Haute comfort food with a side of whimsy

Place: David Burke Kitchen

Location: The James New York, 23 Grand Street (between Avenue of the Americas and Thompson Street), SoHo; 
(212) 201-9119.

The occasion: Eight-year dating anniversary

The setting: A casual French farmhouse feel with gingham napkins, warm wood plank ceilings and dim lighting.

The Ants on a Log. Delish!

The food: What better way to celebrate eight years together than to savor the scrumptiousness that is David Burke? Big fans of his Townhouse, Fishtail, and Bloomingdale’s restaurants, my husband and I couldn’t wait to try his Kitchen out-post in the luxe The James Hotel. Blending his signature haute cuisine with French country cooking and his flair for whimsy, Burke never fails to impress or delight. Carbophobes, beware! The rustic breads are not to be missed (try the walnut-olive and seven grain). For appetizers, I chose the melt-in-your-mouth duck meatball lasagna (which I am still dreaming of days later!), Ivan the hardy split-pea soup with poached egg, prosciutto and ham hock cracklings. And because we couldn’t resist, we threw in the Ants on a Log too! The bone marrow’s melty goodness was topped with a garlicky snail ragout, parsley puree with mushroom chips, fennel hay, fried parsley and lemon confit. 

The pork chop. Mmm!

The jalapeno fries!

The short rib cavatelli. Love!

For the main course, Ivan had the tender, pig-tastic pork chop topped with caramelized pork cheek, apple bacon marmalade and parsley onion rings and I had the moist-and-flavorful spare rib cavatelli, the perfect blend of savory meat and creamy pasta. At our waiter’s recommendation (not that we needed too much encouragement!), we also shared a side of fries. But not just any fries—ones made in smoked beef fat, with a dressing of pickled jalapeños! They weren’t quite as crisp as I would have liked, but the robust flavor made up for the lack of crunch.

The famous cheesecake lollipop tree. Worth the hype!

For the grand finale: Burke’s signature cheesecake lollipop tree (which we’d never had in all of our trips to his other restaurants!). The bite-size confections—of cherry, chocolate and toffee-covered cheesecake with passion fruit whip cream—are truly to die for!

The pièce de résistance: Every time we’ve been to one of his restaurants, Chef Burke has been there. This time, Ivan had the chance to have a lengthy conversation with him by the bar, and later in the evening he came over to our table to say hello to me, and to congratulate us on eight great years together!