In My Prime

Celebrity chefs seem to love casinos...for whatever reason, they seem to be a cohesive unit.

Not many people have ever heard of David Burke. He isn't on television as much as Bobby Flay and may not have the name recognition of Wolfgang Puck, however, after the experience at David Burke Prime in Foxwoods, I firmly believe his relative anonymity has led to a more creative and fun experience than his counterparts (cow upholstered seating) which finally lead to, quite possibly, the most entertaining dessert Busters has ever covered.


The focal point of David Burke Prime is it's steaks and wine selection. Busters visited the high end steakhouse during the lunch period, which offered a less traditional menu than perhaps the dinners might evoke.

The wine rack in the middle of the restaurant is a gorgeous symbolic gesture that lets customers know that even though they might not have heard of David Burke, there will be no "slacking" when it comes to the decor, service, and most importantly, the food.


And speaking of the food...to start, the obligatory carbohydrate was served before the appetizer. When seeing the bread being served in a small baking pan, I couldn't help but smile at the creativity.

However, things did not start off on a good note. The bread, albeit very good looking, did not translate into a good taste. First off, it was more of a croissant which is lighter interior but also, much less tasty than say a dinner roll. I guess that would not have been a big deal because butter makes everything better. Yet, the interior of the bread puff had a sort of slimy texture...almost a mixture of undercooked and possibly the moisture from the hot bread hitting the cold air of the room. Either way, the bread was the lowest point of the meal but it did get better...much better.

Above is the appetizer...surf and turf dumplings. The surf was a lobster dumpling with lemon chive and butter. As you can see, each side of the dish featured it's own sauce. What I loved about this dish right off the bat was the presentation. Lobster claws stick out of the top of the dumpling to indicate which side is which. The lobster was good but the turf side was even better. The turf was a barbecued and cheddar short rib over BBQ. The whole dish was great. The dumpling was boiled to perfection where it had the right type of firmness to hold the interior but soft enough to eat. Not typical steakhouse fare.

I saw just below the appetizers a little note saying, "Make sure you try a signature Can-O Cake" (because it takes twenty minutes to prepare)...I didn't think much of it and moved on to the main course.



Above is a chicken and shrimp BLT. The sandwich is served open-faced and features a bun (obviously), two generous helpings of chicken, tomato, lettuce, bacon (unbelievable), chipotle mayo, and caramelized onions.

This dish was fantastic. The most jarring taste is the bacon...which is real, real bacon. I think the bacon at David Burke's tops Bobby Flay's in terms of taste and thickness. It was just the right blend of sweet and salty. It was so real that it wasn't even like the bacon you're used to...it was almost like a really sweet jerky...plainly put, get down there simply for the bacon (oh, and we forgot to mention that it was at least a 1/2 inch thick). The chicken was moist and tender. The shrimp was also fresh and thick. What was great is that the shrimp had a firmness to it indicating it had been chilled on ice in the kitchen. This really makes a big difference...it still was very moist but when you bit into it, it had a sturdy crunch that sometimes is missing from shrimp if you leave it out too long.

After plates had been cleared...we had to ask.

"What's the Can-O cake?"
The bartender smiled. "It's like...you know the German tins...it's like a cake cooked in that with fresh..." He rambled on but I was sold by the mere idea it came with a German tin that you could take home with you. Really...when was the last time you had a dessert like that?

The cake served six at a small cost $20, which isn't bad considering the portion. The twenty minute countdown began.

I saw the bartender come around the corner and place on my table the most peculiar thing I have ever been given at a restaurant...a nice 'tip of the cap' to baking at home.
That's right...up above is the actual whisks to the cake batter...remember when you used to lick them off after you made the batter? That's exactly what's called for here. To save myself embarrassment, I just tried a little of the batter puddling at the bottom of the dish with a spoon. However, certainly not what anyone could have expected at a high end steakhouse such as this...yet, there was something that made you feel very comfortable simply because the gesture seemed to have so much thought behind it.

