With all of the rain Sunday we though it a good time to catch the american dim sum at Primehouse without reservations.

The experience was certainly tumultuous if nothing else and it went something like this

It was the rainiest day in Chicago history, literally, and I was willing to do valet. Um, no valet.
After dropping the wife off and parking I found my way to our table among the 4 or five other parties and proceeded to wait a long time before anyone checked on us. The actual time may have been just over 5 minutes but that is ages in an upscale joint and even longer when there are carts of food in every direction.

Having been abreast of the thread here we had studied the menu before hand but I forgot to bring it with us so when our waiter appeared I asked for a menu of drinks or an outline of the dimsum in general. His answer was both worthless and somewhat condescending. He explained how simple the dim sum was in that the carts came around and we eat - viola! Also, we could order anything to drink and the bar opened at 11:00. In the waiters defense he did mention that the bloody marys, belinis, and mimosas were 10 bucks and Bottomless.
At any rate we still did not get a list or even hint of all the beverages listed online and no indication as to how much the dim sum cost or if we could order off menu.

Another considerable wait before a server explained to us that there was some sort of progression to the food and that we would be beginning shortly. A card was also left on our table at that time showing each course of food with a header (breakfast, comfort bites, sweets, etc) but no description. As it turns out when a cart stops by they stamp the card and it is still unclear if you can re-up from a cart or order multiple of any dish.

The Food
All of the Courses listed on the internet

Brunch & Crunch Western Omelet & Ham and Cheese Strudel * - very tasty bite size pastry with chunks of rubust ham and underpinning of cheese and eggs.
Eggs Benedict - nicely done with a cured ham similar to prosciutto and a notable hollandaise topping a perfectly cooked egg.
Fruit, Granola & Yogurt Parfait * - shot glass sized rendition good flavors but too sweet for my preference
Chocolate & Hazelnut Stuffed French Toast* - Never saw
Almond Pancakes with Passion Fruit Butter - Ok, passion fruit had a nice citrus note without being too sweet. Topped with honest to goodness maple syrup was expected and appreciated.
Oatmeal Creme Brulee with Citrus & Almond - Nice dish served in an egg shell, but again, overly sweet
Smoked Pastrami Salmon - As noted previously a very good dish.
Classic Caesar Salad - Never saw
[/color]
Asian Goodies
Tempura Green Beans * - Under salted. cool presentation in an origami / papercraft container. We also start to see here the quality of the accompanying sauces
Short Rib & Vegetable Dumplings * - They were out of this dish and promised to bring it out later, they forgot. We did ask to try one toward the end of our meal and it was very good. I believe there was a hint of chineese mustard powder in this that I took as a playful nod to so many of the american eggrolls I have eaten swimming in the hot mustard.
BBQ Pork Steamed Buns - never saw
Wonton Soup * - kind of an odd broth but the single little dumpin was outstanding. Texturally a home run.
Sesame Crab Balls * - Good dish A little salty but definitely strong notes of crab meat and flavor.
Oysters on the Half Shell, Soy Mignonette - tasty but I only had 1 and did not really get a strong feeling one way or another
Asian Shrimp Cocktail Salad - never saw
poached shrimp, seaweed, chili miso dressing - skipped
Tuna & Salmon Tartar - Served on a house made tortilla this was a one bite wonder. Really played up the similarities between the fish and avocado. One of my facorites
Kobe Beef Carpaccio - Similar to a small bruschetta with the beef carpaccio. I though the crostinin was not very good and more than the beef could compete with. Salt was again an issue with this dish, in this case too much.

