David Burke’s newly renovated and recently rechristened Townhouse (formerly David Burke & Donatella) will celebrate its grand re-opening tonight which I will happily be attending. One of my best rookie-year-food-writing moments happened there just a little less than a year ago, so here it is, the inaugural blog story.
Occurred: November 13th 2008
I can’t recall clearly whether it was the fourth or fifth real date with one Miss Alicia Bowerman – knowing that she was going to be something of a tough catch but worth the effort, I moved with some trepidation for fear of scaring her away. I knew when Executive Chef Eric Hara made the reservation for me that it was going to be a great night of feeding our collective faces and likely to get me some mileage on impressing her, so I was excited. I’d included davidburke & donatella (As I mentioned it’s now David Burke Townhouse – since Burke got custody of the well known spot in his divorce from Donatella Arpaia - December of 2008) in our redesign of Promenade Magazine’s dining section “Signature New York Dishes.”
I’d called Eric a few times to get info for the piece, made sure he’d gotten a copy when it was published, and to laughingly suggest that we make a trip to Robert’s Steakhouse ASAP, but his answer was always: “They’ve got me chained to the stove in here bro, when are you coming in so I can feed you?” A phone call had decided that I would be dining there on November 13th.
Upon walking in (I’d never been there before) I gave my name and studied the décor. There are two levels to the straightforward space consisting of two rectangular rooms, white walls, latticework and tablecloths set off by red banquettes and chairs. (The latticework was 86ed in the redesign for bricks of Himalayan rock salt which is an improvement in my opinion.)
"We’ll have a corner table ready for you in just a minute sir. Feel free to get something at the bar if you’d like.” I ordered us two glasses of a light pino noir and Alicia and I toasted to what was thus far a pretty good date. After about two swallows of wine our table was ready and we were led down the second set of stairs, to the back right section of the main dining room where we were seated next to the large corner table. I wasn’t upset, just wasn’t sure why the maître d had mentioned the corner table when we obviously weren’t sitting at one.
The seating at DBD as the employees called it (now DBT for those keeping track) is very European, and by that I mean you sit pretty close to the people at the next table. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, because by and large the clientele are people you wouldn’t mind sitting next to. As we were seated, I glanced to Alicia’s left, taking in the couple occupying the corner table – the man sitting on the far side of the table was eating what appeared to be some sort of steak dish and the woman, a dark featured and attractive brunette, had pushed her food away and was focusing her attention on the wine. (It was apparent that she had been paying it a fair amount of attention for some time, both from her demeanor and the slight red stain on her lips). Alicia and I unfolded our napkins and she smiled, her usual exuberance and warmth always a bright spot in the room.
“So are you guys gonna let me feed you?” Chef Eric had made his way out of the kitchen and was standing over my right shoulder.
“Absoultely sir, it’s your show.” I replied.
“What are you guys drinking? Are we doing wine parings here…”
“It’s a light-ish pino”
Eric named whatever wine it was that we happened to be drinking and said, “Let’s stick with that, I think you’ll be fine.” With that, Eric headed back to the kitchen to make the magic happen and I kept trying not to stare at the woman next to Alicia. I was pretty sure it was Selma Hayek. As soon as I heard her speak I was positive it was Selma Hayek: “So, I told Robert [Rodriguez] that I just couldn’t do it…” Yup, I’d know that voice anywhere. The guy she was with looked kind of like an older, lamer version of Daniel Craig. At first I thought maybe it was Daniel Craig, but second glance said it probably wasn’t, and when he spoke he had a French accent not a British one. So, it was not Daniel Craig.
Obviously, I wanted to tell Alicia, but Selma was about two feet away from her – maybe less, so I had to wait for the right time. Alicia and I continued telling stories and sharing little pieces of life over our first course. Selma leaned over to tell not-Daniel-Craig something so I made an exaggerated attempt for the butter and whispered “The lady next to you is Selma Hayek.” She did her best to look without being overt then smiled, obviously excited. It turns out that the guy who was not Daniel Craig was her baby daddy turned husband, the French gazillionare owner of Yves St. Laurent (and a few other small companies) Henry François Pinault.
