He grew up in working class suburban New Jersey. He became passionate about food as a kid in a Portuguese immigrant family where food was a focus including gardening, raising animals, and family bonding over food. I reviewed Louro last year, which I thought was great, where he is the chef on 10th Street near Greenwich Avenue, but did not speak much about the special things that happen there on Sunday and Monday nights.
After working at a number of restaurants including Bouley, Per Se, and the Ryland Inn, David started Um Segredo, a supper club that he created in his apartment and in fact used his following and acclaim in Kick Startto raise money to help establish Louro. The concept of a prix fixe tasting menu with a theme and with a good bit of David’s passion about food happens every Monday night at Louro and is called Nossa Mesa, and on Sunday nights, in a more limited way is more of a wine-themed dinner. Both these events encourage BYOB, allowing the wine to flow a bit more easily.
On a recent Monday night, David created a dinner in honor of his mother and her birthday. The food was a remembrance of the food with which he grew up with Portuguese accent, and included seven courses and dessert. Monday night is one seating and begins at about 7pm; it is not a quick dinner and is usually $65 a person. Highlights of the menu include a robust yet delicate Feijoada or bean and sausage casserole and tender rabbit confit served in its own juices over rice. The food, carefully served in very reasonable portions based on the number of courses, had a simplicity yet big flavor about it. The food was not over the top, not like another tasting dinner that I enjoyed which was Lobster meets Pork, in which every course incorporated both, sometimes leaving you a bit more topped off than you bargained for.
Started in March on Sundays, David is creating a dinner that has limited seating and is a bit more extravagant and designed to excite “BYOB-ers” who like enjoying their own finer wines in an easy and extravagant way. The events are designed to bring business to the restaurant on slower nights and at the same time, flex their muscles with David’s passion and prowess in the Kitchen. These days,local restaurants in the West Village especially, work within carefully planned formulas that often do not include the spontaneity or creativity that you refreshingly find at Louro.