Denotes Kids Favorites *

Comfort Bites
Cheese Burkers with Lobster Fries* - These are certainly very good though our buns were a little past prime (read dry)
Kobe Corn Dogs * - A little tempura hot dog bite served atop the burger.
Mac & Cheese with Ham Hocks * - Good but a little bit on the saucy side. I feel a real comfort mac n cheese (especially one denoting Ham Hocks) should be baked but this dish was box style than casserole style. More cheese or binder would have upped the comfort factor
Mushroom Risotto with White Truffle Oil * - We were really looking forward to this but it arrived tepid at best temperature wise and was received similarly. No real truffle flavor and far too much influence of wine.
Southern Fried Chicken Drumstick with Cole Slaw * - Under salted, but otherwise a truly great fried chicken. Tastes just like it was made at home in the 14" skillet. Cole slaw was forgettable
Chinese BBQ Pork Spare Ribs - short ribs were far, miles far, too salted. Sauce seemed to me to have been over cooked or rather over condensed in that it was almost pucker inducing. Ribs had a great texture and meatiness but only the sauce was detectable.
Ribstickers I think we got a little egg roll instead. The egg roll was so small that the filling was so under proportionate to the fried wrap that it was pretty much a loss.
Polenta with Braised Short Rib - never saw, a big disappointment
Salmon, Spicy Eggplant, Bok Choy. Real Highlight. The salmon was poached perfectly and the vegetables were an instant classic. I believe the secret was a pickled eggplant with the bok choy in a subtle miso broth. I would eat thee vegetables everyday.
Beef Sticks & Stone *- never saw
Steak Au Poivre - kind of a silly dog and pony show where the steak is finished in small pieces on a hot stone. The beef was overly,,,, peppered this time and suffered as a result.
creamed spinach - more of a steamed than poached spinach but good none the less.

Sweet Treats
Fortune Doughnuts - presented in a to go box with a little squeeze bottle of vanilla. The doughnuts had fortunes you could remove then fill the hole with the vanilla. I would put these donuts well behind versions sold at Sola or Depot
Mini Prime
Creme Brulee - average at best
Cheesecake Lollipops - Wonderful desert a real stand out. These are offered at dinner as well.
Mini Pies
Dessert Shooters…
add a cordial 4
Baby Sundaes


All in all the service was just ok but pretty poor for the price range. Servers could offer little insight into the food ingredients or preparation and I do have to fault them at least partially for the fact that I still don't know how this system works. I have felt more informed eating dim sum in countries where there is an absolute language barrier.

The table salt provided is the Himalayan rock salt and it is awesome. And, all of the sauces provided with the dishes were very good. Yet I would have liked an optional chili sauce or condiment since I like heat especially at dim sum. Salt or pepper were the only options, maybe they could have had some ketchup or mayo on the tables since it was an "American Dim Sum"

We certainly ate more than our fill and had to skip most of the deserts and the Sundays but I would want to know that I could order multiple of specific dishes before I would consider returning.
I would also like to know why some of the items on the menu were not offered and what is available from the lunch menu because the meal lacked the salad or fresh fruit necessary to help counter all of the salty and not so salty fried foods. The Ceaser salad or Smoque's version of cole slaw would have helped out a little. Also, had I known, rememberd, or been told about the fresh juices that would have been a plus.

As a big fan of dim sum Burke's will not replace any of my favorites and for the money we decided that Blues brunch at House of Blues is a better option. All in all I wanted to like it but I don't really see us going back on our own. Actually, the only way I will return for anything other than business is if I plan on drinking my fill of those 10 dollar drinks.

My favorite steakhouse in Chicago because they don`t stick to the stock standards that you might find at all of the other ones in Chicago like Gibson`s, Chicago Chop House, Gene & Georgetti`s, Saloon etc. For instance, you get a Yorkshire popover instead of regular white bread. You can get braised short rib ravioli for an app instead of some like a shrimp cocktail ( they have that too ) and you can get some phenomenal entrees that would not be offered at some of these other places. They also do fish very well.

Finally, the deserts are much, much more creative - I mean who will do cheesecake lollipops or a triple chocolate tres leches cake that is soaked in milk ?! Also, I want to put to rest the whole dry aged versus wet aged thing. I mean can you really, REALLY tell the
difference for all of you Gibson die hards ? Personally, I think Primehouse does the best steaks in town. Screw Aja Steakhouse and their $18 per ounce of Kobe...