Finally, the cake was rolled out...yes...ROLLED out and garnished table side. Let's go through the process:

1. Bartender Tim dumps a fresh slab of the BUTTER-SCOTCH CREAM-CHEESE FROSTING onto the freshly baked chocolate cake. To the side, there is vanilla ice cream, which is put on later. See below for another picture of him icing the cake.
2. Put the Heath Bar mixture on top.


3. Cut and Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream and Fresh Whipped Cream
4. Think of the dessert this way...it's the best brownie sundae you will ever have. The lava cake was unbelievable sweet, hot and delicious. The cream cheese a nice balance and, surprisingly, the heath bar works very well. The whipped cream is whipped fresh and it has an airy texture to it...very good. Here's the leftover after giving some away to the bartender and some patrons at the bar.
Everything, minus the bread, at David Burke's Prime was fantastic. Most importantly, it was fun. I don't think I've had so much fun eating at a restaurant before. Ever meal that came out had such an AMAZING presentation that took careful construction and planning that it made the experience that much more entertaining. I dare say the presentation came close to overshadowing the food. And with a 15 dollar glass of wine added in, all of this only came to about 70.00 bucks without tip. I'm not sure my money would go as far is something like a Ruth Chris or Carmen Anthony's or even Bobby Flay Steak.


If you haven't ever heard of David Burke...it's time you get to know him better.

4 out 4 Belly Bustins

Wafels & Dinges

While finishing off the remnants of our meal at Bobby Flay’s restaurant, Bar Americain, the thought of dessert entered our minds because we didn’t want such a flavorful experience to end. Sitting at the table, waiting for the waiter to take away our licked clean dishes, I had been trying to think of this vending truck that drives around the city serving Belgian waffles to its customers. I had seen it featured on the FoodNetwork TV show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay (ironic). The discouraging thing was it was almost impossible to find, due to the fact that we had no idea what the truck was called and it has a set schedule of where it’s going to be located at certain times of the day. We decided that we had eaten enough fatty, cheesy, deliciousness to make ourselves feel guilty for the rest of the day, so we decided to pay our bill and walk off those calories in the city.

We step foot outside and wouldn’t you know. There it is, in all it’s glory, the Wafels & Dinges truck. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The odds that this truck would be parked outside of Bobby Flay’s restaurant, waiting for us to come outside and experience the Throwdown winning “wafels” baffled me. It clearly was fate.

I’d like to say that we walked up cool, calm, and collective, but the excitement took over and we ran up to the truck, like little children do up to the ice cream man, to completely ignore the guilt we had felt just moments ago, to indulge in this wafel bliss.

We stood in line, actually, not even in line, we were so indecisive because of the uniqueness of these wafel combinations, that we had to give ourselves some time to read over the menu a few times.

There menu included mini-wafelini’s (a wafel shish kabob with bananas and strawberries), wafel’s with ice cream on top, even wafel’s with pulled pork on top! You can even pimp your own wafel by ordering a WMD (Wafel of Massive Deliciousness) and pile on any dinges you’d like.

You might be asking yourself, “what are dinges?” Well, dinges is “Belgian for toppings or ‘whatchammacallits’.” The dinges included strawberries, bananas, belgian chocolate fudge, whipped cream, nutella, dulche de leche, walnuts, REAL maple syrup, butter, and the most magical dinges of them all….spekuloos spread.

This was the secret ingredient that took down the mighty Bobby Flay in the Throwdown Challenge. I had to have it.

The aroma coming from the wafel iron instantly made more room in my stomach for this masterpiece.

The wafel that I ordered was a Belgian wafel with spekuloos spread and whipped cream on top. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Holding it in my hand, I didn’t know how to go about eating it. There had to have been forks lying around somewhere, but my patience was wearing thin. I didn’t care how I looked eating it in front of hundreds of New Yorkers so I literally shoveled it in.

