David Burke Kitchen: NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2012

Despite my busy schedule, this past week, I treated myself to an amazing dinner at a trendy NYC restaurant. First, let me back track.

I want to say that most major cities participate in this event, but to be honest, I have only experienced this in Philadelphia and New York City. Twice a year, these cities hold a major culinary event called "Restaurant Week." (Note: whereas in Philly this was only a week, it seems that in NYU, this Restaurant Week lasts 1 month and happens every season...)

The idea is that a variety of restaurants allow diners to experience their restaurant for a discounted price.  It's a lot of fun for the diner because it gives you incentive to try different restaurants and it's great business for the restaurants because they get lots of exposure. Most restaurants do lunch and dinner. For a set price of roughly $25 lunch and $35 dinner (this is without tip/drinks), you get to enjoy a lovely three course meal. Not bad methinks!

When I was in college, as much as I loved Bryn Mawr, I never really loved Philadelphia. If you are reading this and you are on Philly, I apologize and if its any consolation, I do like Philly much more now. My close friends and I (there are about 8 of us) always studied hard and barely left campus, however, when restaurant week arrived, the texts and emails went crazy, as we frantically tried to make reservations. This was one event we ALWAYS took advantage of and loved!

When NYC Restaurant Week started, I texted my best friend E, who I went to college with. As you can imagine, the flurry of texts between us began. She took total charge. Within 24 hrs, she had selected a restaurant, a date, and a time! Gotta love her! As we are both fans of the Bravo show "Top Chef," E chose "David Burke Kitchen" for our dinner. (He was on Top Chef for a bit and one of his other restaurants was featured on the show.

At this point, my life has become very isolated. I go to class, I study with my friend in the library, then I return to my apartment to study some more! How boring! This was such a lovely change. To be able to leave my apartment, dress up a bit, see E after a 2 week hiatus, and of course to enjoy delicious food...I couldn't wait!

23  Grand St, NYC

The inside of the restaurant is very cute. I like to call it "country chic." The walls have pictures of different food manufacturers and the table setting make you feel like you are going on a posh picnic. I really liked it. 

Selecting our courses was incredibly difficult, as everything on the menu looked delicious. I was really impressed with David Burke because whereas most restaurants will only have about 3 choices for appetizer/entree/dessert, Burke had about 6 or 7 for each category. Kudos to you, Chef Burke! 

To start the meal off right, E and I both ordered cocktails. She ordered a yummy fizzy cocktail called a "Swedish Mule?" I can't remember what's in there, but it was really refreshing. I ordered a "raspberritini", which was essentially a fizzy cosmo made with raspberry juice, instead of cranberry. Funny story, perhaps it was exhaustion, as I had been up since 6 am doing calculus (long story...), but when I went to order my drink, I looked at my waiter and said: "I'd like the rabbittini please." He just started cracking up. Oh sleep deprivation, the things you do to me....

E and I actually shared our starters because we were both torn between the same two dishes. She ordered the "tuna tartare tacos" and I ordered the "pretzel crab cake." Both were amazing. The fattiness of the beautifully marbled tuna paired so well with the creaminess of the avocado puree. My mouth went crazy! The crab cake was also great. First off, I loved the creativity. The crab cake was sort of placed into this crispy pretzel box, so when you ate it, you get the contrasting sensation of crunchy and soft. Also, the saltiness of the pretzel worked really nicely with the intense flavor of the crab cake. After eating our appetizers, all I could think was, "well this is a fine start!"

For my main course I ordered the pork chop. This chop was served with a spice mango chutney, parsley onion rings, and maple/cumin bacon. Yum!!! I was blown away. The pork chop was perfectly cooked. It was tender and so flavorful. As for the other components of the dish, how creative. Everything worked together amazingly. The flavors, the seasoning, the textures...everything. This was a truly superb dish. 

And we save the best for last: DESSERT. I cannot 100% recall the name of this dessert, but I think it was something like "Long Island Drunken Brownie?" Not sure. This brownie was also very tasty! I'll be honest, it was just a brownie, but I think I was more impressed with what accompanied this gooey delight. The mint ice cream actually tasted of mint --- like, it felt as though actual mint leaves were in my mouth! The cake pop was hardened chocolate filled with rum and the marshmallow was just cute. This was a very satisfying way to end the meal.

Oh, I forgot to mention, while E and I were eating, we saw the chef himself, David Burke! He was enjoying a meal at a table off to the corner, but we noticed him and quietly squealed like little kids! When he finished his meal, he walked past us and made his way to the kitchen. After a few minutes, he reemerged, wearing his chef whites. E and I couldn't believe our luck and spent the rest of dinner grinning like fools!