Hillel Dov
DBGB: Backward D Doesn’t Make It Punk Rock, Blood Sausage Does
DBGB, Daniel Boulud’s lowerish-end restaurant, can be summed up by the photo above: a split femur whose marrow has been completely scooped out, devoured and savored. Not pictured is the extra bread that was ordered just to make sure not even the most ephemeral spot of moisture redolent with marrow, pickled mustard seed, salt and little else went to waste.
From everything ordered, it was the offal that was best. The Berliner, a wurst with curry and kraut, was a bland thing, tasting like something from Oscar Meyer. There was just a never fully realized sausage flavor. The pork schnitzel was delicious, the cocktails were spot-on and the burger was sufficient (not too much money, but not an overwhelming amount of flavor either). The pig’s head terrine (read: head cheese) was better than Craftbar’s. But the Boudin Basque? The Boudin Basque, you ask? The “spicy blood and pig’s head sausage scallion mashed potatoes” dish? If you come to DBGB and do not order this, you are wasting your time.
The Boudin Basque, well, it’s just hard to explain. The piggy bits are encased in grainy blood sausage and sit atop smooth mashed potatoes. The combination does something to your taste buds. It tells them: “Stop thinking about what you’re eating because, yes, you are experiencing your sense of taste evolving. Changing. Learning to love again.”
The warm strawberry cupcake was nothing but perfect and the PB&J cake showed a playfulness you won’t always find in a restaurant of this quality and pedigree. Adding to the fun nature of DBGB is the extensive list of appetizers and sausages that you are encouraged to mix and share amongst your fellow eaters.
Even if you go just for the bone marrow and the Boudin Basque, you will have spent your time and money like a person who understands the value of those things.
