Red Horse by David Burke, White Plains, New York, USA

We first experienced Chef David Burke’s creative cuisine when we flew to New York City for business in 1995 and had dinner at the Park Avenue Café and took his cookbook, Cooking with David Burke of The Park Avenue Café by David Burke and Carmel Berman Reingold, home to commemorate and try to recreate some of his fabulous recipes. Ten years later, we had dinner at his own restaurant, david burke & donatella (with Donatella Arpaio in 2003), and once again were impressed with his exceptional cuisine and creativity including his now famous “David Burke’s Cheesecake Lollipop Tree.”

A graduate of the prestigious culinary school, The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Chef David Burke has been honored with numerous culinary awards for his achievement throughout the years. Although referred to as “The Culinary Prankster,” make no mistake, while his cuisine is whimsically presented, the flavor combinations, techniques, and delivery are spot on perfection. He honed his culinary craft working alongside some of the culinary giants including Charlie Palmer, Waldy Malouf, Pierre Troisgros, and George Blanc, to name but a few, however his creativity is purely his own.

Throughout the years, Chef David Burke has opened many restaurants, which we have dined at, and have cheered his success as a chef, as well as a restauranteur. His company David Burke Hospitality Management (DBHM) now has restaurants in New York City, Long Island, Saratoga Springs, White Plains, New York, several restaurants in New Jersey in Bernardsville, East Brunswick, Fort Lee, Keansburg, Morristown, Rumson, Sea Bright, South Orange, Union Beach, West New York, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. His dedication and passion are still inspiring.

When we attended Westchester Magazine’s Wine & Food Festival 2023 in June in Valhalla, New York, Chef David Burke was one of the top chefs there, and we learned about his new restaurant, Red Horse by David Burke, and could not wait to experience it. By the way, foodies, if Westchester Magazine’s Wine & Food Festival is not on your culinary calendar, it should be!

We finally had dinner at his new restaurant, Red Horse by David Horse, located in The Opus Westchester, in White Plains, New York on Friday, December 15, 2023, and the wait was worth it. Described as a “Modern American Steakhouse and Sushi Bar” the restaurant is visually stunning with its horse themed décor, high ceiling, and wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. White leather chairs flank dark wood tables with Himalayan salt votives softly illuminating the guests.

The menu is divided into For The Table, Oysters & Shrimp, Appetizers, Sides, Mains, Steakhouse with DB “Salt Aged” Beef* (David Burke Himalayan Salt Ageing: Patent US 7,999,517 B2), and Weekly Specials: Monday – Rack of Lamb, Tuesday – Cracklin’ Pork Shank with Firecrackers Apple Sauce, Wednesday – Halibut T-Bone Steak, Thursday – Dover Sole, Friday – Veal Chop & more Dover Sole, Saturday – Lobster, and Sunday – Chef’s Creation.

Cocktails – Horse With No Name and Dream Catcher

The restaurant has an exceptional wine by the bottle menu as well as wines by the glass. They also have an inspired Craft Cocktail menu, and we began our evening with Horse With No Name, a delicious mélange of Bulleit Bourbon, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, orange bitters, and raspberry jam, and Dream Catcher made with Case Mexico Blanco Tequila, Campari, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, orange bitters, and simple syrup, and garnished with a dehydrated slice of orange and sliced jalapeno. Both were well-crafted, balanced, and the perfect introduction to the bar’s style.

Chef David Burke’s whimsical and delectable approach to food came through in the For The Table section, with the presentations of the Bread Service with gruyere popovers stacked with jalapeno corn bread and accompanied by sweet butter, radishes, and grapes, and the Clothesline Bacon, which was bacon with a black pepper maple glaze, hanging from its own wooden “clothesline” complete with clothes pins, presented with a large scissor so that diners could cut their bacon off the line. Delicious, fun, and interactive.

