We had high hopes as we made our way over to DBGB, Daniel Boulud's new 'beer and burger' place on the Bowery. One of the best meals I've ever had was at Cafe Boulud (veal cheeks), and I've long been a fan of the burger at DB Bistro...never mind that some people don't consider a burger stuffed with short ribs and foie gras a true burger...it's delicious either way.
I had hoped for this to be nothing more than a good meal with a few friends to cap off one of my better days in recent memory (lunch at Schiller's Liquor Bar; a full day hanging out with friends and pitmasters at the Big Apple BBQ Fest; The opening party for the New York Food Film Fest; a 'bourbon and Budweiser' party at Billy Reid's store). It turned out to be the highlight of that incredible day.
We walked in to find chef Boulud at the host stand of all places, and I soon found myself at the bar, talking with chef about the huge beer list. A couple drinks later, eight of us sat down at our table, and he asked us if we just wanted him to cook a few things for us. Sounded like a plan. Nearly 30 dishes later, we all felt that we made the right decision. This is incomplete, but as best as I can remember, we ate:
Butter Lettuce and Chive Salad
Iceburg and Blue Salad
Saucisson Sec - dry sausage
Escargots with persillade custard
Lyonnais-style crispy tripe
Duo of mackerel
Pate campagnard
Beef bone marrow
Veal tongue with sauce gribiche
Octopus la plancha
Spicy lamb sausage
Blood and pigs head sausage
German currywurst
Fresh chorizo sausage
Smoked pork & cheddar link
Smoked pork & veal kielbasa
DBGB Dog - homemade beef weiner
Pan roasted Italian sausage
The Piggie - burger topped with pulled pork
The Frenchie - burger topped with pork belly
Five desserts - please don't ask me to remember what these were...
