DBGB Kitchen & Bar: Daniel Boulud’s Bowery hotspot
The DBGB Kitchen & Bar is Packed with Partiers
Daniel Boulud, it seems, can do no wrong. DBGB Kitchen and Bar, which opened about a month ago, is the celebrated chef’s fifth New York City restaurant, and it is a loud, crashing, resounding success. DBGB is Daniel Boulud’s first downtown Manhattan restaurant appearance. The crowds at DBGB Kitchen & Bar were four deep at the bar when we went the other night, the back dining room (complete with semi-open kitchen and semi-private alcoves tucked in behind dry-goods shelving) was booked solid until 10:30, the $12 draft beers were flowing, the music was rocking, the drinkers and diners young and pretty and feverishly excited. DBGB stands out among downtown Manhattan restaurants featured as a NYC beer bar and a house-made sausage restaurant. It’s certainly the happening place to be on Bowery.
DBGB is Daniel Boulud’s first venture downtown; his flagship, four-star Daniel is on the Upper East Side, and his other more “casual” establishment, Bar Boulud, in across the street from Lincoln Center–and it is definitely giving the new breed of New Yorkers exactly what they want in a downtown Manhattan restaurant. The GB in Daniel Boulud’s Bowery restaurant we were told, stands for “whatever you want it you”, though it’s most likely a play on the legendary punk club CBGBs, once located a block away, now a John Varvatos outlet. The city, she definitely changes.
Daniel Boulud’s downtown menu is filled with winners
So how’s the food at DBGB Kitchen & Bar? The bar and lounge menu is what you gorge yourself upon when you don’t feel like waiting until bedtime for a table in the main dining room. That said, the beer bar at DBGB has an extensive offering, and much of what we tried was first-rate, if a little hyper-priced. Terrific Lamb Ribs, sweet and crispy and rich, came glazed and accompanied by a minted yogurt dipping sauce. The Tablier de Sapeur, or Lyonnais Crispy Tripe, disappointed, however, the offal overwhelmed by the heavy breading and even heavier mustard sauce. We wished we had been allowed to order the dish from the “regular” dinner menu, where it’s served with a spicy tomato-tripe salad.
Daniel Boulud’s burgers attract attention as does DBGB as being a house-made sausage restaurant. The bar basics of burgers and dogs are covered, of course, though everything, thankfully, is given the Daniel Boulud touch. We chose the most extravagant of the Daniel Boulud burger offerings, the $19 Piggie, and were rewarded with a juicy, intense tower of meat that included six-ounce beef patty topped with Daisy May’s BBQ pulled pork and jalapeno mayo, all on a cheddar-cornbread bun. Even better was the Boudin Basque, from DBGB’s extensive sausage selection, a thick slice of spicy blood and pig’s head sausage placed on a bed of scallion mashed potatoes. This was extraordinary, an explosion of different textures and deep flavors. If you’re looking for a sausage restaurant in NYC, DBGB Kitchen & Bar should be on the agenda.
DBGB Kitchen & Bar details
DBGB Kitchen and Bar is located on Bowery between Houston and 1st Street. The back dining room’s last seating every night is 10:30; the bar and lounge menu is served from 5:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m., and there is also a “continuous service of bar bites and beverages” from noon until closing. For complete menus, click here.
Posted in Downtown, NYC Dining |
