davidburke & donatella

Friday evening found us on the upper east side after an orthodontist appointment. Wanting to eat someone close, we decided to head over to davidburke and donatella. We'd only been previously during Restaurant Week and we wanted to see whether they would impress us even more on a regular night.

Walking in on a Friday night at 6pm, we managed to secure a table quickly since the typical New York City dinner crowd had not yet begun to arrive. We were presented with two menus: the regular a la carte menu and the tasting menu with an additional list of the day's specials. The odd thing was that there were prices alongside each of the tasting menu items since you could also order them a la carte. Typically, I've seen crossover from the tasting menu to the a la carte menu where those are the only items you could order individually unless you made a special request. David Burke, it seems, gives us many more options.

I would have loved to have tried the tasting menu but, not being that hungry, we opted for individual selections. After ordering, the waiter came by with an amuse bouche of, I think, some sort of mushroom panna cotta. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention at the time. Oddly enough, they brought two on one plate and had the third on a separate plate. Either they only had one single server amuse bouche plates in the kitchen,they weren't used to serving three., or they planned it this way. Either way, it was strange. The panna cotta was slightly warm with very light, delicate flavors. My wife and daughter weren't thrilled with it so I enjoyed all three! The restaurant surprised me again by taking our used forks and putting them back on our place setting before removing the plates. I know it's a picky thing but I think any higher end restaurant would replacing utensils after every course including the amuse bouche. Bread service is visually impressive with each bun coming in it's own pan. However, the bread was a bit hard. The butter also came in these two "towers" and it was hard to scrape the butter without knocking over the tower. Small complaints.

Our appetizers came next. We had the tuna sashimi on Himalayan rock salt and the pb&j, a torchon of foie gras, macadamia nut butter, strawberry-vanilla jam on a toasted brioche. The tuna wasn't a big deal except for the 10 lb slab of salt that it sat on. It made for quite an impressive display. The tuna was fresh although not as fatty as I might have liked if we were in a sushi restaurant. The pb&j, on the other hand, was amazing. Although the preparation is similar to Sam Mason's peanut butter foie gras preparation at Tailor, the jam rather than pear and cocoa was the difference maker here. I could probably eat this dish every day to the detriment of my cholesterol level.

After a brief respite, our mains arrived. I had suggested to my daughter that she get the handmade cavatelli with braised short ribs but she opted for the Black Angus dry-aged prime rib eye. I ordered the cavatelli instead and my wife had the lobster steak. After a quick taste of my cavatelli which also had wild mushrooms and a truffle mousse, my daughter started eating off my plate to a point where we just switched. The cavatelli was truly rich and decadent, a great dish for a cold winter night. Her ribeye had no shortcomings either. Well marbled with the right amount of char, the steak was prepared exactly as ordered. I can see why David Burke's steakhouse in Chicago might be doing well.

The only disappointment of the night was the lobster steak. Buried underneath curried shoestring fries, you could see the two lobster claws poking out. The actual lobster steak, however, was in a sauce that was too rich and overwhelming. It really took away from the lobster itself. Many times, I believe expensive ingredients are killed by overly complex preparations. Unfortunately, this was one such dish.

We were pretty full at this point but you can't take a child to davidburke & donatella without ordering the cheesecake lollipop tree. Ten lollipops in an assortment of chocolate hazelnut, raspberry, and cocoa coverings shaped like a tree was presented with dramatic effect. The accompanying bubble gum whipped cream was probably unnecessary but the dessert was enjoyed by everyone.

As usual, an espresso concluded the evening's repast and we were off back into the cold. An interesting thing we noticed on our way out was the "smoking limo" parked outside. It was a huge Hummer limo with a sign stating that the limo was to be used for smoking. That's a pretty neat added benefit for those smokers who don't want to be standing in the cold when they need that puff every 15 minutes. I wonder how much that adds to the bottom line for the rest of us. Still, we enjoyed our meal and expect there are many other items on the menu that we'll need to come back to try.

Maremma

I found Maremma on OpenTable.com as I was trying to get a last minute reservation. I was able to get a 7pm reservation last Saturday night so my expectations were pretty low. I was looking for a nice but casual restaurant serving southern Italian cuisine and this seemed to fit the bill.