Went last night as a party of five (GAF, Mrs. GAF, me, mrs. me, and a visiting friend) and four of us shared two steaks: the reserve-cut 75-day dry-aged bone-in 20 oz. ribeye, and the "south side" filet mignon. I have been to Burke's twice before and both times went in for "half-measures" in the aging dept., i.e., 40-day or less. This, I suppose, was due to some Calvinistic streak in me that resists wretched excess, and $70 for a steak struck me as wretched excess. However, my new view, after going the whole nine yards last night, is that there is no reason to go to David Burke's unless you are going to have the 75-day ribeye. The other steaks I've had there don't come close. Personally, I didn't find the amount of "blue cheese tang" in the maximally-aged steak to be that pronounced--it certainly didn't cause the steak to taste like anything other than steak--really, really good steak. Sharing was a good way to keep the "wretched excess factor" down both in terms of price and portion size.

The filet we shared was truly excellent, too, but in a blind taste test, I'd tell you that the lesser-aged ribeye and sirloin steaks I've had at Burke's in the past could have been from anywhere, and weren't necessarily better than steaks elsewhere. The 75-dayer, that's a different story. I'll be getting that every time I go to Burke's from now on; if I'm not prepared to do that, I'll go elsewhere.

Riddle,

I'm interested in whether you thought it was "worth" it in the sense that a $35 steak at another of the city's top establishments might be "good/perfectly fine" (and twice the portion of a shared steak at David Burke's), while the $70 DB steak sounds like a transcendent experience.

Said another way, was it literally twice as good?

(Not questioning--really want to know if I should try it)

Olde School wrote:I'm interested in whether you thought it was "worth" it...

Said another way, was it literally twice as good?

I think I would give a yes to both parts of the question, but with a qualification.

I'm not in the habit of paying $70 for an entree, and I don't ever want to be. Even though I can afford it on a rare occasion (no pun intended), it is well beyond my comfort level. (Especially these days.) But that said, the steak was enough better than others that I felt it was worth the money. Especially when split, as we had it.

I should add, re the splitting, that one of the things that made our DB experience so enjoyable was the willingness of our server to accommodate us. When we indicated that four of us would be sharing two different steaks, she proactively (without our requesting it) asked if we'd like the kitchen to slice up the two steaks for us before they were brought out. We agreed, and I appreciated her enthusiastic desire to make our dining experience everything we wanted it to be.

One more thing: The two-steaks-for-the four-of-us was plenty of food. With the starters, and three sides, no one went hungry.

So, to put your question a third way, was half the super-dry-aged ribeye at DB at least as enjoyable as a whole steak somewhere else? That's an easy yes. It surpassed it. In that apples-to-apples $35 expenditure, no contest.

From another angle, if you gave me a blind taste test and all I had was one bite of that DB steak and one bite of some other steakhouse's steak, would I tell you the DB steak was twice as good? That's a harder one. If the competitor steak was indexed at 100, I might only index the DB steak at 160. Yet, paradoxically, I'd still tell you it was "worth" twice as much money.

Riddle,

Good enough.

If a $35 steak at a top provider indexes at 100, I'm fine with the large pricing differential as long as the DB offering indexes at 150 or above. To me, that would represent a sufficiently dramatic difference to make it worth it. At an index of 130, I'd say it would be not enough--and even 140 would be dicey.

When do you want to go back?

Olde School wrote:When do you want to go back?

Before too many moons have passed.

Our other steak-night in chicago was Primehouse. We went there mainly to see/taste the difference between wet aged and dry aged beef.

I'll make this short: after the Keefers experience we skipped starters and went straight for the meat. The steaks (Delmonico & NY Sirloin) were fantastic and extremely tasty, but with my very limited steak-experience I can not really say if this came from the dry aging. Probably did. Sides were all good but nothing really "special".

Since we were really full after the steaks and potatos we skipped desserts as well. Too sad since they sounded really interesting...

The first greeting at the door was, once again, a bit reserved (hmm...maybe it is us... ); our main waiter was very good, friendly and accomodating. No rush at all.

The restaurant has a good, relaxed and modern atmosphere, exactly the way I like it. On the night we were there it felt very much like a "business-dinner" kind of place, though - mostly men and lots of them in dark suits.

Thanks to all for the advice to go there!
I probably wouldn't have chosen Primehouse myself, but now I'm glad I did.

