DBGB Dinner

Mike and I will not be spending Christmas together. We have actually never spent a Christmas together in the, almost, four years we have been dating. But this year is proving to be the hardest.

Besides the excitement of Christmas morning and the gift giving, we will also miss out on sharing dinner together. I'm not sure if you've realized this by now, but food is a big deal in my life.

So we decided to make reservations at a restaurant we have both been extremely excited to try - DBGB Bar & Restaurant. A restaurant with an extensive beer menu, comfort foods like sausage and hamburgers sounded like a perfect fit for the two of us.

The restaurant has an open kitchen and we were seated right in front of the pastry kitchen, which was an added bonus. I swear I did not tell them I work at Gramercy. We made our beer selections, our food selections, our dessert selections.

As an appetizer, Mike had the matzo ball soup and we shared one of the sausage selections. I can't remember the name of the sausage, only that one of the ingredients was pig's head (this took some convincing on Mike's part), and it was served over cream mashed potatoes. And it was delicious.

For my entree, I ordered a burger on a brioche bun, with pig belly, arugula, cheese and tomato. It was served with perfectly crisp french fries, presented in a little brioche baking pan. My meal was phenomenal - I loved that the burger was not enormous, the actual burger was 6 ounces, so I could really enjoy all the flavors.

Mike ordered two sausages as his main meal. Again, I do not remember all of the ingredients, but one was spicy and the other was a little smokier. He let me taste a bite of each - the spicy was my favorite. Mike did not want to take a photo of his food, an extra step before digging in, which is why his photo is blurry. But you get the idea.

We probably would have been just as happy to skip dessert, but I feel that it is important for me to try desserts at some of the better restaurants in the city. Research. All in the name of research.

We did, however, decide to split a dessert. We settled on a chocolate mocha ice cream sunday, with brownies, chocolate chip cookies and whipped cream. We enjoyed coffee on the side.

After a filling meal, it was time to venture back outdoors, into middle of the snowstorm.

It may not have been a traditional Christmas dinner, but it left me with the same feelings - warmth, comfort, fullness and love.