David Burke Kitchen

Sadly, last night's dinner brought restaurant week to a close for me and my sister.   Our last dining location was at David Burke Kitchen, which we had been to for brunch in the past but never for dinner.  We looked at the menu online and were excited about some of the offerings, and were just hopeful that we would have a better experience at this David Burke restaurant than we did at Townhouse.

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. 

Riverpark

Tonight was our third restaurant week outing, and our chosen destination was Riverpark.  My sister and I went there during winter restaurant week and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to return.  The location is a little isolated, but luckily it is within walking distance of my apartment so it was easy to get there.  It is located right on the east river and they have some outdoor seating, which was great because the weather tonight was beautiful and breezy.  The ambiance inside was also really nice, but it is hard to pass up a table outside when the weather is as nice as it was tonight.

Just like David Burke and Telepan, they offered their whole menu for restaurant week and had just a few select dishes that required supplements.  There was a great selection of appetizers to choose from, and they had a few pasta dishes that you could choose to be either an appetizer or a main course.  I usually tend to order a regular salad as my appetizer, but I decided to be a little more adventurous and I opted for one of the pasta dishes.  There were a few that looked good, but I got the Bigoli pasta which came in a light tomato sauce with heirloom tomatoes, lemon verbena, and a light sprinkling of breadcrumbs on top.  My sister got the avocado and hamachi salad which came highly recommended by the waiter, and my mom got the baby lettuces & greens salad.

The bigoli pasta was really fresh and delicious!  The pasta itself was pretty thick and al dente, but I liked that it had a nice bite to it.  The sauce was really light and had a nice tomato flavor, but the cooked heirloom tomatoes were the best part.  They were really juicy and tasted local and fresh.  The lemon verbena also added a nice touch to the dish because it had an interesting and distinct flavor that paired well with the pasta and the sauce.  My sister really liked the avocado and himachi salad, and my mom thought that the salad was ok but nothing special so she didn't really eat much of it.

For the main course, I went with my usual dish of choice, the grilled chicken.  For people with a more adventurous palate, they offered a really diverse range of dishes including rabbit, scallops, trout, lamb, steak, and pork chop to name a few.  My sister ordered the scallops, again based on the recommendation from the waiter, and my mom got the pork chop which the waiter said was their signature dish.  

The grilled chicken was cooked perfectly, and was moist and delicious.  It came with some roasted tomatoes, which again were one of the highlights of the dish, in addition to freekeh and a delicious sauce.  Even though I loved the dish, I actually liked my mom's pork chop even better (which is weird because I NEVER order pork chop).  It came with collard greens, grilled peaches, sauteed onions, and was topped with the best part of the entire meal--candied barbecue pork belly, which tasted like deliciously sweet pulled pork.  I had never had a pork chop before, but I tried a bite and it tasted like a spare rib and was actually really good.  The sauce that it came in was also delicious and paired nicely with the pork.  The collard greens were way too spicy for my taste, but the grilled peaches were a really nice touch.  But, like I said before, the best part of the meal was the candied pork belly on top.  At first we weren't sure what it was, but after I took the bite I just knew that it tasted like the best pulled pork I had ever had.  When the waiter told us that it was candied, it sounded even better.  Since this is their signature dish, I am hopeful that it will still be on the menu for the next time that I come back and I will definitely order it.  But, to be honest, my sister and I both agreed that we would be happy to just order a bowl of the candied barbecued pork belly (which they don't offer) and be perfectly happy.  My sister also really enjoyed her scallops dish, and even though it was a slight supplement to the restaurant week menu she said it was worth it.  

When the dessert menus came, we were a little disappointed because they had an upside down banana cake listed on their online menu that is not actually offered in the restaurant.  Since this was what we had planned on getting, we were a little sad but we each easily found something else to order.  My sister opted for the cheesecake which came with cherry ice cream, brandied cherries, and crushed graham cracker, my mom got the raspberry and white peach-hibiscus sorbet, and I got the chocolate mousse which had a liquid chocolate center and came with chai ice cream (but I asked for them to leave it out because I really don't understand the pairing of chocolate desserts with tea flavored ice cream) and chocolate whipped cream.