I haven't seen this posted anywhere so I figured I'd chime in...

Through Friday Oct 24th the Primehouse is offering $5 40-day dry aged burgers, $5 truffle fries, and I think (but don't quote me on it) $5 bourbon milk shakes. I stopped by to try the burger and fries today and was happy with my choice. For under $15 you can't go wrong.

*I'd order the burger a grade lower than usual since the aging seemed to dry it out a bit, Med. rare would be perfect.

Olde School wrote:Riddle,

Good enough.

If a $35 steak at a top provider indexes at 100, I'm fine with the large pricing differential as long as the DB offering indexes at 150 or above. To me, that would represent a sufficiently dramatic difference to make it worth it. At an index of 130, I'd say it would be not enough--and even 140 would be dicey.

When do you want to go back?

I feel like this is how Bernanke and Greenspan discuss where to go for dinner - The Value Investing Guide to Red Meat!

btw - The index, my brotha, is off the charts. Go. Eat. Rejoice!

JayZ contributed:

I haven't seen this posted anywhere so I figured I'd chime in...

Through Friday Oct 24th the Primehouse is offering $5 40-day dry aged burgers, $5 truffle fries, and I think (but don't quote me on it) $5 bourbon milk shakes. I stopped by to try the burger and fries today and was happy with my choice. For under $15 you can't go wrong.

*I'd order the burger a grade lower than usual since the aging seemed to dry it out a bit, Med. rare would be perfect.

Thanks for the additional info! We've going for lunch on Friday, and the doneness upgrade is much appreciated. Customay Dining Companion is usually a medium guy, so this is valuable. Wonder if any of the other sides can be had instead of the truffle fries? I'm not a fan of truffle oil at all, and a side of their red skin potato salad sure sounds tasty.

I'll let you know about the milkshake - I heard vanilla, but Bourbon would certainly be an interesting change!

sundevilpeg wrote:JayZ contributed:

I haven't seen this posted anywhere so I figured I'd chime in...

Through Friday Oct 24th the Primehouse is offering $5 40-day dry aged burgers, $5 truffle fries, and I think (but don't quote me on it) $5 bourbon milk shakes. I stopped by to try the burger and fries today and was happy with my choice. For under $15 you can't go wrong.

*I'd order the burger a grade lower than usual since the aging seemed to dry it out a bit, Med. rare would be perfect.

Thanks for the additional info! We've going for lunch on Friday, and the doneness upgrade is much appreciated. Customay Dining Companion is usually a medium guy, so this is valuable. Wonder if any of the other sides can be had instead of the truffle fries? I'm not a fan of truffle oil at all, and a side of their red skin potato salad sure sounds tasty.

I'll let you know about the milkshake - I heard vanilla, but Bourbon would certainly be an interesting change!

No problem at all. I don't believe anything can be substituted for the truffle fries because it's a special deal and that's what they planned it to be. About the milkshake...I'm 98% sure its a bourbon shake and the assistant pastry chef, my best friend, makes them strong.

HI,

This is a lunch-only offer and not for dinner. The woman on the phone said it was good through Saturday, though I would double-check.

Regards,

I really enjoyed the $5 burger. Would I order it at its normal price though? I really don't know. Maybe it suffered for being the one item that everyone in the restaurant was also ordering, but I found it over-cooked and dry, resulting in a less than amazing burger (no specifications requested, the kitchen's perogative to cook everything to medium (mine was past that, IMO). And this is a big shame -- the done-ness notwithstanding, I could tell there was a great base to work with, with lots of great beef flavor. I don't know if adding more fat to the burger would have helped or maybe just cooking it less.

Again, though, I am more than willing to chalk this up to the burger week special. Our server was racing around the room like he was putting out fires (part of the reason I didn't mention anything about the burger -- for $5 it was great and not worth any additional work, I felt).

As far as the fries, they were good, if not a little limp and soggy. I really like the combination of asiago and truffle oil, though -- definately something I want to do at home. We also had the tempura green beans and there's not too much to say about them. Cute presentation in a mini-fryer basket, and an odd accompanient of terriyaki jelly (disconcerting texture) stand out more than the otherwise perfectly serviceable beans. The bourbon milkshakes -- feared by some at my table to just be a shooter-size -- was very good. Much more bourbony than we were anticipating for at 1pm lunch, but hey, it's Friday.

