David Burke Townhouse

http://www.davidburketownhouse.com/
133 East 61st Street
(Park and Lexington Avenues)
New York, NY 10021
212-813-2121

David Burke Townhouse, previously David Burke and Donatella. What can I say about this restaurant besides the fact that if this restaurant were a man, I would be totally head over heels ,madly in love with him. He'd be cultured, intelligent, elegant, romantic, fun, beautiful and he'd know how to dance - Fred Astaire style ;)

I never miss an opportunity to go there when in New York. As a matter of fact, I make my reservations waaaay ahead of time to ensure that I get a table. I've been several times in the past few years and just recently this past July and again in September. In July they announced that they were "updating their menu"..I almost died. I told the nice waiter not to change things up too much. Don't fix what ain't broke, ok?? When I returned in September, fingers crossed, I was so pleasantly surprised. The updates were positive...all the really great stuff was still there.

Ok..ok I'll get down to the food/ambiance/wine/service..

The manager (I think he was a manager) was great! While we waited for our table he chatted with us and by the time our table was ready, we were laughing like good friends - sharing some racy jokes and so on. If you know my fiance, Andre, you'll understand.

Anyway, the type of cuisine is modern American, incorporating many different worldly flavors, yet everything still tastes familiar somehow. I like familiar with a twist! I think that's why its so popular.

The best appetizers were the following. My mom had the pretzel crusted crab cakes , MY GOD! it was great. My mom's a bit of a picky eater and she loved it. She kept repeating how great it was...over and over. It had a crunchy exterior and tender flaky and moist interior. I had the warm quail salad. I originally regretted ordering this because I had never had quail. I was so glad I did though. The salad had a generous portion of grilled quail, with sliced mango and other greens...Everyone agreed that I had chosen the best appetizer. Andre must have had fois gras - but I can't remember the details as I am not a fan. There were no complaints coming from over there. I'm also someone who concentrates on what I'm eating...I don't talk , I don't listen much ...until someone says "wanna try this?"

For my main I had the braised short ribs with home made cavatelli. T'was an elegant twist on comfort food. The Lobster Steak is great too. Must try.
My dad and Andre shared a huge....and I mean huge steak. It is meant to be shared, they weren't being wimpy. lol...This meat was tasty, tasy, tasty, slow cooked and meltingly tender. The restaurant has a new carving station, perfect for mamouth sized steaks like this. It reminded me of the Flinstones..and coronaries.

We prefer white wine these days particularly Californian. The wine which the sommelier recommended was a Bergstrom , Sigrid 2006. This was a serious wine. It was fruity&amd buttery. That's the way I like it. The Sommelier happened to be a very friendly and witty guy! He gave us the wine label when I said that we loved the wine. Nice guy :)

For dessert I always have the lollipop cheesecake tree...BUT ...they had something new this time, on their updated menu. Its an interactive dessert...There were doughnut holes on this tree stand kinda' thing.... The doughnut holes were sprinkled with sugar. They provide you with three sauces in these cute little squeeze bottles so that you can stuff your own doughnut!!!!! Chocolate sauce, vanilla and raspberry....We were going crazy stuffing them with raspberry AND chocolate..or vanilla AND raspberry..lol..You get the picture...Seriously, we had fun with this dessert and when you can enjoy a dessert for the taste and have fun while eating it..it makes it that much better.

The decor is elegant with a quirky twist. I say this because there's a kinda' egg , Humpty Dumpty theme but its subtle. My sister, the artist in our family loved the artwork in the restaurant. Really different! It must sound weird but it isn't. Check out their web site to see what it looks like.

That's all for now.

STK - Meatpacking District

 www.stkhouse.com
26th Little West, 12th street, New York
NY 10014

Hey Everyone!

As a Montrealer, I have to say that we are spoiled here. We have great food in our city.
In New York, which I call Montreal on steroids, there are some GREAT high-end restaurants. In my opinion where Montreal wins out over NYC, is in its Moderately priced restaurants..When in New York , I'm always so disappointed with these restaurants. And on the low-end, meaning Diners and Fast food, we're about the same....ok..maybe we're still better! No smoked meat?? What's up with that!!??

With that said, I thought I'd review a new favorite of mine. If you're planning a trip to NYC and are looking for fun times with great food and service - STK is the place for you! This fantastic Supper Club is located in the trendy Meatpacking District, at 26 Little 12th street, New York 646.624.2444

First, I have to say that the DJ was amazing. I love the 80's and he was playing THE best of the 80's - songs I forgot about, songs that make you wanna dance. From dance to rock , they even played the Stones! I was dancing in my seat the whole night- singing along. The music was on the loud side but you have to expect that with this place. This was Saturday, Sept 19th 2009.

The atmosphere is modern and chic. The bar was striking and very unique. The wall behind it was covered in what looked like elephant tusks. It was definitely the focal point of the restaurant. The people are beautiful.

Ok now for the food! The bread... individually baked, served in its baking dish, piping hot, soft with course salt sprinkled over it..The herbed oil that it was served with was so light but tasty. I couldn't quite identify what herbs were used but I plan to begin testing, to make it myself. Honestly, I would have been satisfied with just that as my meal. My sister, Bianca agrees. She'd go back just for the bread!

André ordered the fois gras french toast, with green apple and almond brioche as a starter. He was blown away by the flavor, the texture. He said it is the best he's had in his life! Now that's saying something. He still talks about it. My sister and I had the Lil' Big Macs with Japanese wagyu special sauce on a sesame seed bun! They were incredible and the presentation was great too, complete with McDonald's style sliced pickles :) I crave this all the time!

I had tried the Rice Crispy Shrimp. Tiger prawns - shrimp bisque - cilantro. The dish was really interesting. Dry rice crispies topped with Shrimp, then the waiter pours the sauce over and of course the rice crispies start to snap, crackle and pop! Cute..The taste was great with the cilantro and the sauce and all but the rice crispies got soggy fast :( boo-hoo.

As my main I had the filet mignon and so did André. The meat was cooked to perfection. Medium for me - Medium rare for André. The meat was so tender it melted in my mouth- out of this world.

Last but not least, STK has a variety of exciting and uncommon desserts. They have Cotton Candy - flavors vary. I had pink cotton candy with sour sprinkles. It was served with a candied apple. Fair food! Made me feel like a kid again but it had an elegant twist. I also had warm chocolate s'more - peanut butter - marshmallow - graham. Totally decadent!!! Like heaven in your mouth..lol... Next time I'm going to try the peanut butter & jelly sundae with nutella - caramelized banana - grape preserves.

My usual Martini with olives - a little dirty was so well done! YAY!

I can't wait to go back!

Watch out for my next NYC restaurant review - David Burke Townhouse!