I don’t follow gossip magazines, but from what I know this was at a time when they were “broken-up” so don’t believe everything you read in Us Weekly. They were very cozy, and Selma was very drunk. We came in while they were in the middle of their main course and I saw them go through at least 2 bottles of wine after we sat down. After dinner they ordered coffee. Alicia and I were somewhere in the middle of our second course when Selma’s distinctively seductive voice (slightly slurred by her wine consumption) was interrupted by a commotion – Ms. Hayek in her exuberance had spilled coffee everywhere. The wait staff seized upon it with the lightening quickness of a NASCAR pit-crew. They had the cloth changed, the mess wiped up, and new silverware and napkins placed in a matter of seconds.
When they brought out a cheesecake lollipop tree for our new celeb neighbors, on-the-house to compliment their desserts, we had already finished two courses and had a visit from Chef Eric. When Selma asked “What is this?” Pointing at the lollipops and Pinault shrugged, I chimed in with “Cheesecake lollipops. They’re served with bubble gum whipped cream for dipping – it’s a Burke signature.”
“Oh.” She said, as she plucked one from the tree, dunking the bulb in whipped cream. Upon eating it she made a funny but not unpleasant face. I understood why – the bubblegum whipped cream is very strange creation and always makes me think immediately of Willy Wonka. The taste is similar to the eerie flavor of a buttered popcorn Jelly-Belly. She took a second to wash it down with coffee then grabbed her spoon and dug into Pinault’s dessert. She turned to me and said “His is better” smiled and went back to eating it. “Who is that guy?” Said Pinault under his breath, glancing up at me. That was the end of our interactions with the A-List as they left soon after. Alicia and I went on to talk about myriad things including her family, my favorite TV show (Burn Notice) and the incredible lot of food that we were eating.
The meal:
This was possibly the most I have ever eaten in one sitting in my life – these are the courses as I remember them with as much help as I can garner from Eric, Alicia, and the internet:
Kris:
Crisp & Angry Lobster
Thai Chicken Dumplings
*Calamari Mac & Cheese
Bacon Wrapped Muscovy Duck
Chocolate Mousse
Lobster Bisque with corn & lobster
Pan Roasted Diver Scallops
* Swordfish-Steak “Rossini” w/ pan seared foie gras
Free Range Lamb with endive & mint
Butterscotch Pana Cotta
(*These were sneak peeks at dishes for Fishtail)
Cheesecake Lollipop Tree
Eric came out a few times check on everything and upon completion of the meal I told him we were friends now. (If he didn’t want to be my friend, then he never should have fed me so much.) These were not tasting menu portions either, these were full size courses. However the only items that are on the menu currently at Townhouse are the Crisp & Angry Lobster, the Butterscotch Pana Cotta, and of course the Cheesecake Lollipop Tree – and with good reason because they were the best three dishes of the meal. Alicia is now hopelessly addicted to the pana cotta and that’s still the best lobster I’ve ever had.
I did like the Calamari Mac & Cheese, and it stayed at Fishtail for a time but is no longer available now. I thought the tanginess of the sundried tomatoes in the dish set off the smooth and savory cheese flavors quite well and the pasta was in the same shape as the calamari, but obviously with a much different texture which I also found inventive; but Bruni and Platt disagreed so it got scrapped.
Things have obviously changed now, almost a year down the road. The restaurant is now called Townhouse, my friend Eric Hara has struck out on his own at The Oak Room in the Plaza Hotel, Selma and Henry are married, and the real Daniel Craig is coming to Broadway in Steady Rain.
But, some things are still the same – Alicia and I are still dating (we became “official” just a few weeks after this particular date) Eric Hara and David Burke are still phenomenal chefs - my favorites actually, I’m still writing for City Guide & Promenade Magazines, and Donetella is still alienating her partners (sorry Michael Psilaks).
Townhouse is Burke’s flagship and the new menu looks phenomenal (www.davidburketownhouse.com) but if you’re looking for great deal on good food, he’s got that too. Fishtail does a Sunday night $20.09 3-course dinner prix fixe which is also available any night of the week at David Burke at Bloomingdale’s
Fishtail: www.fishtaildb.com
DB at Bloomingdale’s: www.burkeinthebox.com
So, till next time friends – cheers, eat merrily, and trust to good verses.
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