Since one of our party was a bit late, we started with a drink at the bar and at 7pm, both the restaurant and the bar were still pretty empty. We had a nice conversation with the bartender who warned us that the edge of the bar had a beveled edge so glasses tend to fall towards the customers. We enjoyed a good laugh at the clumsiness of all those sods who spill drinks on themselves.

With our party finally complete, we were quickly seated in the upstairs dining room. Our server was friendly and seemed quite knowledgeable about the menu. However, she didn't have any specific recommendations outside of the Tuscan fries, which she said was the best she's ever had. We decided to go with the 4 course tasting menu, figuring it was a good way to sample Chef Casella's fare.

The first course was the chef's signature salad with pancetta and soft scrambled egg. Every salad seems to taste better with a bit of pancetta or bacon. The course was simple but tasty. It was like light brunch item, slightly warm and an excellent start to dinner.

Next came two pasta courses. One was the fusilli with tomato, bourbon, and Grana Padano cheese. This was a really good dish, probably my favorite of the night. You couldn't really taste the bourbon but the various ingredients fit together perfectly and gave you much more than your standard marinara.

For the third course, we had a choice of the skatefish or the skirt steak. I elected to have the steak. It was solid, cooked properly at the requested medium rare, but nothing memorable. My friend had the skatefish and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Finally, they brought out one of each of the desserts for us to sample. They were fine since we or mostly I finished them but I guess they weren't fine enough for me to remember them. After an espresso, we went back downstairs to the bar to wait for an old friend we had run into at the next table. New York is such a small city.

So, sitting at the bar, enjoying another bottle of wine, we managed to flip over a wine glass not once but twice! Yeah...those clumsy sods. Regardless of our lack of coordination, I'll definitely come back to Maremma. Southern Italian in a nice setting and at a reasonable price? Why wouldn't I?

Guantanamera (formerly Azucar)

It's been awhile since my last post so please bear with me as I try to recall the many meals I've had in the last month. My trouble, as with probably many others, is keeping up with my blog. It's hard enough getting my thoughts in order, let alone put it down in a semi-readable form.

Since I've no doubt forgotten most of the last month, I'll try to at least recall last Friday's meal at Guantanamera on Eighth Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets. It's not quite the hole-in-the wall you might be looking for but the atmosphere and crowd are definitely authentically Cuban. As you walk in, there's someone rolling cigars and, supposedly, offering them free to customers. Most evenings, the restaurant does a brisk business. Friday night was no exception. We ended up waiting 45 minutes for a table for five.

Since Guantanamera is only a couple of blocks from me, we do go there regularly. For cheap hole-in-the-wall Puerto Rican food, we head downtown to La Taza del Oro. For more upscale Latino fusion, we head up to Calle Ocho. Guantanamera is a good happy medium. The vibe in the restaurant is undoubtably Cuban. Much of the conversation heard around the restaurant was Spanish and we were truly transported when the live band began hitting the Latin notes.

Normally, we go straight for the mains but we started this night with camarones al ajillo (shrimps with garlic). These generously sized shrimp were sauteed in garlic and were very good. We just wished there were more to go around.

My regular favorite entree is the rabo encedido (oxtail in red wine sauce and mashed plantains). This is not for you if you have problems with the gelatinous texture of the oxtail but it is one of the most tender meats you'll ever have. This night, I went with the lechon asado (suckling pig in garlic sauce). While fat doesn't normally bother me, there was just way too much of it in this dish. With some pieces that were predominantly fat and other pieces a bit dry, methinks I won't be having this dish again.

One of my fellow diners ordered the ropa vieja (shredded skirt steak with tomatoes, onions and peppers in a plaintain basket). Wow! This dish was really good. Powerful flavors in a small package. I think I've found a new favorite dish at Guantanamera. With sides of tostones (fried green plantains) and maduros (fried sweet plantains), we were happy campers. I finished off my meal with an espresso and flan. The flan was a bit thicker than I normally like but still acceptable.

We will continue to be regulars at Guantanamera with its solid Cuban fare and the happening vibe. You can't beat it for a neighborhood restaurant.