DMANBURGER “DBGB Kitchen and Bar”

New York historic neighborhood, The Bowery has adapted to change and delivered many colorful stories throughout history, beginning in the 1600′s where the name was drawn from the Dutch word “bouwerij” for farm, to CBGB’s the city’s infamous den of punk rock and excess, to the restaurant suppliers peddling cookware on the sidewalks, and now today where sleek hotels and famed restaurants are cropping up it seems-every day. DBGB Kitchen and Bar- with the name a word play on the fore mentioned iconic muso haunt, is one of those spots that delivers a delicious and raucous sausage beer and burger experience. Daniel Boulud previously had a habit of establishing his niche in the culinary world with Uptown palatable institutions, Boulud now stylishly down markets his stable of eateries, with a glass, steel facade at the foot of a residential building in The Bowery. DBGB honors past culinarians with graffiti-like etchings and cookware memorabilia. The menu reflects his French roots, but focuses more on comfort and casual with an inventive element accented through exotic international flavors. Sausages, burgers and beer are the staples highlighting a banger pork fest with every kind of sausage imaginable, like the Toulouse [a pork, duck gizzard and garlic link served with cassoulet beans]; the Beaujolaise [a pork, mushroom, onion, bacon and red wine link with lentils du puy]; and the Tunisienne [a lamb and mint link with harissa, lemon braised spinach and chickpeas]. The burgers are equally inviting, with a trio of adorable names like The Yankee, The Piggie and The Frenchie which is stacked with a 6 oz. beef patty with confit pork belly, arugula, tomato-onion compote and Morbier cheese. 

  

  

 

The spacious restaurant welcomes you with a modern, sleek eatery style bar and brings you under a dark wood floor to ceiling shelves cluttered with copper pots and pans previously owned by famous food icons. I sauntered through the entrance of the dining room, inquisitively glaring for my favorite chef’s cookware. The dining room is sectioned in comfortable booths, with an open kitchen and server area that is dramatically playing alongside every diner. First on the tasting list for me was the Tunsienne, dark red sausage curled around a mound of rich braised spinach, the sausage was spicy and complex, but definitely smaller than expected. When I saw a Anthony Bourdain re-run featuring DBGB- where him and Frank Bruni snarfed away at sausage after sausage, they just looked bigger and fatter-but I guess everything does on TV. The Beaujolaise that followed was much larger and heartier than the Tunisienne, the symphony of pork flavors delicately played with the lentils offering a sweet and rich after tone.  

 

 

 

 

 

After several tankards of ale, the talk and mood at our table was loud and impatient as we waited for the twenty-something actor/foodie to deliver our Frenchie. Served up neatly on a peppered perfectly formed bun was this precisely constructed specimen of burger masterdom. Sitting in the middle of a sea of white porcelain the burger was flanked by crunchy cornichons and a flute of crispy well done French Fries, the bite was an eye-roller display of happiness-the bun was expertly toasted, and the bitterness of the arugula sweetness of the tomato compote teamed with pungent flavor of the Morbier made for quite the memorable bite. Pork belly definitely played a lead role in the taste and texture of this juicy burger; its ribbons of melted fatness glistened and erupted in the mouth with every bite. Interestingly, I heard that originally the Frenchie was sans cheese when it was first invented? Kudos to Boulud, for including the excellent Morbier. As an haute burger goes the Frenchie one of the hautiest! -Boulud is quite the culinary genius and let’s not forget, a businessman. 

 

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