In New Jersey, we are proud to claim David Burke as one of our own. In addition to his extensive list of awards and accolades in the restaurant community, Burke is also known as a celebrity chef from his appearances on Top Chef Masters. Chef Burke has two restaurants in New Jersey, The Nauti Bar and Drifthouse.
We started our afternoon at the Nauti Bar, which is located right on the beach at the Driftwood Cabana Club. With gorgeous views of the ocean, it has a fantastic rustic beach & local bar vibe, but with an elevated food & drink menu. They have a great selection of pizzas, our favorite being the white clam dubbed the “Clam Digger’s” Pie. They also serve the epic “bacon on a clothesline” which is torched table side, allowing the bacon grease to drip down on to a pickle below. Yea, that's right! A bacon grease pickle, and yes, it is just as amazing as it sounds! The abundance of flat screen tvs in this bar makes it a favorite hangout on big game days throughout the year, while the beachfront location makes it a destination at the jersey shore in the warmer months.
Just a short walk from Nauti Bar, inside the Driftwood Cabana Club, you can have a completely different dining experience. Where Nauti Bar is relaxed and casual, Drifthouse is elegant and formal. This romantically lit, stylish dining room creates the perfect ambiance for a date night or celebratory dinner. The appetizers, which include surf and turf dumplings and salmon pastrami are as inventive as they are delicious. Main courses such as the bison short rib with truffle mousse and the hand cut squid ink linguini fra diavolo with lobster, clams and calamari feature fresh ingredients and sophisticated cooking techniques.
As filling as the main course can be, dessert should not be missed. Pastry Chef Stuart Marx has created something truly special with his toasted coconut layer cake, a recipe that he guards closely and with great reason! With this dessert, Marx has mastered the perfect balance of flavor; the coconut is not overpowering & the cake is not too sweet. After biting into this cake, it is clear that this has been a recipe perfected over many years.
Check out our video from the Nauti Bar & Drifthouse below. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with our food and travel adventures!