It...was...amazing. I shed a tear while eating the wafel. It absolutely lived up to my expectations of this creation. I now knew first hand why this particular wafel trumped Bobby Flay’s waffle. Just look at this presentation, how could it not win?

The first thing that I could taste was the infamous spekuloos spread. And again, you’re probably wondering what spekuloos spread is. It is a graham cracker tasting/Belgian cookie paste, with the consistency of peanut butter. The heat from the fresh wafel thawed out spekuloos into this melted goo. The whipped cream on top was an important dinges because it held everything together and prevented a complete spekuloos mess from happening. But a wafel bib might still be necessary. Yes, they do have them.

But don’t let that take away from the awesomeness of the wafel itself. The batter of the wafel was perfect. It alone had flavor that allowed me to understand why so many people just order it plain. It was warm and chewy just like a wafel should be.

Wafels and Dinges also has coffee and hot Belgian cocoa, so it really makes for a perfect after meal dessert. If you’re eating lunch or dinner at a surround restaurant, avoid having dessert so you can experience heaven in a yellow truck. It is a must find if you’re in the city.

Wafels and Dinges absolutely deserves 4 out of 4 Belly Bustin’s

If you’re in the city and wondering where the Wafels and Dinges truck is, you can locate the truck by visiting this link

http://www.wafelsanddinges.com/location.html

Pizzeria Marzano: The Closest Pizza To Italy

I took a trip to Italy a couple years ago and was amazed to find that their idea of pizza was unlike anything we know in New York or in Chicago. Italians idea of pizza is a personalized meal with huge tastes, fresh ingredients, and wood fired ovens.

"PIZZERIA MARZANO" in Torrington CT is a place where you get pizza closest to that of our Italian counterparts. The pizza place, located right across from Target on East Main Street, can not easily be spotted from the road but the sounds of the Italian music playing from the speakers outside will indicate your arrival. Strewn across the entrance way are white Christmas lights like something out of Little Italy in New York and a a quaint little patio.

I am always amazed by the places that are located so close to you (25-30 minutes from Waterbury) that you never heard of. Upon walking in, rightfully so, this is your first image:

The atmosphere already hinted at the notion that these guys knew what they were doing...marble and wood accent almost every piece of the restaurant and the owners took great pride in making sure that it was a place people would actually want to sit down and eat in. The whole place feels comfortable and sweet smell of pizza invades your every breath.

However, I still wasn't sure that this place would be everything I heard it would but as I began to watch them make the pizza, my expectations rose. Pizzeria Marzano only has one size...that's right...no small, medium, or large...just one personal sized pizza (all reasonably around 10 bucks). I ordered the Margherita and the Clams and Prosciutto. First off, the dough is unbelievable. It tastes like freshly baked bread.

As you can see, the pizza comes out of the oven piping hot (only taking about 3-4 minutes to cook). What makes this pizza absolutely fantastic is...IT ACTUALLY HAS GOOD SAUCE. So many times you will get a pizza and it seems like you're only eating cheese and dough. Not here...Pizzeria Marzano only uses SAN MARZANO tomatoes D.O.P. For those of you not familiar with San Marzano, they are a particular and more expensive tomato from the region of San Marzano Italy. You can find them in your local grocery store (Napoli has some great ones) but make sure it says D.O.P. on the can because that means it came directly from San Marzano (not like some per-pa-traitin tomatoes out there).


Above is the clam and prosciutto pizza. First of all...holy crap. Just unbelievably made. Starting from the bottom up, the dough is strong enough to hold in all the juice and butter from the clam and cheese. They throw some extra clams in the shell and ship it out. Prosciutto is a tough business because it is expensive and anyone who knows anything can tell when it's cheap. The prosciutto was fantastic...salty and tender, this is how it's supposed to be done.

Look, I know we've done some pizzerias in the past (BAR) and they were all very good, but this place in Torrington IS A MUST STOP if you want to get a taste of Italy. Everything about this little gem is well done--to the atmosphere, the food, and the idea that you're tasting pizza you can't get everyday.


