Best Thing We Ate Last Night: Eli Collins’ Veggies at DBGB

By Kirsten Stamn

In a continuation of the perfect Franco-American marriage, prolific restaurateur Daniel Boulud’s more “casual” concept over on Bowery, DBGB Kitchen and Bar, has been seeing the fruits of its new executive chef’s labors. We dropped by to try some new dishes from Eli Collins, who previously sliced and diced in Philadelphia before working his way up the ranks at DBGB. He's keeping with his heritage while also upping the ante on classic dishes, including a silky smooth cauliflower flan, Long Island duck, and whole hog.

Yet despite its meat-centric attitude, it would be remiss to overlook its Greenmarket selections, where veggies take the spotlight. “We’re trying to buy all our produce from local markets, from Long Island,” Collins says. “We’re trying to keep our flavors as local and whole as possible.” The wonderfully bitter grilled escarole with sauerkraut dressing and cubed wine-hued beets, paired with a perfectly spiced charred onion yogurt sauce, are a strong testament to this simplistic mindset.

Collins, who took over his new post in August, “isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel.” Based on our sampling of the fare, that plan sounds just fine.