David Burke's Primehouse is near the top of 'save up and go' restaurants so I can sink my teeth into some dry-aged beef. I don't think I'll be making due with the burger, dry-aged or no, when I can go again.

danimalarkey wrote:I really enjoyed the $5 burger. Would I order it at its normal price though? I really don't know. Maybe it suffered for being the one item that everyone in the restaurant was also ordering, but I found it over-cooked and dry, resulting in a less than amazing burger (no specifications requested, the kitchen's perogative to cook everything to medium (mine was past that, IMO). And this is a big shame -- the done-ness notwithstanding, I could tell there was a great base to work with, with lots of great beef flavor. I don't know if adding more fat to the burger would have helped or maybe just cooking it less.

Again, though, I am more than willing to chalk this up to the burger week special. Our server was racing around the room like he was putting out fires (part of the reason I didn't mention anything about the burger -- for $5 it was great and not worth any additional work, I felt).

As far as the fries, they were good, if not a little limp and soggy. I really like the combination of asiago and truffle oil, though -- definately something I want to do at home. We also had the tempura green beans and there's not too much to say about them. Cute presentation in a mini-fryer basket, and an odd accompanient of terriyaki jelly (disconcerting texture) stand out more than the otherwise perfectly serviceable beans. The bourbon milkshakes -- feared by some at my table to just be a shooter-size -- was very good. Much more bourbony than we were anticipating for at 1pm lunch, but hey, it's Friday.

David Burke's Primehouse is near the top of 'save up and go' restaurants so I can sink my teeth into some dry-aged beef. I don't think I'll be making due with the burger, dry-aged or no, when I can go again.

I'd agree 110% with everything you've said. Burger's were a tad dry (saw that coming), fries a bit limp (but worth the price), and shakes are strong (as I noted before). All in all it's a great deal for $5 each.

I partook in the $5 burger and truffle fries special as well. The server told me that they'll cook it to medium "unless you say otherwise." I received a medium rare burger that wasn't dry, so perhaps I had a bit more luck than previous posters. It was really delicious, but the thing that stood out most to me was how tender and silky the rarer part of burger was -- no doubt the benefit of 40-day aging. At $5, it was a fantastic burger, at a higher price, I don't know if I'd order it again, but my hunch is that at the higher price, you'd at least get more burger for your money.

In my visit, the truffle fries were an absolute disappointment. Lukewarm, limp and nary a smell of truffle. I've ordered the truffle fries in prior visits to Burke's, and previous incarnations were crisp, hot and very truffle-y. Given the small portion size, the only way these fries would be a deal at $5 was if there was an abundance of (or at least noticeable) truffle. Sounds like I got a bad batch, but these were expensive for what I received.

aschie30 wrote:The server told me that they'll cook it to medium "unless you say otherwise." I received a medium rare burger that wasn't dry, so perhaps I had a bit more luck than previous posters.

My server did not tell me about the rareness of the burger when I ordered. In fact I was so worried that it would be overdone! The burger came out in record time, and it was rare. I prefer my meat undercooked than overcooked, so I was fine with that. While I agree that the burger had great texture, I was underwhelmed by the flavor (or lack of in this case). I scraped off the sauce, spinach and shallots so I could taste the meat on its own. The bun was dry, but the shallots were perfectly fried, the spinach provided a nice balance to the meat, and the mayo was forgettable.

$5 is a good price for this burger, but it doesn't compare to the $5.99 hamburger (or 6.79 cheeseburger) at Taylor's Automatic Refresher in San Fran...

Oh, and the milkshake was strong! The bourbon was overwhelming (and I love bourbon), especially for lunch! I could not finish it...

Pucca wrote:Anyone try the American dim sum yet?

I ate there today, solo. Bottom line, I thought it was excellent. There were also some noteworthy differences from what I was expecting (and, in general, they were for the better).

