Evolution can occur so naturally that sometimes we don’t even realize it is taking place. When it’s organic, change can be such a comforting place to be. If rushed or a reaction to outside influences, change often ends in resistance and ultimately disaster. In success new standards are set.

It is somewhat premature to suggest that DBGB Kitchen and Bar will outshine the other temples of gastronomic perfection that Mr. Boulud has blessed our City with. For starters, restaurant Daniel is the pinnacle for what most fine dining establishments across the country and around the world hope to achieve. Each individual restaurant is a natural progression of Mr. Boulud’s relationship with Manhattan; certainly reflective of its neighborhood and pop culture at the time of inception.

After one dinner at DBGB, I can assure you that they are set to accomplish great things. And make no mistake; DBGB is a welcomed and necessary addition to the Boulud family of restaurants. Until it arrived, we had yet to realize it was missing. The ultimate compliment, perhaps.

The food is of course stellar, from a long list of pâtés, to mussels in a semisweet coconut broth. One of my favorites the ratatouille, a simple mélange of vegetables, is done with grace and restraint, as it should be.
Its seems that the kitchen at DBGB excels in using simple ingredients and allowing them to shine.

How very green, how very appropriate.

But I have a sneaking suspicion that this particular Boulud outpost wasn’t established to be a mecca of haute cuisine. In my opinion DBGB has nothing to prove to the palate; Mr. Boulud has shown us time and time again that he knows how to run a kitchen.

Interestingly it looks like DBGB was created in order to satisfy the impossible to please, know-it-all foodies of generation twitter. That ever vocal sect of late twenties and early thirties crowd who have taken the mantle of the food critic and abruptly turned the tables.

Without restraint Mr. Boulud took on our fickle taste, generally uneducated palates, and indecisive natures. And did he show us.

DBGB launches a direct assault on our senses. The design is simple, so much so that I had paced at the doorway for several minutes searching for 299 Bowery. The building could pass for an H and M megastore, the famous European import frequented by celebrities, but famous for selling well constructed trendy clothing at affordable prices. Similar concept, different industry.

Inside, the lighting is minimized, but just enough. The colors are simple shades of grey. The bar is large and very much front and center. In the main dining room, an open kitchen is lined with pots, pans, and miscellaneous cooking equipment once utilized by culinary geniuses.

Perhaps it is these tools of cooks past that float above that make you feel as if you are dinning in the company of royalty. One can’t help but image the great meals that were constructed using these tools. If these utensils could talk imagine the stories they could share.

DBGB will become to my generation what Daniele is to the previous. It is the place you need to be, the restaurant that knows what we want to eat and how we want it served. All this for generally fair prices is a rarity, but in a setting so socially relevant is unheard of.

Did I mention that there is a house made hotdog on the menu? When was the last time you questioned the texture and aesthetics of something as unsophisticated and simplistic as an Oscar Mayer frank?
Most dishes are rustic and simple, but executed with the timeless elegance that one has come to expect from any establishment that bears the DB stamp.

Once again Mr. Boulud you have achieved what few dared to imagine.

Change is surely upon us, and it tastes good.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites