When I heard that Mr. Boulud opened a new restaurant that is closer to my price range, I was pretty darn excited, like going to Disneyworld excited. So this past Sunday, we headed to DBGB for brunch.
The space was humongous and comfy - modern in a familiar way. I entertained myself by reading the quotes about imbibing alcohol etched on the wall-to-wall mirrors in the front room while waiting for my friends. Too bad I wasn't able to entertain myself by imbibing them alcohols since I got there before 12 and NYC has some weird Puritanical legacy that bar bars from selling them alcohols before 12. It's okay, that was remedied in a few.
I am obsessed with watermelons. This year, I discover the joy that is watermelon in a savory preparation. The only thing I can say about that is... OMG WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO DISCOVER THIS JOY!?! All those years wasted not eating watermelon in a savory preparation. ALL THOSE YEARS!
I zeroed in on the Chop Chop Salad, with romaine, avocado, red pepper, carrot, watermelon & ginger-sesame dressing. I opted in to top the salad with lobster, since I heart lobsters and since I wanted to cling on to the last vestige of summer - watermelon and lobster. The salad was ok. I appreciate that it was not drenched in dressing, but thought that the dressing itself could have been more flavorful. The ginger flavor was very faint. I almost felt that the dish had an identity crisis - am I Asian-inspired? Am I new American? Poor dish, it's going to grow up confused. The lobster was well cooked. Although I suspect they were left over from other lobster dishes since all I got were claws. I like lobster claws cuz I like all lobsters, but tails tend to have better texture. I also wished there were more watermelon chunks, but then again, I always with wish for more watermelon chunks. I did love the sesame crackers that topped the salad. It had a great sesame flavor and provided a great light crunch.
Cheryl got the cutest looking dish, the asparagus & fried egg with duck prosciutto, cracklins, mustard-egg dressing. This was another dish that seemed to have great potential but was underwhelming. The dish should have been great. Asparagus and soft boiled eggs make such a nice couple. Add on some fried pork skin and duck, how can you go wrong? But the dish also suffered from timidness and follow-thru. The promised mustard flavor was no more than a wisp.
J-me got the cutest sounding dish - Cochon in the Blanket, with chipolata sausage, scrambled egg chive & gruyère cheese. The dish was good, but wasn't anything we haven't tasted. The flavors were good, just nothing innovative. I thought the sausage was tasty, very tender, but the meat and egg ratio was off in my book. The dish could have benefited from a little more sausage. Also, the whole thing could have benefited by some spice - maybe if there were more sausage, the meat could have lend more of its spices to the eggs and balance out the dish. My favorite part of the dish is the crepe topped with melted gruyère that wrapped around the scramble. mmm...
We also shared the roasted peach blintzes. Gotta have dessert, you know. This was probably the favorite of the table. There were no complaints about the sweet ricotta cream and the delicious peaches. It was the perfect amount of sweetness and complemented by the slightly tart, plump, juicy peaches. Yum.
The service was great. They were nice and attentive without overbearing. I do want to go back for dinner sometime and try the awesome sounding burgers and sausages. And I shall.
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