When I was seated, I was presented with the American dim sum menu. I had noticed that an a la carte breakfast menu was posted alongside the dim sum menu at the entrance, and asked whether both were available, and was told that they were, and was asked whether I would like to see the a la carte menu; I declined.

The menu was similar, but not identical, to the one on the BRGuest website, and about the same length. The menu showed prices (including $35 for the dim sum, $10 for the all-you-can-drink champagne, mimosas, or bloody marys, $5 for various juices, and $5-11 for various hot tea selections; I ordered iced tea and was not charged for it). I was presented with, or offered, all the food items shown on the menu, with the exception of two of the desserts: the baby sundaes and the fortune doughnuts, which may not have been present on the dessert cart due to their need to be served cold and hot, respectively. However, I was not asked about either (but by that point I was quite full anyway).

One thing I was not expecting was how the meal was structured and served, which was a pleasant surprise. I had assumed there would be a succession of carts rolling around the dining room, and it was up to me to "snag" cart servers, almost at random. Instead, the meal was served as a series of seven courses, in the order presented on the menu. Only two of them involved selections from a cart; the other five courses were served plated, including all the items listed on the menu for each course. The two cart selections were the cold appetizers, shown on the menu as "Chilled Asian and Brunchie Nibbles" (labeled on the website as "Asian Goodies"), and the other was the dessert cart.

I was expecting everything to be well prepared, and indeed it was. In fact, everything was delicious. I am somewhat picky about what items I prefer, and don't always like everything in a meal. No worries here; I liked everything, and there wasn't a single thing I didn't care for. And I tried everything on the menu, with the exception of some of the items on the Asian Nibbles cart - approximately 23 in all. That's a remarkably good record, in my experience. (Oh, I should also mention that most of the portion sizes were rather small - which is to be expected when you're being served up to 25-30 items! I was quite full at the end of the meal, without having repeated anything. Of course, if you want more of anything, you can have it; see below.)

Oh, and one other thing that I wasn't expecting, is that several of the dishes were unexpectedly spicy, including the eggs benedict and the sauce on the "omelet strudel". This is a good thing, in my opinion; I like the occasional spicy item, and don't want restaurants to make their food bland as a "lowest common denominator". Oh, and the spicy items weren't "blow your head off" spicy, just a mild kick to be sure. But those who don't like spicy food should mention this to their server.

There were so many great foods, it's tough for me to single out one or two as exceptional. But if I had to name just a few as "don't miss" items, they would include the omelet strudel, the oatmeal creme brulee ("best in show"), and the "bamboo basket".

The service provided was mostly excellent. The only glitch - and it was not a serious one - is the one mentioned above; the initial seating process. I think the servers can be helpful if, when a party is initially seated, they ask if the diners have had their brunch previously, and if not, they should (a) mention both menus; (b) describe how the brunch is served, as a series of plated items combined with cart selections, and (c) note that the dim sum brunch includes all you can eat of anything, so if you would like a repeat of any course or any item, you just need to let them know. (I was not told this last item, but I assumed it to be the case. Since I wasn't really interested in repeats, I waited until the end of the meal to ask about it, just out of curiosity, and was told that indeed they are happy to repeat courses/dishes as desired, and it's all included.)

One thing I watch for when dining solo is the level of attention and the pacing of the meal. I don't necessarily expect more attention or "chumminess" but I don't want to be ignored either. Regarding pacing, I'm flexible; I don't mind when the pace of courses is slightly faster than typical with a larger group, but I also don't mind if it's a bit drawn out, as it would be with a larger group. At this brunch, the only quibble was, again, when I was initially seated; my beverage order was taken and served immediately, but there was a bit of a delay (I'm guessing 10-15 minutes) before the first food course was served. Since I hadn't been "briefed" on how it all worked, I was left wondering during that period. But once the food service began, it was smooth and properly paced. Other posts above mention pacing that was too quick; this was absolutely not true in my visit. I ate at a leisurely pace, and the empty dishes were cleaned up at the end of each course and it was at least a couple of minutes (sometimes more) before the following course was brought. I did not feel rushed at all. I ate the meal as eight courses; the meal is normally served as seven (with the "Brunch Goodies" served as two courses, first the omelet strudel and second the benedict and pancake), and I asked for the desserts to be served as two separate courses, which they were happy to accommodate.

