I dined at davidburke & donatella (DBD) with my friend Kelly for lunch today. DBD has two fantastic luncheon prix fix offerings, one at $24.07 and another at $34. Kelly chose the Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake with Poppy Seed Honey and Kumquat-Jalapeño Jam; Lobster Scramble with Tomato Fondant and Crème Fraîche; Coconut Layer Cake with Passion Fruit Sauce, Coconut Anglaise and Tropical Fruit. I chose the Grilled Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Chorizo; Mustard Crusted Tuna with Honshimeji Mushrooms, Silver Needles, Shanghai Bok Choy and Red Curry; Chocolate Mousse, Cheesecake Filling and Passion Fruit Sorbet with Tropical Fruit Compote. Initially I was eyeing the $24.07 menu, as there was a Chef Salad with Chicken and Shrimp, Greens, Walnuts, Asian Pears, Bacon, Crisp Potatoes and Goat Cheese, which sounded perfect. Mostly it was the idea of greens, shrimp, walnuts and goat cheese. The Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake was intriguing too, but the Grilled Asparagus was ultimately a fantastic choice. The asparagus was tender, yet crisp with a clean flavor. The goat cheese was creamy and flavorful, the chorizo spiced it up and there was some sort of mushroom in there too. It was a great dish and think I would have been satisfied with just my starter!
Kelly’s Crab Cake was a little dry and there was almost no pretzel flavor, it was a visual garnish to the dish. My tuna was just crusted and the curry sauce complimented the dish perfectly. There was something that looked like the honshimeji mushrooms, but the consistency of spetzel, which was too salty and sort of ruined the salt level of the whole dish. Overall the veggies and curry were the highlight of the dish. Kelly’s Lobster Scramble looked great, arriving in its own ostridge half-shell sitting atop an All-Clad mini pot with a side of toasted brioche served in a silver plated toast holder. The Scramble also tasted great, it was piping hot and rich, although I thought the crème fraîche was a little overkill. I had selected my dessert at the last minute, as in the excitement of seeing Kelly again, I had forgotten to even glance at that portion of the menu. From my previous experiences there I knew to steer clear of the Butterscotch Panna Cotta and Warm & Crisp Apple Tart, in hindsight I should have ordered the Mixed Fruit & Berries to go with such a heavy lunch. My dessert was alright, the passion fruit sorbet and fruit compote were light and refreshing. The chocolate mousse was nothing special and the two desserts were served on opposite sides of the plate, I thought the flavors were fine together, but not usual nor unusual—just there together. Kelly’s Coconut Layer Cake, was not really cake and it wasn’t layered. There seemed to be something missing to the dish, but perhaps it was the strawberry sauce she chose not to add, as there was already passion fruit sauce. Overall, the lunch was good, it was what I’d expected. I had actually wanted the starter and dessert Kelly ordered, but was so glad I didn’t get either one. I hope to go back again for dessert, or the Chef’s Salad, which looked amazing at someone else’s table. Yum.
Also, over lunch Kelly and I had a therapeutic conversation about The Ex. *oh my, I’m talking about personal stuff.* I finally offered my side of the story and filled in the gaps. As usual, I had to preface it with, this is obviously my side of the story, I don’t want to disregard the fact you’re friends with him and I know I was wrong too. She was receptive and even updated me on how he is doing. I think I will always be curious. She said he wants to talk and since he feels wronged, doesn’t understand why I am the one who won’t talk to him. I understand where he is coming from, but I think there is a lot of lingering pain as we wronged each other. He had told Kelly to say hello to me the last time I saw Kelly, to which she said he’d wanted to restart communication with me. I told Kelly I wasn’t ready to say hi back to him. Alright, that is enough personal information. I’m rara dating and trying to be happy rara avis, not gloomy about The Ex. Good food + conversation = therapeutic lunch. Rara Therapy.