4 out of 4 Belly Bustins

Best Breakfast Ever

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day...it also happens to be so versatile. Steak? Sure. Whipped cream with fruit? Okay, fine. Guacamole, sour cream, beans placed on top of eggs...no problem.

Yet, I prefer the good classics...the symbol of manhood...two eggs, bacon, toast, and homefries. There is no meal that so combines all the splendors of breakfast (besides the pancake) onto one dish.

That being said, while Belly Busters was out doing the FDR Challenge, after a long night of booze and tomfoolery, we happened to stumble upon the greatest breakfast I have ever had...at the Blue Sky Cafe in Bethlehem PA



It's like your good ole' coffee shop that happens to have a grill in the middle of the joint with tables scattered all around. Why was it so good? The great selections of different kind of breakfast items yet having the basics down so well, I can say that it simply was the best. For example, one of us ordered this:

Above is the sweet potato quesadilla, a favorite among the staff. On top of the tortilla are scrambled eggs with dabs of shredded cheese and beans with sour cream to top it off. At first, this may seem slightly unappetizing. Yet, once you taste the sweetness of the potato and the cheese, you'll quickly be wondering why this hasn't been done before.

On top, is the more traditional breakfast and simply put: this was the best eggs, homefries, and toast I have ever had...even though the bacon was delicious, there does exist better. But why you ask? It's just a normal breakfast. First off, the eggs were cooked perfectly...but perfectly, there was not one grill mark on any part of the egg. The homefries were mixed with peppers, hot sauce, onions, and topped with cheese...unbelievable. The toast...here's where simple things go a long way. The toast was thick...probably about an inch or so. Along with the eggs, there was not one grill mark on them--it was as if (and probably so) someone focused solely on making my breakfast perfect and there wasn't ten other orders they were thinking about.



Anyway, if you happen to be in Bethlehem PA (which you probably won't)...definitely check this place out and get the best breakfast you'll ever have.

4 out of 4 Belly Bustins'

THE FDR CHALLENGE

In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, there isn't much. A college, a couple run down bars that mirror the once powerful steel-mill. However, small sparkles of hope are glittered around the town. One of them being the new Sands Casino; the other, Roosevelt's 21 and the FDR Challenge.




Roosevelt's 21 is a small sports bar with a huge item on the menu that forced Belly Busters to go down there and attempt the challenge. The FDR Challenge consists of: three 1/2 pound burgers, slices of pork, with LTB (lettuce, tomato, bacon) and onion with spicy mayonnaise...oh, not to mention 1.5 pounds of chili cheese fries. Plainly put, the burger is absolutely massive and very delicious.





The challenge is reminiscent of Sliders BUT with one difference: the food tastes much better and the chili-cheese fries proves to be more of a difficulty to fight through. Were we able to do it in under 30 minutes to get the free meal?

Unfortunately, no...but it still was fun to look at. The taste was great but after the first burger, it was difficult to fight through, especially with the fries that still loomed in the distance.



Still it was a fun time and provided laughs for not only us, but the waitress staff and a couple locals...isn't that what really counts?

Dot Marks the Spot

The pancake has been around since the medieval period; it was originally made as an item that used up all the store items before lent. Over time, it has become part of the world cuisine with the French using "crepes", the Asians having many variations, and even the Australians who use it more as an afternoon tea-time snack.


The culmination of centuries of refinement have landed right down in Woodbury, Connecticut at Dottie's Diner (previously known as "Phillips"). As soon as you walk in, you will be greeted by the line of patrons who are waiting for a table, but usually, the counter has plenty of space. Behind the array of people, the Doughnut booth resides. Quite possibly the best doughnuts you may ever eat, Dottie's gives a sneak-peak at what is in store for their pancakes (which uses the same batter).