Even though I am a chocolate lover, chocolate mousse is not generally my dessert of choice.  I usually only order it if it is a chocolate mousse cake, otherwise I always opt for a different cake option since I much prefer cake to mousse.  But, since the chocolate mousse was the only chocolate dessert on the menu, and it said it had a liquid chocolate center, I decided to order it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the dessert, and really enjoyed it.  The mousse was very light and fluffy, but it still had a strong bittersweet chocolate flavor.  The liquid chocolate center made it stand out since I have never seen that before with a chocolate mousse.  Overall, it was a good dessert but it was not my favorite that I have had.  I was satisfied with it, but I was able to only eat half and did not feel tempted to finish it(normally if I love a dessert I finish every last bite).  My sister loved the cheesecake (she cleared the plate) and the sorbets were also great and refreshing.  

This dining experience at Riverpark was great, and even better than the first time we had been there.  It was nice to be able to sit outside on the beautiful summer night and enjoy the breeze coming from the east river.  The food was delicious, the service was pretty good overall (not amazing, but not bad either), and the company was the best.  The two standout dishes in my mind were the bigoli pasta and the pork chop (mainly because of the candied pork and the grilled peaches) so I highly recommend both of those.  Even though the location is a bit off the beaten path, it is nice to temporarily escape from the bustling streets of NYC and have a great meal on the water.  

Telepan

Tonight was part two of our restaurant week escapades, and our stop was Telepan, a farm to table inspired restaurant on the Upper West Side.  We always try to go to at least one new place, and my sister chose this as our new place since she had read great things about it.  For some reason I thought it was an italian restaurant at first, but it is American inspired and focused on fresh ingredients.

They really embraced the whole spirit of restaurant week here, and offered pretty much all of their menu options.  For the three courses, you have the option of choosing three savory courses or two savory courses and a dessert, but everyone at the table has to agree on which option to choose.  So, if you are going with a bigger party it may be a bit difficult for everyone to agree, but since it was just my sister we easily settled on the dessert option.  For the appetizer, I chose the seasonal salad and my sister chose the smoked trout appetizer, which was a $3 supplement but it is one of their most popular dishes.

The salad was really light and fresh, and had a very interesting combination of flavors.  It looks like a simple salad upon first glance, but there was a very unique blend of lettuces, spices, and vegetables with a light coating of lemon dressing.  I definitely tasted some licorice which I was not expecting, and there was some corn and radishes as well.  There were a few more things that I was unable to identify, but it was all delicious.  My sister really enjoyed her smoked trout appetizer, and said that it got even better after a few bites.  I should also mention that before the appetizers came, the waiter came over with a large bread basket and you were able to choose from 4 different types of bread.  I chose one that had a lot of seeds on it, and it was good but I only ate half to save room.  The waiter also brought an amuse bouche to the table, which was four little cheese puffs.  This was a nice little touch, and was a really great way to start the meal.

For the main course, I got the roast chicken (which is my standard dish of choice in most restaurants), and it came with some egg pasta and roasted mushrooms.  My sister had a harder time choosing what to order because there were a few things she wanted, but she ultimately settled on the burrata mezzaluna with veal meatballs.

The chicken was really delicious, and was cooked perfectly.  It was served over a nice sauce with egg pasta, mushrooms, some spinach, and something that was crunchy (but I couldn't figure out what it was).  The portion size was perfect and all of the components of the dish worked great together.  The burrata mezzaluna was also great.  The mezzaluna were pretty thin so they weren't overly stuffed, but the cheese on the inside was still super creamy and came oozing out when you cut into it.  I didn't try any of the meatballs because I don't eat veal, but my sister said they were really good (which is evidenced in the fact that the plate was cleared). 

Both of my courses felt light and fresh, so I was definitely ready for the dessert course!  For me, the choice was a no brainer and I ordered the S'more.  I used to go to sleepaway camp over the summer, so having s'mores was always a summer staple for me.  When I saw it on the menu, I got really excited because it felt like a much more decadent way to enjoy the classic treat.  

