David Burke Townhouse, Upper East Side, NYC

Food: ☆☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆☆ ½

Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆

Cost: $$$

Dishes not to miss: Pretzel Crusted Crab cakes, Parfait of Big Eye Tuna and Salmon Tartare, Tuna Burger, Butterscotch Pannacotta, Cheesecake Lollipop Tree

Special notes: They have great lunch and weekend brunch specials. Their crab cakes and Tuna burger are the best I’ve ever had.

David Burke is the quintessential quirky chef and his Townhouse is the perfect culinary theater for his whimsical creations.

David Burke loves to have fun with food. In his culinary play, he whips up some eye popping, palate pleasing delights. Imaginative dishes go hand in hand with offbeat presentation. You have look at your food for a few moments before eating it, just to appreciate the ingenious art on the plate.

My favorites were:

Pretzel Crusted Crab cakes: crisped to perfection with the most unusual pretzel crust.

Parfait of Big Eye Tuna and Salmon Tartare: This dish has the most delicious combination of fish and different flavored dips. Eaten on a crunchy crostini – its heaven!

Tuna Burger: OMG!! What a concept. Superb chunks of tuna, shaped into a patty, sandwiched between two perfectly buttered English muffins – it was outstanding.

When it comes to desserts, David Burke in certainly the Willie Wonka of modern times. His famous Cheesecake Lollipop Tree is made up of flavored little cheesecake pops mounted on a tree-like candelabra with raspberries, leaves and bubblegum whipped cream. It’s a must try!

The whimsy theme permeates the dinning room at David Burke Townhouse. Every corner is filled with zany art like paintings of the Queen of Hearts, figurines of Humpty Dumpty, giant glass colored balloon floating in the middle of the room and so on.

They offer a phenomenal $24 prefix lunch menu and a $35 weekend brunch menu. These might just be some of the best deals in town!

Good fun and great food surrounds you at David Burke Townhouse…it’s all yours for the taking.

Here is some of what we ate: