We had a reservation for 6:30 and it was already packed when we got there! We got seated right away since we did have a reservation, but our designated table left a little to be desired. Since they try to use every inch of space that they can for a table, some of them are very close to one another. There was probably about 3-4 inches of space separating our table from the table next to us, but luckily they were rather quiet so it wasn't too much of a bother.
This was another restaurant that offered their entire menu for restaurant week, which shows that they really capture the spirit of the event (again, there were a select few options that required a small supplement, but not many). For the appetizer, I chose to keep it simple and ordered their simple salad. The other option that I considered was the burrata, watermelon, and asparagus salad, which I ultimately did not order because it comes with proscuitto, which I don't care for. My sister ordered the lobster dumpling soup instead of her usual pretzel crusted crab cake (which is a staple at the David Burke restaurants) because the crab cake requires a small supplement and she wanted to try something new.
There isn't really too much that I can say about the salad except that you get exactly what it says-- a simple salad. It comes with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, fennel, and supposedly onion (but I unfortunately did not taste any), and it is served in a mustard vinaigrette. Even though it was a very basic salad, I did like it. The dressing was really nice, and it was a light way to start the meal. But, it was a bit large and after a while it just got kind of boring. Also, there was a bit too much dressing for my taste, but overall it was a good salad. My sister said her lobster dumpling soup was really nice and was exactly what she was craving. When it came to the table, it was just a bowl with 2 lobster dumplings so we were a little confused. Then, we saw that there was a pot of hot broth over a flame and the waitress brought that to the table and poured it over the dumplings. It was a very light, seafood based broth, which she really enjoyed. Overall, she said this dish was a winner.
The main course here is really what I was looking forward to the most. When we did our preliminary look through of the menu online, I was intrigued by the short rib. I have never ordered short rib in a restaurant before, but something about it peaked my interest. My sister was in agreement, and we both decided to order the short rib as our main course. It came glazed in a peach bbq sauce with 2 cooked peaches on top in addition to some chopped veggies, and served over aged cheddar mac and cheese, peas, and some crispy onions on the outside border.
My first test of the short rib was to put my fork into it and see if i could rip off a piece without a knife, to see if it was tender like it should be. It passed the test by a landslide, and I was very excited to try my first bite. The meat was extremely tender and flavorful, and the bbq sauce put it over the top. The mac and cheese on the bottom also did not disappoint. I mixed it with the crispy onions so that it had a nice crunch to it in addition to the peas. I really liked that the portion of mac and cheese with this dish was on the smaller side so you didn't end up eating too much of it, as opposed to at David Burke Townhouse where it covered half of the plate. Every aspect of the dish was perfect, and all the components worked really well together. My sister loved the short rib as well, and almost cleared the plate! I should also mention that I was taking note of the various dishes that passed by me and went to other tables, and the short rib was the most popular dish by far. If every short rib is like theirs was, I will definitely order it more often in restaurants!
The last course, which usually is my favorite, was the dessert. I opted for the caramel chocolate tart, and my sister got the passion fruit meringue pie.
When ordering it, I forgot to ask for them to omit the raspberry sherbet because there is nothing that I hate more than mixing raspberry with my chocolate dessert. Luckily, it hadn't melted yet when it came to the table so I was able to easily push it off the plate without tainting the tart. The pie shell itself was a bit thick for my liking, and I would've preferred that it had been a little easier to cut into. The first bite wasn't the best because it mainly consisted of the shell, but once I got towards the middle it got a lot better. The chocolate was super rich and decadent, and the caramel layer underneath the chocolate paired really nicely with it. I honestly would've been happy if there was no shell at all because I mostly ended up just scooping out the chocolate and caramel. The tart was also rather large, so I had to control myself and not finish it. My sister wasn't too happy with the passion fruit meringue pie, but it was mainly because it didn't satisfy what she was craving. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't worth the calories to her.
Not only was the food here much better than at Townhouse, but the service was far superior. I would even say that it was a bit too quick. Our appetizers came out within 5 minutes of ordering, and each course thereafter came out within 5-10 mins of our plates being cleared. We are generally quick eaters and enjoy being in and out of a restaurant within an hour, but most people would probably think it was too quick. It was very crowded so I'm sure they were trying to turn tables over quickly, especially since people flock here to take advantage of the restaurant week menu. If they could find a balance between the slow and inconsistent service at Townhouse and the almost too quick service at Kitchen, it would be perfect.
If you are looking to go to one of David Burke's restaurants, I would definitely recommend coming here over Townhouse even though the location is a little more inconvenient. The food and service were far superior to our last David Burke restaurant experience, and the short rib stood out in my mind as the star of the evening.
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