The presentation of this was spot on, and the taste definitely lived up to the hype.  This dish had every component of a s'more that makes it so good, but it was elevated to an even higher level.  The bottom was a dark chocolate brownie, then a layer of fluffy marshmallow with crushed graham cracker around the border, then graham cracker chocolate chip ice cream, and finally a dark chocolate square to top if off.  The plate was also surrounded with dollops of toasted marshmallow and dark chocolate ganache, which not only made it look prettier but it made it taste better.  Every aspect of the dessert was perfect, and it was just what I had been craving.  The brownie was really chocolatey and rich, the marshmallow was super sweet and fluffy, and the ice cream actually tasted like graham crackers!  I finished this whole thing up, and did not look back for a second!  My sister got the cheesecake sundae as her dessert, and while it was good it did not live up to her expectations.  It was basically a parfait of cheesecake ice cream and blueberry sorbet with crushed graham crackers on the bottom, which she said was fine except for the fact that she was expecting actual cheesecake and felt a little duped. 

As opposed to our last restaurant week experience, we left feeling satisfied with the food and the service.  The servers at Telepan were much more friendly and attentive, and all of our courses came out pretty quickly.  Even though it was really crowded, they did not seem overwhelmed by it and I still felt like they paid personal attention to each table.  When they brought the check, they also gave us two little coconut macaroons.  I waited to eat mine since I was stuffed, but this really reinforced their attention to detail and focus on good service.  This was a great restaurant week experience, and even though I am usually weary of trying new places, this one passed the test!

Aperitif

Friday night, to celebrate my Aunt's birthday, I braved the rain and went out to Long Island for dinner.  We went to Aperitif, which is a really great French restaurant in Rockville Centre right in the heart of the town.  It is one of my favorite restaurants in the area because they have a really diverse menu and the food is always great.

They have a really large bar area by the front, which is a good place to wait before you sit at your table.  They also just expanded, so it is a pretty big restaurant, but it gets very crowded at night so you should make a reservation.

On the menu, they have French classics like Coq Au Vin and Bouillabaisse, in addition to small plates, a raw bar, steaks, and many other options.  I ordered the chopped salad to start, which is tomatoes, romaine, cucumbers, onion, bell peppers, and avocado in a lemon dressing.  For my main course, I got the Coq Au Vin, which I have had before and is one of my favorite chicken dishes.  Their Filet Mignon Sliders are also really good, but I never order those I just tend to have a bite if someone else at the table gets them.  My sister and dad's favorite item on the menu is the tuna tartare which comes with guacamole.

Even though the top photo doesn't do the chopped salad any justice, it is really good.  It is not like a typical salad, since there is no lettuce, so it is basically just chopped up vegetables in a lemon dressing.  My favorite part was the avocado (which is really the only reason I order it) so once I finish all the avocado I generally stop eating the salad.  It is a very big bowl so after a while it gets a bit boring.  

For the main course, the Coq Au Vin was delicious.  It comes with a half chicken sitting in a pool of red wine sauce with some vegetables and a side of mashed potatoes.  The chicken itself was cooked perfectly and was really tender.  The red wine sauce pairs perfectly with the chicken and since there is a big pool of it on the bottom of the bowl, there is more than enough to coat the chicken with.  While the mashed potatoes were good, there was nothing too special about them in my opinion.  My sister got the bouillabaisse and really enjoyed it, and some other items ordered at the table were branzino, fried calamari, filet mignon, and steak tartare.  Overall, everyone really enjoyed their dishes here. 

The only thing that was lacking a bit was the service.  Our waiter was very inattentive and seemed irritated and annoyed with us from the get go.  Since I have been here before, I know that some of the other waiters are better, but there have been multiple visits where the service is not on par with the food.  The Coq Au Vin here is delicious and I find myself constantly craving it, so they just need to work on their service and they would be a top restaurant in my book.  

Gotham Bar & Grill

One of the restaurants that I have wanted to try for a while is Gotham Bar & Grill.  My sister had been there a few years back during restaurant week and she said that everything there was really good.  Recently, we were reminded that we still had yet to go here, so I looked at the menu online (like I always do) to make sure that they had options for me since I am pretty picky.  I noticed that there was a Greenmarket Price Fix Lunch Menu for $28, so I looked there first.  There are three options each for an appetizer, main course, and dessert, so not only are there great options but it is an amazing deal.  They only offer this deal during the week, so my sister and I had to plan out a time that we would both be free for lunch during the week, and we decided on July 4th.