To sum up - the food was excellent, the service was mostly excellent, and I'd be happy to go back again. This is one of the best, and most unusual, brunches in Chicago.

I tried the Dim Sum Brunch at DB's today and agree with most of the assessment of nsxtasy. I also went by myself and really enjoyed the pacing and style of the meal. I brought a book and took my time, but never felt either rushed or longing for food. You have the option of asking for more of anything, but even with a healthy appetite I was stuffed after "only" 1 portion of almost everything on offer (20+ items). They did have every item on the Dim Sum menu available, but I did pass on a select few. Some portions were quite big and others small, usually as a result of what was being served (it's easy to make a dumpling a small bit, not so easy for eggs benedict to be anything but a full half english muffin, etc.) Service was friendly, but not overly clingy.

Since I brought home my cheat sheet, I'll summarize what I ate and my thoughts...

Omelet & Ham and Cheese Strudel - tasty and light with a nice spicy cream sauce

Eggs Benedict - perfectly cooked and sauced with a little bite added by the ham, which was cured
Pancakes with Passion Fruit Butter - really well done, the pancake was very light and the both the real maple syrup and passion fruit butter (just enought acid to balance the sweetness) were delicious

Fruit, Granola & Yogurt Parfait - looked good, but I skipped it to start with some more savory items
Oatmeal Creme brulee with Citrus & Almond - This is the one item I probably should not have skipped, due to previous good reviews and it being somewhat unique
Classic Caesar Salad - Skipped this also. I've had DB's Caesar before and while it's a fine version, I saw no reason to fill up.
Smoked Pastrami Salmon Terrine - A surprisingly large portion. Strong flavor with a little chopped egg and creme fraiche accompaniment. One of my favorites.
Oysters on the Half Shell - Fresh and cold.
Asian Shrimp Cocktail - Another nice, fresh dish, sevred with a yummy, spicy chili miso dressing
Tuna & Salmon Tartar - Light and delicious. I was very impressed with the quality of the salmon, which showed up in many courses.
Kobe Beef Capaccio - A little small on the portion size of the beef (not all that unexpected), but well executed and seasoned. Paired well with the garlic toast underneath.

Tempura Green Beans - Could have been a bit more crisp, but good enough for there not be any leftovers
Crab Balls - Not bad, but a bit underseasoned. I compensated by using more dipping sauce.
Lobster Fries - Little french fry shaped eggrolls. Lobster was very identifiable and had it's own sweet and sour sauce drizzled over it. Definitely would have had more of these if there wasn't so much more to try.
Nagano Dumplings - Short Rib and veggie. Went really well with the sauces (one was a dark hoisin, the other a medium ginger-based sauce).

Cheese Burker with a Kobe Beef Corndog bite - There is something in the spice of a hotdog that I've never liked and this was no exception (strange because I love most sausages). I did enjoy the mini cheeseburger though, although I might agree with a previous criticism that the bun was a a little dry.
Southern Fried Chicken Drumstick with Cole Slaw - Really well done version. The coating and seasoning were delicious. I also liked the cole slaw (which I normally don't). It was creamy, crispy and well seasoned.
Mac & Cheese with Ham Hocks - Another instance where the ham really added an extra zing and savory quality to elevate the dish.

Salmon with Shrimp and Pork Dumpling - Salmon was poached nicely and the dumpling was a good example, although didn't stand out in any way.
Bulldog Pork - A pork meatloaf. Huge portion, and although it was a bit heavy, I was wowed by the yummy BBQ sauce that was baked on top.
Steak Au Poivre Tips/Creamed Spinach/Half Baked Potato - Interesting toppings for a potato skin, and it worked really well. Added flavor and texture, without being oversalted.

Toffee Cheesecake Lollipop - Had these before, and they are as delicious as ever. Served with a cherry-flavored whppied cream for dipping.
Butterscotch Creme Brulee - Butterscotch is an incredibly underated flavoring and it was well used here, not overly sweet, but that nice combo or sweet and salty.