Lobster Dumplings

We continued with an order of Lobster Dumplings from the Appetizers section, which arrived as a trio of tender lobster filled dumplings nestled on a pool of chili oil, tomato miso, crispy basil, and preserved lemon, which was over the top fabulous.

Seared Ginger Black Pepper Salmon

From the Mains section, we had the Seared Ginger Black Pepper Salmon presented with Brussel sprouts, rainbow carrots, and garlic chili sauce, and the DB Chicken with Mushroom Farrotto with butternut squash and wild mushroom. Both courses were beautifully presented and had creative ingredients with deft melding of textures and flavors that excelled at showcasing the “main events” the salmon and the chicken. We paired our main courses with the restaurant’s Hipster Fries from the Sides section of the menu. Presented in a red cookie tin on an industrial size coffee filter, the perfectly seasoned fries were dusted with parmesan, and mixed with shishito peppers. (Hipster Fries normally come with fries, bacon, shishito peppers, and parmesan, however we had requested no bacon for our order.)

DB Chicken

The restaurant has an excellent selection of mouthwatering desserts, and we finished our dining experience with one of their Shareable Desserts, the Strawberry & Banana Sfogliatelle “Lobster Tail” which was flaky crispy pastry filled with toasted coconut cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce, and accompanied by raspberry coulis. This too, was interactive, presented with a large cleaver to slice the pastry, and two small saucepans filled with raspberry coulis and toasted crunchies. Paired with steaming cups of espresso, it was the perfect finale to an exceptional dining experience at Red Horse by David Burke.

Strawberry & Banana Sfogliatelle “Lobster Tail”

There were so many interesting items on the menu that we saw being delivered to other tables, that we look forward to returning to the restaurant to experience some of them including the Pork Chop with Portuguese Clams Casino, Bison Short Ribs with Chow Fun Noodles, the Crispy “Johnny Hong Kong” Lobster, and of course a few selections from the Steakhouse section of the menu.

The hallmark of an excellent restaurant is not only dependent on the skill of the chef, but it also begins in the front of the house and continues with the service team. We dined at the restaurant on a busy Friday night when we had the opportunity to experience the restaurant in full swing, and the service was spot on. Kudos to Red Horse by David Burke.

Until next time, Bon Appetit!

Restaurant Hours: Dinner: Sunday through Thursday from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday from 5:00 pm until 10:00 pm, Lunch: Thursday through Saturday from 12:00 pm until 3:00 pm, Sunday Brunch: from 11:30 am – 3:00 pm, and Daily Happy Hour: from 3:00 pm until 6:00 pm.

Parking Information: The Opus Westchester offers valet parking for Red Horse by David Burke.

For more information, please visit the website: www.redhorsebydb.com/restaurant-white-plains/

There is always something interesting happening at the restaurant so be sure to check out the website under “Events.”

Upcoming Special Events:

New Year’s Eve 3-course Prix Fixe by David Burke
First Seating: 5 to 8 PM.- $100 per person
Second Seating: 9PM – $125 per person – Includes a glass of Champagne and Ringing in the New Year.

(Please note: On New Year’s Eve, The Square is blocked off and the only way into the restaurant is through Hamilton Ave.)

For more inforation, please visit the website –www.RedHorsebydb.com/Restaurant-White-Plains

Christmas and Christmas Eve Dinner, 3-Course Prix Fixe Dinner

Weekly Event:

Monday Burger Night, $30, DB Cheeseburger, Salad & French Fries, Glass of Red Horse Wine, Prosecco, or Draught Beer

Red Horse by David Burke at The Opus Westchester
221 Main Street
White Plains, New York 10601-3202
United States
Telephone: +1-914-467-5500
Email: whiteplains@redhorsebydb.com
Website: www.redhorsebydb.com/restaurant-white-plains/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/redhorsebydb.whiteplains
Instagram: www.instagram.com/redhorsebydb_whiteplains/
@Redhorsebydb_whiteplains
@chefdavidburke

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