We had a 12:00 reservation, which is when they open, and there were already a few people waiting.  We got seated right away, and the first thing I noticed was the beautiful decor.  It is very classic and elegant, and the lighting is really pretty as well.  As we were looking at the menu, they came over and brought a warm sourdough roll which was delicious.  I decided to order off of the greenmarket menu and got the strawberry and arugula salad and the slow cooked chicken.  The menu was slightly different than the one online, but everything that I wanted was still on it so I was happy.  My sister ordered off of the regular menu because she is a seafood/fish lover and there were many more options on the regular menu.  After hearing the recommendations from the waiter, she got the seafood salad and the miso glazed cod.  The only thing that was a little misleading was that online it says the 3 course price fix is $28, when really it is $28 for the appetizer and main course, and an additional $6 for one of the three greenmarket dessert offerings.

(The top image is the strawberry arugula salad and the bottom is the seafood salad)

The strawberry and arugula salad was very fresh and light, and was really delicious.  It is a pretty big portion so I could not finish it because I was trying to save room for the rest of the meal.  The salad came with fresh greenmarket strawberries, hazelnuts, goat cheese, radishes and was coated in a light balsamic vinaigrette.  My sister also loved her seafood salad, which came with scallops, squid, japanese octopus, lobster, and avocado in a lemon vinaigrette.  

For the next course, I got the slow cooked chicken breast, which came with couscous salad, grilled eggplant, and a golden raisin chutney. 

The chicken not only looked really pretty, but tasted delicious. It was cooked to perfection, as it was still very moist on the inside but crisp on the outside.  The sauce made it even better, and the raisin chutney was amazing.  The couscous was also good, but the chicken and the chutney were the stars of the dish.  Even though chicken can be pretty generic at many restaurants, they really do it justice here.  My sister also raved about the miso glazed cod, which is their signature dish, so if you like seafood you should get that.  I tried the sauce and rice that it came with, and can vouch for the fact that the sauce is delicious.  She usually is pretty critical of cod since it can be a hit or miss, but she absolutely loved this dish.  

Once we were done, the waiter brought over the coveted dessert menu.  Since I had already scoped out the menu online, I knew what dessert I was getting; the Gotham Chocolate Cake.  It is the most popular dessert, and luckily for me it is offered as part of the price fix.  My sister did not plan on getting dessert since she did not do the price fix, but the seasonal offering today was the coconut dacquoise so she gave in to temptation and ordered it.

  

Oh. My. God.  The chocolate cake was so amazing!  This was one of those situations again where I went into lunch with good intentions of only eating half the cake, but ended up finishing it.  I was left with no guilt, however, as it was TOTALLY worth every single calorie.  The reviews I had read online did not adequately describe the amazingness that is the Gotham Chocolate Cake (which is actually more like a spongy mousse than a cake).  It is so rich and decadent, yet light and fluffy at the same time, and it just gets better and better with each bite.  It also came with a small scoop of salted almond ice cream and some chocolate crunchies, which were ok but could not even compare to the amazing flavor of the cake.  My sister is not a huge chocolate cake lover, but she took one bite and had the same reaction as me.  In fact, she told me I had to finish it otherwise she would!  The dessert that she got was really good as well, but it just could not compare to the chocolate cake in my opinion.  It had fresh pineapple slices, pineapple cream, and little coconut cookies (like macaroons), and a strange ice cream that she didn't like.  At first she loved it, but after having a bite of my cake she quickly changed her tune.  While it was good, she said that it was not nearly as worth it as the chocolate cake, and she should've ordered the cake so that we could've had two!  (As a side note, I can not remember the last time my sister ordered a chocolate dessert, so that really says a lot!)

Overall, this was an amazing lunch experience.  The decor is very nice and elegant, the service was impeccable and the servers were all very friendly and attentive, and the food was outstanding.  They really pay attention to the details here and every aspect of each course was fresh and flavorful.  The two stars in my eyes were the chicken and the chocolate cake, and my sister said her two favorites were the cod and the chocolate cake.  While it is pricey, we will definitely be back here.  The greenmarket price fix lunch is an amazing deal and you really get your money's worth.  There are many expensive places in the city that are over-hyped and pretentious and the food doesn't live up to the price tag, but at Gotham it is totally worth every cent.  I looked around at the other tables, and everyone was smiling and raving about their food.  Basically, you should save up your money for the week and splurge on a visit here. It will be worth it!