Busters ordered the short stack plain pancakes with a side of bacon. When going to a place for the first time, always try to get what they are best known for in the purest form. The pancakes were grilled to absolute perfection; the top was browned long enough as to hold the inside firmly in place but the inside, was smooth, soft, moist and cake-like, creating a perfect contrast. You can tell there is a hint of Cinnamon that really works well with the confectionery sugar. Plain and simple, delicious and elegant...the perfect American breakfast.


Again, look at the side of these of pancakes. How many times do you go into those cheap-ass diners and you get those paper-thin pancakes that taste like all griddle grease? NO! THIS is what a pancake should be...the thickness was about an inch and 1/2.

We also ordered real-maple syrup which was an interesting experience...real-maple syrup is much, much lighter (believe it or not) than the manufactured maple syrup. However, the sweetness factor is much more organic tasting.


All-in-all, if you live in Connecticut (which you probably do) and you love breakfast (which you probably do) and you love pancakes (which if you are alive you probably do), then you need to probably get down to Dottie's Diner in Woodbury and treat yourself to what a pancake should be.

3 Belly Bustins out of 4.

P.S. Look at next week when we go down to Bethlehem PA where PAUL BLOOODDD is going to attempt the FDR Food Challenge (3 1/2 pound burgers, 3 pork rolls, 3 fried eggs, 6 slices of bacon, lettuce, tomato, and 1.5 pounds of chili cheese fries in UNDER 30 minutes!)

The Kentucky Hot Brown

If you do not watch the Food Network and if you have never heard of Bobby Flay...shame on you. Flay is a Chef out of New York that hit huge success on television but it all began with his culinary skills on the grill with a fusion of Southwestern style. One of Bobby's restaurants (he has four different ones: Mesa Grill, Bar Americain, Bobby Flay Steak, and Bobby's Burger Palace) featured a decadent temptation that forced the crew to make the hike down to NYC and get our hands on the unique, delicious, and indulgent dish known as THE KENTUCKY BROWN. For Bobby Flay to create this dish in a high-end atmosphere is a testament to the philosophy Flay exhibits in every one of his menus: food that is exploding with taste and focus on the way textures combine together.

Bar Americain is a beautiful restaurant. If you get a chance, try the one in Mohegan Sun (even though the Kentucky Brown is a lunch item at the NYC locale, Mohegan only does dinner). It is slightly expensive with appetizers running from no lower than 16 dollars all the way up to 120 (not pesos folks) and about 10 or so entrees ranging from no lower than 26 dollars a piece. However, when you find something so unique as the Kentucky Brown, money should never be in your mindset.



The sandwich consists of this from bottom to top: piece of thick, egg-battered bread, turkey, an explosion of Gruyere cheese, beefsteak tomato (slightly grilled), and two pieces of extra thick bacon crossed off at the top. Essentially, it is an open faced turkey sandwich but like nothing you have ever tasted before. What really works here is the meshing of different textures starting at the very top...the BACON. Listen close, this bacon ain't the type of bacon you get at The Brass House...this stuff is REAL bacon--thick, fatty, and salty. The next bite you get to experience the sweet, juicy, and fresh taste of the tomato against the salty bacon. Paul commented that the tomato really made the difference...without it, it was difficult for your taste buds to distinguish each and every flavor (the reason why you're given Ginger at a sushi restaurant).

The turkey breast was moist, not dry, and was cut into slabs, not slices. The Gruyere cheese really made a difference as well. Gruyere is a cheese that is both creamy and nutty. Many chefs like to use it because it is a cheese that does not overwhelm the taste of other ingredients and is optimal for baking. Finally, the bread was thick, Texas-style french toast that was large enough to soak up the cheese and strong enough to uphold the rest of the toppings.

ALL IN ALL, if you are ever in New York and want to impress someone, take them here. If not, do try the one in Mohegan because dinner there is fantastic as well. Recommend the pizza for an appetizer and the Pork Chop entree. Ultimately, Bobby Flay gave me a reason to care about Kentucky.

4 out of 4 Belly Bustins