Taste the mellow green-apple lobster bisque and those fabulous Asiago truffle fries and you’ll believe the real David Burke has been lurking nearby in this stainless-steel, smartly checkered canteen. There’s a doorman guarding the 59th Street entrance—open till 10 p.m. even when the store closes—and impressive wines, many by the half-bottle or glass (Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny at $18). Chunks of tuna and salmon tartare slathered with crème fraîche, and my market salad full of crunch and flavor, get our $29.95 prix fixe off to a good start. And the Road Warrior is happy enough with a smallish portion of garganelli pasta tossed with shrimp, tomato, and prosciutto. But the mac and cheese on our braised short ribs is a cheat: not much mac, and the wandering cheese inexplicably piled atop the juicy meat. I wonder what day the kitchen grilled the bird that’s on my chicken BLT with sweet garlic. It’s almost fossilized. Not that I wouldn’t come back. Sliders for lunch? Beef-and-sausage burger? All-natural cowboy chili? Pastrami-smoked salmon tart and “petite salad”? Yes. Yes. Stylish treats for the jaded shopper. This inspired upscaling of department-store feeding needs only a few therapeutic drop-ins from its peripatetic star chef.

David Burke at Bloomingdale's
1000 Third Ave., entrance on 59th St.; 212-705-3800

Related:

• Archive: “Ask Gael”
• Articles by Gael Greene
• Table of Contents: Feb 13, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!