does food taste better when it's free?

i think the consensus is yes.  it also doesn't hurt when david burke is responsible for the menu.

last night, seth and i were lucky enough to be invited to check out david burke's new restaurant in soho.   the restaurant, called david burke's kitchen and located in the james hotel on grand street, opens next week.  this is the week where friends and family get to come by, try it out and give their feedback.  in other words, someone wants to give us food and then listen to what we have to say about it.   why don't we do this more often?

all in all, the food and the service were good.   some dishes were outstanding.  only one fell flat.  the decor is cute but stylish.  it reminded me of a farmhouse - beautiful wood paneling, brown leather woven chairs, blue and white checked napkins and pretty topiaries at each table.    the full wine list wasn't available but the cabernet sauvignon blend they offered was really nice.  one of the managers also brought us a drink the restaurant is trying out called the good n plenty.   it is a rye based drink that knocked me on my ass (in the best possible way).   the mixologist (yes, this is a place that employs mixologists, not bartenders) managed to blend a drink to taste just like a good n plenty. free booze + giving my opinion = heaven.

now for the important stuff - the role call of dishes (apologies for the crappy photos, my iphone didn't cooperate with the lighting in the restaurant):

starters

salmon pastrami, pretzel, mustard - the favorite appetizer, as eloquently stated by seth "you could pastrami my hand and i would eat it"  well played, seth, well played.

bison tartare, egg salad, smoked tomato, mustard oil, fingerling crisps - i really liked this dish.  the egg salad is the strongest flavor on the dish, so don't order it unless that's your thing.

lobster soup, lobster dumplings, coconut fennel creme, red watercress - i found this dish to be a bit greasy (you can actually see the grease in the picture) and not that flavorful, seth liked it a bit more but didn't rave about it.  the dumplings were the best part.

mains

soy honey duck, foie gras corn cake, maitake mushrooms - all three parts of the dish were extremely tasty but didn't really mesh well to make one dish.  the mushrooms (yes, the mushrooms) were my favorite part, but only slightly.  the cornbread was great but i didn't think it needed the marmalade on top.  too much going on.

ribeye - seth demolished this steak.  excellent char, well seasoned.  cooked medium rare, but unless its raw seth isn't going to rave about it.

escarole, bacon, chili - the most disappointing dish, neither of us could taste the chili. 

the famous cheesecake lollipops with bubble gum flavored whipped cream - this doesn't even need description, david burke has perfected this dessert.  if you can get seth to eat dessert you know, you have done something well.  

altogether the meal was fun and the food was interesting.  i would go back and try the restaurant again once it opens and they work out the kinks.  the menu had a ton of options and i am sure there are some great dishes just waiting to be eaten by me. i heard that a few of the dishes were sad when i didn't choose them.  don't worry, i'll be back!