Just up the street from the Hell on earth that is Bloomingdales this time of year (Actually, Bloomingdales is Hell on earth anytime of year with the women's shoe department being Satan's corporate office), is the erudite and sophisticated, David Burke Townhouse.As a matter of full disclosure - I haven't eaten here...yet. The Golf Foxtrot and I stopped by on our way to a champagne tasting for a quiet cocktail. And quiet it is. In fact, once you're at the bar everything slows down. In a good way. Every great New York restaurant shares a hard to define calming quality. As an old friend reminds me, "You don't go to a restaurant for the food. You go because it makes you feel special."
While the Foxtrot sipped a glass of Prosecco -- crisp, clean and light. I sipped a Manhattan --deep, earthy and dark. We watched the show in the main dining room below us, elegantly decorated for Christmas, and staffed with attention, care and three men in suits. I have friends who rave about the brunch here and there are some who consider the Burke brunch one of Manhattan's best. The special part is out of the way. Next time - the food.
There are certain bars & restaurants that I feel that way about during the holiday season and into the winter. They serve as a haven on a cold, dark night. And, I totally agree about Macy's shoe department. Even at our local Macy's, I try to avoid the vicinity of the shoe department at all costs.
ReplyDeletetintin: I didn't know this place existed. I agree about ambience though. I love those old fashioned NYC restaurant (reprised in mad men)... darkish lighting, red leather banquettes, glistening white linen, great steak and fish.
ReplyDeleteinterior is not doing it for me.
ReplyDeleteat least not that shot. mirrors?
Dallas- Please don't judge the place by my crappy pics. The charm is hard to pinpoint but it's here in spades.
ReplyDeleteI like the look and read on this place.
ReplyDeleteOn the list.
Sounds like a nice place -- I like the way you describe your Manhattan.
ReplyDeleteSilk Reg - I like the way I drink my Manhattan.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of Bourbon do you favor for your Manhattan? I think Basil Hayden's is one of the best.
ReplyDeleteI'll have the DBT Eggs Benedict or the Steak & Eggs, and a Stoli bloody extra spicy please...
ReplyDeleteThis place looks like something outta Clockwork Orange and the menu is an annoying melange of bourgeois bore and appeal to the "kid in us all."
ReplyDeleteGimmie a rare cheeseburger and a glug of well whiskey to supp and slurp in a space not decorated like Willy Wonka's last shroom fest.
P.S. I told my pop about the Army/Navy jibe. He laughed like hell and said, hey, that kid's allright.
I walked in there for a drink once, the whole place smelled like farts, and I walked out.
ReplyDeleteMail Line- I prefer rye. Sazerac or Old Overholt depending on the checking account. Go here for details:
ReplyDeletehttp://thetrad.blogspot.com/2009/02/friday-belt.html
TRVS- I understand the eggs benedict is pop, pop, popular.
Stew- You can take the man outta Steak & Ale but you can't take the Steak & Ale outta the man. For those who are not aware, please go to the link below for one of the funniest posts you'll ever read:
http://labroche.blogspot.com/2009/06/steak-ale.html
Anon- That was your upper lip.
I forgot this one, Stew. God, you're a poet:
ReplyDeletehttp://labroche.blogspot.com/2009/07/whitebread.html
Hey, I like Morley Safer's fashion panache as much as the next WASP, but that don't mean I want to dine in its whatness. What's with all those lines and colors? It looks like a 1,000 Parker Bros games from the '70s were duct-taped to the floors, walls, and ceiling.
ReplyDeleteAnd now you're slicing my baloney...
That Ralph Lauren garbage is just depressing.
ReplyDeletethat looks so badass!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThat Ralph Lauren garbage is just depressing.
It is grotesque. But you have to give it to Ralphie boy how he manages the balancing act of selling $4000 off the peg suits and $15,000 cocktail cabinets while at the same time peddling this dreck to the great unwashed.
Foxtrot Oscar.
ReplyDeleteFatfriend.
Oh Main Line Sportsman...Manhattans (in Manhattan) stay true with rye, the traditional choice.
ReplyDelete