#19 – ANTS ON A LOG at DAVID BURKE KITCHEN

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

Celery, peanut butter, and raisins. Who’d think such a combination would work? But anybody of the last few generations know that ants on a log are a brilliant snack that are both nutritious and delicious. Unfortunately, I can’t really say the same thing about David Burke’s updated version.

David Burke likes to take our ideas about food and turn them on their head. His restaurants were all the rage about a decade ago, but now the premise is sort of wearing thin. Earlier this year he opened up a new locavore restaurant in the James Hotel on the outskirts of Soho. The one dish that struck my eye (and many of the critic’s palettes) was the Ants on a Log. Instead of celery he uses a bone with the marrow exposed, peanut butter becomes parsley butter, and the raisins are replaced by escargots. It sounds very playful and brilliant but ultimately it didn’t do much for me.

My biggest problem was that this may have looked like that childhood favorite, but none of the flavors or textures were even remotely close. All of the components were so rich and decadent that it became overwhelming to eat. The parsley butter was even on the bland side, not even the addition of Pernod could bring it to life. The only thing I really enjoyed were the butter drenched escargots that slightly reminded me of the texture of raisins. But there was no sweetness here, no crispness, and no peanut buttery goodness.

Perhaps I missed the point. Even as a dish that bared no resemblance to ants on a log, it still didn’t really work for me – it was all decadence with no relief.  Or maybe it’s because the rest of the appetizers we tried worked so well that by the time we got to this dish, my palette was exhausted. I especially liked the delicate lobster soup with two tender lobster dumplings. The angry octopus with white beans and chorizo and the pretzel crab cake were both playful and full of flavor.

It was just this one dish that really disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high or maybe I just really have a soft spot for the actual ants on a log and am overprotective of that name. Now can someone please bring those familiar flavors back for this hungry adult?

Would David Burke Kitchen’s Ants on a Log make my Top 100 of the year? I felt the inspiration was lost earning this a 5 out of 10 since the dish was overly rich and did not live up to its name.