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| Dessert heaven! Cheesecake lollipops & tart |
“We
need to make plans for the next few week before you leave,” one of my
colleagues told me yesterday.
“Weeks?”
I asked, bewildered. As I started to do
the math in my head, I realized that I have less than two weeks at my current
job. I’ll literally be on a plane at the
end of the month. I am sure I will be
back in the future, but my stay right now is indefinite; I will keep on chasing
my dreams as long as the doors of opportunity keep opening. With so little time remaining, I have been
trying to make it a point to see the people I love and visit the places I adore
before taking off.
It
seems that David Burke’s Fishtail embodies my journey over the past year. This has been a time of wild transition:
moving out of my childhood home, having my parents move to a different state,
beginning teaching, struggling to find a job in the economy, and now a radical
career change. Somehow, it seems that
all of these roads have intersected at Fishtail. The night before I was offered my first high
school job, I was sitting in Fishtail with my father seriously discussing the
future. On another occasion, I picked up
a catalog of Gotham’s Writer’s Workshop classes from the dispenser outside the
restaurant. That reengaged me with the
world of food writing and helped steer me toward CTBites. It therefore felt fitting to have one of my
final forays into the city unfold there.
Two
friends from college and I met for night of festivities on Monday night. I am so fortunate to have these two ladies in
my life; we became fast friends in college and maintained our friendship
despite time and distance. Ironically, I
met both in different parts of my college experience; one comes from English
courses and the other from freshman orientation. But we still get along harmoniously and make
a great team.
When we arrived, we received an amuse from the kitchen, a delicious play on an egg roll. Next, we ordered flutes of the Habitual Happiness, a drink I have often blogged
about. It is one of my favorites on the
menu and contains elderflower liquor, prossecco, lavender, and a hibiscus
flower. However, we made another
incredible discovery on the drinks list.
I am not usually a fan of Pinot Noir, but I decided to try a taste of
David Burke’s own version: House of Burke Pinot Noir. It was spectacular! It was round overall, but had a mild touch of
tannin that interacted with the notes of smoke and pepper. The notes were deeper than the Pinots I
usually shy away from. There were dark
fruits woven with tufts of smoke and chocolate.
I highly recommend it, and would certainly order it again.
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| Escargot |
Next,
we ordered the escargot appetizer. I am
ashamed to admit that I have never had escargot before, but it has been on my
bucket list! As an adventurous eater and
a foodie, escargot is a must! The
preparation proved delectable. A sauce
with hints of lemon grass and garlic brought out the salty succulence of the
snails. A mix of herbs and crumbs gave
it a slight texture. First snail experience? Roaring success!
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| A single serving of the whole bass |
For
dinner, we split a full sea bass. We had
planned to order one of Burke’s famous whole fresh fish, but the waiter’s
descriptive, energetic description of the bass sold us on that particular
variety. The fish is stuffed with herbs
and baked in banana leaves. The method
imparts those exciting flavors into the fish itself without masking the protein
with thick sauces or spicy crusts. The
server presented the fish to us whole and then returned to the kitchen where he
cut it up into individual servings. It
was savory and delicious, literally melting in my mouth and flaking slightly
with the touch of my fork.
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| Apple tart |
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| Cheesecake lollipops |
No meal
is complete without dessert, or, in our case, many desserts!! We had the incredible chance to try multiple
decadent offerings from the menu. We
ordered the can o’ cake, the dish responsible for hooking me on David Burke to
begin with. (A TV demo of the dish
seemed to good to witness on a screen so I set out to try the creation in
person a few years ago.) All of the
toppings are incredible, but my favorite are the rice pearls. They add a slight crunch to the otherwise
moist chocolate layers. In addition, we
received the apple tart. I thoroughly
enjoyed it. Some tarts come across as
overly sweet or employ artificial fruits.
Burke’s was anything but that.
Although we were in a sleek, modern restaurant, it maintained elements
of rusticity. It was driven by the
apples themselves, some flour, and spices as opposed to copious amounts of
sugar or filling. Finally, we
experienced David Burke’s cheesecake lollipops.
They come in three varieties: raspberry, tuxedo, and chocolate. A bubble gum whipped cream accompanied them-
and it did taste remarkably like bubblegum!!
The presentation alone makes this offering unmissable.
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| Our server adorns our can o cake tableside |
The
evening ended with the chance to speak with Chef Ed Cotton, a Top Chef
finalist. The conversation with him
really gave me the extra push of confidence I needed to charge at this next
chapter of my life full on. Cotton
previously worked for Todd English at the Massachusetts location of Figs. He provided words of encouragement and a few
pearls of advice. I am always so struck
my the generosity and collaboration between chefs. I am a fledgling member of the food world,
but Cotton and other chefs have graciously shared their knowledge with me.
Although
one of David Burke’s claims to fame is his takeout operation entitled “Burke in
a Box,” it seems that every trip to Fishtail has me thinking outside of the
box. It’s a place where I can consider
my future objectively, but also have the courage to embrace the passions that
propel me forward.
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