DBGB - Daniel Boulud in the East Village, Manhattan

The Mysteries of Lunch - DBGB - New York

Beginning my stay in New York I wandered to Daniel Boulud's stylish but financially moderate retreat for lunch. To my pleasure I discovered that they were offering a three course lunch for $24.07, which must be the among the greatest haute cuisine bargains this city has to offer. What made it even better was that they allowed me to switch out the main course for the Boudin Basque (a blood sausage/pig's head sausage) which the NYT's Sam Sifton had commented as one of his most memorable dishes of 2009. The entire meal was astonishing. Yes, some of the touches that one might find at Daniel were missing and some of the complexity of the dishes were absent and perhaps the plates were shrunk, but each dish was a remarkable and satisfying creation.

I began with Winter Squash Soup, Amber Lager Emulsion, and Crispy Sage - as smooth a vegetable soup as I can recall with enough complexity of flavors to make each bite a distinct experience. This was followed by the boudin, which was certainly more elegant than what one would find in the bayous, if not as soaked in mossy authenticity. The dessert was well made - sweet, bitter, and sour in turn. It looked like a Sundae and tasted like Christmas Day.







And did I mention it cost $24.07.

The soundtrack of the restaurant/bar is classic 70s/80s rock - an integral part of this restaurant that is inspired by - if not looking like - the downtown cultural scene of the a quarter century back.

DBGB Kitchen and Bar
299 Bowery
East Village
212-933-5300
http://www.danielnyc.com

Here's a better link:

http://www.danielnyc.com/dbgb.html

I think I was a dumbass for ordering the burger some steamed moules here. Total waste of $. Could've re-visited Chikalicious again for the price we paid for dinner. Jean George runs a 2 course lunch for $28? Let's see.. JG's main dining room, or NoHo chic?

I had a wonderful strawberry shortcake soup at Nougatine, JG's companion dining room, a few years ago as part of their inexpensive lunch offer, but all considered I preferred my first two courses at DBGB. I confess that I only respect Daniel, not love it: but if they cooked like this. . . .

Daniel has always seemed bloodless, what they need is some Boudin Rouge.

I ate at DBGB late on Friday night, after a couple rounds at Milk & Honey. With only one night to myself in town, I ended up picking it because the menu gave off a distinctly Publican vibe, and I've always enjoyed Boulud's food. I arrived a bit early, overestimating the distance between the restaurant and the bar and electing not to stop and verbally spar with the group of Red Wing jersey'd fans I passed en route. They were happy to seat me at a table or the bar; I chose a table. The place is sort of Publican meets night club (though that was mostly just the clientele) with just a touch of Planet Hollywood for Chefs. I was seated across from what appeared to be Anthony Bourdain's stock pot and just down from Christian Constant's crêpe pan. I learned a few days later that the restaurant was designed by Thomas Schlesser, who also did The Publican (as well as Violet Hour and Big Star). Count me as a fan. He evokes the nature of what a place aspires to be, in a unique and modern way, but without beating you over the head with a "concept".

While I looked over the menu and beer list, I ordered some oysters (Beau Soleil, Kumamoto & Shigoku) and an Evil Twin beer from Denmark that was redolent of grapefruit and pine (Before, During and After). These paired perfectly. The oysters were exemplary, needing nothing more than a couple drops of lemon, though the mignonette and cocktail sauces that were served did appear to be of excellent quality.

I moved on to the Fromage de tête ("Gilles Verots award winning chilled pigs head terrine"), which was served with fresh sourdough bread, cornichon and some rather weak mustard. Still, this head cheese was one of the better I've had. 1/2" thick squares of unctuous porky bits held together with just barely enough aspic. While more substantial than Paul Kahan's razor thin rounds, this did not pack quite the same flavor punch. Edge to Kahan, but barely.

Entering a world of significantly more complex flavors, I switched to the refreshing and somewhat generically "spicy" Allagash White, which actually worked even better than expected with my final two courses.

The first was Veal Tongue, Sauce Gribiche over fingerling potatoes. The texture of the tongue was perfect, but the sauce was a bit too restrained. While a few large caper berries completed the plate, there was no jolt of pickle or caper in the sauce. It seemed to be just egg, mustard and tarragon. Compared to my last two sauce gribiche experiences (the hors d'oeuvre bite at Next and a classic tête de veau on my last trip to France), this dish had to be considered a disappointment.

However, they saved the best for last. The Boudin Basque, a spicy blood sausage studded with head cheese nuggets over mashed potatoes evocative of Joël Robuchon but sprinkled with Espelette pepper, might have been the best thing I ate on my trip. Decadent butter-rich potatoes laced with that trademark spice that still sets off fireworks in my mouth that I really can't compare to anything except the first time I tasted real truffle...and that wasn't the best part. The round of blood sausage was softly spreadable and profoundly earthy but without the unfortunate metallic tinge that can sometimes get in the way of truly enjoying black pudding. This was spotted with tiny nuggets of pig head, chewy and tasting quite clean, comparatively. I mopped up every speck of the sausage and the potatoes with my bread and considered ordering another.

But, I thought better of it, and dessert. It wasn't quite midnight, and I had more stops to make. I wandered off toward one of my all-time favorite New York food establishments, Pommes Frites and then, finding no room at the inn (PDT), took a long cab ride up and over the Queensborough Bridge to Dutch Kills...

Nothing but terrible experiences at DBGB on my end. I've only eaten there because friends forced me. Sausages were mealy and tasteless. Attempts at incorporating trendy offal fell flat. Boring sides. Drinks watery and expensive. Boring bear list.

Attended a "whole pig roast" and recieved a small segment of flabby, chewy skin, covering lean white meat and some kind of bacon stuffing. I made the waitress bring me the head, which shocked her and the party sitting next to us, "no one else has made such a request." At least the ears had a little crunch to them, making up for the shoe-leather skin on the portion of roast that I was given.

Stay the F away from this place. It should be condemned to failure, and has nothing, I repeat, nothing, on a place like the Publican.

Habibi wrote:It should be condemned to failure, and has nothing, I repeat, nothing, on a place like the Publican.

I respect your observations, no matter how disparate they are from my own. However, one empirical fact is that both DBGB and The Publican were designed by Thomas Schlesser. So, they'll always have that in common.

A post like Habibi's is a useful reminder that restaurants can and do change (who knows if that is the explanation in this case), but a new chef or sous chef can alter quality for the better or for the worse. My experience was two years ago and kl's was a year ago and Habibi's was this year. It could be differences in ordering or differences in taste, but it could be that DBGB has gone downhill. With a chef-owner who has many (too many) projects, the early shine can rub off.