Baby Sundae - My choice was homemade chocolate ice cream with Oreo, roasted almonds and candied pecans (yum!)

Fortune Doughnut - ugh, I thought I was done, but couldn't help gobbling down this last bite with a little dab of frosting squeezed on. Cute idea.

I would definitely recommend the brunch, and while it isn't cheap, I think it's a great value for the money.

The link that nsxtasy provided led to a page that had a dead link to the American dim sum menu.

The James Hotels website had a corrected link.

New Link

Ate there on Sunday Feb 8th. And loved the Dim Sum breakfast. the only complaint was service was SLOW painfully slow. Our drink order took at least 20 minutes to get and refills were equally as long. A request for a condiment took at least ten minutes. The waiter did apoligize and said two waiters failed to show up that day.
That being said the food was fabulous. The pancakes, never seen any lighter, they could float away. Eggs benedict were great also. Everyhting hit the spot and seconds were available. The mini burger was the least favorite. I am not much of of a fan of these as I like my meat rare to medium rare and these burgers are never done that way. I will make it back there.

The $5 burger special is back this week at David Burke's Primehouse, though this time it does not come with the truffle fries. I coughed up another $6 for the fries, and it was an unfortunate waste of money. The fries were luke warm and soggy. I also paid an extra $5 for the burger accompaniments plate, which had cold, chewy bacon, mustard, pickled onions, a nice, fat dill pickle, and weird asian-inspired homemade ketchup that didn't belong anywhere near the burger. But for the pickle, I'd call the accompaniment a complete waste of 5 bucks. With the pickle, it was a waste of only 4 bucks.

Who cares, you ask? I was there for the meat, right? Well, yeah - but it wasn't very good either. Medium-rare order arrived medium-well. I'd normally have sent it back in a heartbeat, but didn't have time to wait today. Maybe the theory is that dry-aging produces so much flavor that one need not season the meat. If so, the theory has been disproven. This patty was in desperate need of salt.

This was my first meal at Primehouse. If not for some of the detailed, positive reports I've read here, this burger special would have completely turned me off to the restaurant. As it is, I'm not likely to seek out a return visit anytime soon.

Kennyz wrote:The $5 burger special is back this week at David Burke's Primehouse, ... I coughed up another $6 for the fries... I also paid an extra $5 for the burger accompaniments plate,

Err... So you actually had a $16 burger... I have had some good experiences at Primehouse but this kind of pricing on a "get-em in the door" special reminds me of a shady used car dealer bait-n-switch.

Is anything included with the $5 burger? Mayo? Ketchup?

I'm sorry, but Kennyz's experience is HILARIOUS.

"I'd like the $5 burger."
"And would you like fries?"
"Sure--"
"Six dollars. Ketchup, mustard--"
"Sure, the works."
"Five dollars. Regular or whole wheat bun--"
"Uh... how much?"
"Regular is three dollars, whole wheat is five."
"Uh... maybe just put it on a plate?"
"Two dollars."
"Jeez, okay... also, I don't have any silverware--"
"Five dollars. Something to drink?"
"Um, no, just water--"
"Three--"
"Forget the water!"
"Restocking fee, one dollar."

jeanpoutine wrote:Is anything included with the $5 burger? Mayo? Ketchup?

I overheard a conversation between a server and the manager:
Server: "They want lettuce, tomato and ketchup, can I give it to them?"
Manager: "OK, but don't offer it to anyone. We want to push the accompaniment plate."

Hmm...the ala carte burger. I actually kind of like this. If I want to go low carb I toss out the bun and save a buck. I want only mayo and a slice of cheese only 2 bucks. Cheese, tomato, ketchup, mayo, 4 bucks. Sort of a choose your own adventure dining experience. I'm going to insist the plate be free though!

Here are some pictures of the above-described meal. The bun looks excellent, and it was.

Kennyz wrote:Here are some pictures of the above-described meal.

Nice looking pickle.

G Wiv wrote:

Kennyz wrote:Here are some pictures of the above-described meal.

Nice looking pickle.

Though they were the highlights of the meal, a big pickle and nice buns will only get you so far.