from use. Antique light fixtures protruded from exposed brick walls. Fresh bread was brought to the table along with a nice, rich olive oil. We tried the daily bruschette with melted Gorgonzola and truffle-infused honey on top of toasted bread. For dinner, I ordered the Tagliatelle al Ragù that consisted of hand cut pasta and a traditional meat ragú. My wife ordered the spicy sopressata and mozzarella pizza, which was cooked in a brick oven. The flavors of both meals were authentic. The best way to describe our food is: it wasn’t trying to be something else. The pizza had nice, simple flavors coming through; you could taste the mozzarella, sopressata, and the fire-encrusted dough. My pasta tasted fresh and was seasoned beautifully with a meat ragú that complimented it all.
Torrisi {NYC}
My second lunch spot was a place called Torrisi located in Soho. I read that their chicken parm sandwich was very good, so I decided to give it a go. You could choose between having the sandwich served on a roll or a hero, and I was pushed to go for the roll. The breaded chicken was served on a sesame bun with fresh marinara sauce, basil, and mozzarella. Judging by the stacks of breadcrumbs on the shelf, I assume that they bread the chicken in-house, which (in my opinion) makes the sandwich. The marinara was sweet yet savory, and the basil offered what it always offers: deliciousness.
