Has anyone been to the new David Burke restaurant in Sea Bright? It opened in February and I haven’t talked to one person who’s been there. Wondering if it’s any good.
Not a lot of love for Burke here on the board. Personally I won’t eat there even with @NotJrvedivici 's money.
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Yup, that’s why I asked. My experience at the Fromagerie was less than stellar.
Went there on a rainy Sunday night a few weeks ago. The place was almost empty. Had octopus and chorizo for appetizer, squid ink pasta with seafood and scallops with octopus as main courses. All of the dishes were quite enjoyable. My husband insisted on getting baked Alaska for desert, which was a big mistake. It was soooo sweet, to the point of inedible.
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Just saying - FWIW - Yelp hates them. Shoddy service and poor value. Many speculate they will only last a season.
Someone reached out to my blog a few weeks ago (I think it was his PR person; a female) offering to have me dine, presumably for free, so I could write about the place on my blog. I thanked her and said I would consider it in the future but have yet to try to make it happen. I’m just not chompin’ at the bit for any of Burke’s stuff.
Also, When PR people need to reach out to food bloggers, that’s a bad sign.
Especially to me, with an audience of about 5 readers. 
I didn’t know how many readers you have, but yes – that too.
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Just realized I never posted about my visit here…it was a spur-of-the-moment thing; I had been up in Atlantic Highlands with a friend and as we were headed south, he pulled in and said I had to see the view from here and that they had a good happy hour, so in we went.
At 5:30 (ish) on a beautiful Saturday, the bar was 75% full–we easily found seats and the staff was lovely from start to finish. Their HH offerings were fairly substantial–ribs and tacos got our vote–and there were decent drink prices (more on that in a minute). The ribs were tasty and I found the sauce a bit to sweet, but no objection to the serving size. The tacos (skirt steak) were small and the meat was also a bit tough–as in, I had to tear it with my teeth; not the prettiest sight when you’re in a restaurant! I’d certainly go back but would try some of the other options. The breadsticks and MUSTARD OIL (omg) were fantastic, and the complimentary popovers were also delicious. I ordered a Tito’s and soda and my friend had a beer; when we got the check, I was surprised that my drink was full price–turns out the HH is for house brands only. NOT a big deal but it would have been nice if the bartender had told me when I ordered, but oh well.
As I said, not bad, and I’d give it another chance. Nice to be able to drive up/down Ocean Ave again!
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Thanks for the report, Curlz. Been meaning to try it out since the conversion from Ama, which was pretty decent too. Didnt love Burke’s Fromagerie (hard to follow in the Peter brothers’ footsteps there), but i can remember the cake lollipops as a guilty pleasure.
Speaking of Ama, next time keep going south a few more miles and give Trama in Long Branch a shot (tho something tells me you already have). Isn’t cheap, but the food is consistently excellent. Staples for me are the mussels (oh the mussels with the already-added soaked bread chunks!), the shaved artichoke salad, and whatever risotto is on the menu. And speaking of guilty pleasure, the garlic bread, yum. But really everything is great!
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I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t been to Trama yet… that’s for a thread about not having friends or dates who care about food like I do! But thanks for the reminder; there are a bunch of spots I need to get to–and now that the weather is getting cooler, I’m thinking about another dinner at Drew’s, too. 
Next time you have to bring @gracieggg husband with you, he’ll get the HH discount!! (I’m waiting for Burke to chime in to chastise you for questioning their HH rules!!! lol) Anywho…after Burkes bizarre drunken exploits at the Fromagerie, I have no interest in supporting his brand. (I was at Fromag one night at the bar and witnessed his very bizarre behavior which I could only attribute to being drunk. His face was so bright red I was literally concerned he might stroke out)
I’ve got to be honest, while I see so much love for Trama’s in Long Branch, my experience at Trama’s One Willow was so bad, I don’t know if I could bring myself to Long Branch to give it a try. It’s been on my radar for ever, but One Willow was just bad.
Yes, it’s turning into Drew’s weather for me. I can’t eat there in the summer, it’s a fall winter menu/place for me!
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We’ve had many exceptional experience at Trama’s. I encourage you to suck it up. Trama’s at One Willow just revamped their menu to include several of Trama’s signature dishes, such as the mussels. Hopefully, they’re working on upping the game at TaOW.
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I’ll be your date
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Be aware the “NEW” cheese tuna burger is as awful as it sounds, and the $36 price tags makes it even worse 
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Do tell more about the lobster please, looks interesting.
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Crab meat stuffed broiled, hefty veal chop, bay scallops, clothesline bacon…(paid extra for that). Missing is the short rib ravioli on a bed of wilted spinach and the tin can chocolate cake with walnuts, heath bar crunch, caramel sauce with freshly whipped cream and vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone bowl. Three tums night.
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