Chef Dave’s
Every once in a while I find a restaurant that is so unique, so much fun and so delicious, I just can't wait to put it on Phantom Gourmet. And I think maybe this year my top spot is Chef Dave's in Chestnut Hill.
Chef Dave's is a beautiful little boutique restaurant. When people say a small I simply say it's not smallest exclusive. Well, we have a quite a selection on the menu for everybody. We take great pride in what we do here.
Chef Dave’s really has the feel of a private supper club. It's small, just a handful of bar seats and a handful of tables and everybody is looking around at each others food. A lot of them know Chef Dave. It's all people that just really love and appreciate great food.
If you are looking for that top quality, that unusual feel that just you just want to feel great vibe. Atmosphere music, cocktails, foods, your surroundings then I'm your guy. If that's not for you, this is not the place
David Welsh is Chef Dave and he is the chef and owner. You can see him examining every plate through that little window facing the kitchen. And he knows a lot of the customers and this guy really takes pride in what he does.
This is not your typical restaurant. Every meal is hand cooked by me. So I'm creating every dish in here for you. So it's like you coming into my home and I'm cooking for you. It has to be special.
If you've got a four top I think you should get the shrimp appetizer. There’s four of them so it's easy to share and it's made with his special marinade. Jumbo shrimp and real zesty lemon.
Those beautiful shrimp. They're nice big size. It comes with fresh lemon. My marinade is salt spices, so you're not going to get this anywhere unless you steal my seasoning.
Not many restaurants do ribs as an appetizer. The chef grills and smokes it at the same time then finishes it in the oven with a sweet hickory barbecue sauce. So you get that meaty rib with a little bit of sweetness. This dish is phenomenal.
They're succulent. They're juicy. They're very flavorful. They have my secret sauce. I started this recipe many years ago. And it just, I just perfected it. The rib is great. But the sauce is like you could drink it.
Chef Dave definitely takes pride in his crab cake. These are really all crab, very little breading. And it's served with a beer mustard aioli.
The beer mustard aioli is great. That has nice beer in the way that gives it a nice brightness to the crab with a little lemon with the crust of the panko. It is delicious.
To me a burger is a litmus test food. I mean it requires more creativity than a steak and also it shows me that the chef is not too full of himself. He wants to make stuff that people are going to really enjoy. Here they do a surf and turf burger….It's.. spectacular.
I use wagyu burger meat ground. I use fresh knucklemeat. We use applewood smoked bacon and we use fresh aged cheddar which is just fantastic on a toasted bun. When you bite into this thing you do a happy dance.
Some people say don't order chicken out of restaurant. I think that makes absolutely no sense and this is proof positive. This is roasted at a high heat so it's crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. It's also gigantic so you get it for dinner. I guarantee you'll have some leftover from lunch tomorrow.
The chicken is something you should definitely have. It comes with roasted potatoes, haricot verts. The chicken is just magnificent with the spices is juicy and is hot. It’s delicious.
The 22 ounce prime ribeye is made with sea salt and Dave's secret special spices and I am sort of an expert in the field. I will tell you this, this steak matches up against any of the fancy downtown steak houses.
The prime ribeye is seasoned with my special seasoning salts. It creates a nice crust on the steak. So you're getting all these complex flavors with a nice crust. It's just a really heavenly dish.
The Zaatar crusted rack of lamb is really delicious. But do me a favor. Get it medium rare or medium. If you get this thing well done. Chef Dave will do it but you'll see a little tear in his eye because this sort of meat should really not I'd be overcooked.
I prefer not to make it well done. Some people like well done but not unless you want the flavor. You want to be juicy. You want the flavor. So I would say medium rare. Or medium, the best way to have it.
You're going to be having so much fun at chef Dave's you're going to want to hang around for an Espresso Martini or a traditional Greek dessert that's been on the menu from day one.
The orange ravini. It’s light is lemony. It has almost like a custom cake with honey. It is delightful.
95% of the customers that chef's names are regulars, and I think it's 100% guarantee that if you come once you will become one of the 95% I just think this restaurant is so special. I want you to check out chef days in Chestnut Hill.
