DBGB is located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, on
Bowery where it intersects with East 1st Street. The restaurant
concept is French brasserie/American tavern with a focus on Lyonnais-inspired
bistro cooking. The restaurant’s name is a play on CBGB, the shuttered punk-rock club that
once operated in the same location.
Daniel Boulud is the chef/owner of DBGB. Boulud was raised on a farm outside of Lyon,
France, and was trained by renowned French chefs, beginning in his teenage
years. He owns several restaurants world-wide, with the greatest concentration
in Manhattan, including Daniel (which once held 3 Michelin stars, but currently
holds only 2 stars), db Bistro Moderne, Boulud Sud, Café, Boulud, Bar Boulud, Epicerie
Boulud, and DBGB.
DBGB is located in a large industrial space, with two main
dining areas. The front dining area (the “bar room”) houses (surprise!) the
bar, as well as closely spaced wooden tables and offers a more casual café feel.
The back half of the restaurant contains the main dining room, with both booth
and table seating. The booths toward the right perimeter of the room (which
seat 4 to 6 people comfortably) are somewhat private, each with a high curved
back and set into a sort of alcove. Floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with the
restaurant’s own tools, serveware, wines, and cooking ingredients partition the
perimeter booths from the rest of the main dining area. The shelves also
contain coat hooks for storing outerwear, which adds additional privacy to the
booths. Most interestingly, the top shelf surrounding the main dining room
holds copper pots and vessels (molds, cauldrons, roasters) that once belonged
to famous chefs – each piece is marked with the name of the chef who donated it
(for example, Alain Ducasse, Thomas Keller, and Eric Ripert). Super-soft brown
leather covers the booths, which lends a luxurious feel to the seating. The
left and rear perimeter of the room contains openings that lead to the kitchen,
so it is possible to glimpse a peek into various work areas. The restaurant has
a private dining space in the kitchen where up to 18 guests can watch the chefs
work. In the warmer weather, you can dine al fresco on the sidewalk. Three
unisex restrooms are located on the main level at the rear of the restaurant. In
winter, DBGB erects a canvas vestibule to protect diners in the bar room from
the harsh weather on the street.
The draw of DBGB for us was the 12 varieties of house-made
sausages and the 20 different beers on draft (with many more beers offered by
the bottle). We shared the charcuterie board as an appetizer, which came with
four different components: rillette, pate, house-cured sliced meat, and a small
salad, served with toasted baguette slices. As our main course, we shared three
small plates of sausage: Beaujolais (pork, mushroom,
onion, bacon and red wine sausage, accompanied by lentils), Boudin Basque
(blood sausage served atop creamy mashed potatoes), and Tunisienne (lamb & mint merguez served with spinach and chickpeas).
For dessert, we ordered the walnut creme tart and the chef’s selection of five
cheeses (accompanied by chewy bread and candied walnuts).
If you plan to dine with eight friends, you can pre-order
the “whole hog” meal, which is accompanied by a vegetable tart, signature
salad, Lyonnaise potatoes, Brussel sprouts, and a whole suckling pig (stuffed
with chard, tomatoes, and mushrooms) for $525. Add another $200 for unlimited
beer, or $300 for signature whiskey. It would be fun to try a large format meal
with a big group!
We have been trying to dine at DBGB for years, but we never
found ourselves there at the right time until now. It was worth the wait! We
enjoyed trying the delicious variety of meats and cheeses, served by a professional
and knowledgeable staff. DBGB is a nice compliment to Boulud’s other
restaurants and deserves a visit if you find yourself on the Lower East Side.
