First and foremost, I want to congratulate ABC Kitchen for winning the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant on Monday night. For anyone that has eaten here (and there are many) you already know this award is more than well-deserved.
ABC is the brainchild of Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Phil Suarez, the same team which brought you the four-star Jean-Georges, Spice Market, Jojo, Mercer Kitchen, and about twenty other restaurants across the world. To lead the kitchen here, they tapped on the talent of Executive Chef Dan Kluger, formerly of Tabla and The Core Club, and who also was just recently honored as Chef of the Year by Time Out New York. With years of experience under his belt, Dan uses a very simplistic approach to his food, by masterfully combining flavor profiles of the freshest ingredients possible.
Tonight was my second time dining at ABC Kitchen, and like so many other diners, can’t stop raving about the experiences. The restaurant is beautiful. It has one of the sleekest looking bars in Manhattan, and a dining room which is blanketed in white. Everything looks so modern, so elegant, so clean. From the black & white artwork on the walls, recycled white tables and chairs, wooden beams which run through the dining room, and the handmade porcelain dinnerware. The FOH staff, all dressed in plaid shirts and jeans, are on point, welcoming everyone with warm smiles and attentive service. Even with a packed dining room your water glass will never remain empty for more than 30 seconds.
The restaurant commits itself to buying local, seasonal, organic, sustainable products, and every ounce of this passion comes through in the menu. I love to admit this to anyone, ABC Kitchen has made me fall in love with vegetables again. Now if I, a self-professed lover of pork and offal can say that, then it’s not hard to see why people love this restaurant so much. Not to say that the meat and fish dishes are not up to par, but I will happily go vegetarian for this restaurant any day of the week.
So lets get to the food. I must mention that I am refusing to post any pictures of the food because I’d much rather everyone see and taste everything first hand. The intensity of bright, vibrant colors jump off of every plate, and any amateur photos I take can’t possibly do the menu justice.
Chicken liver toast – Honestly, this dish is a lot like the chicken liver on toast which you can get at The Spotted Pig, but so much better. There is a very good amount of chicken liver spread upon the toast, but the main difference between the two restaurants is that the one offered at ABC Kitchen has a very noticeable and incredible vinegar bite to it. The vinegar takes the chicken liver to a whole new level, and the grilled toast which sits underneath completely rounds out the flavor. This dish is a must-try for anyone (that likes chicken liver of course).
Kaboucha squash on toast – Sadly, this dish is no longer on the menu for this season. I, like every person that was lucky enough to take a bite of this perfection, agrees that it was one of the best things you could ever taste. For those that haven’t tried it, I hope winter rolls around sooner for you. The squash was pureed and spread on the toast as smooth as peanut butter, with such an intense flavor it would be very hard for anyone not to fall in love.
Crab toast with lemon aioli – This toast contains some of the freshest crab you will ever taste. A small dollop of lemon aioli brings everything together. If you’re a seafood lover, this toast is incredibly refreshing.
Ramp and goat cheese toast – Omg. Wow. Just wow. I can’t even put into words how amazing this toast is. The ramps are pureed and spread on like a thick pesto, with an intensely strong clean flavor, only heightened by the addition of small specks of goat cheese. Just stop reading this and go taste it already. I won’t be mad.
If you haven’t noticed yet, yes I love all the “toasts” they do here at ABC Kitchen. They are all located under the first section of the menu labeled “Market Table”. I recommend trying all of them, as they are amazing starters to the meal.
Warm mozzarella – This is artisanal cooking at its best. House-made mozzarella, still warm from stretching, laid out in a small bowl with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. It is served with four pieces of grilled toast. If you’re a cheese lover, you will go head-over-heels for it.
Roasted beets with housemade yogurt – The freshness of the roasted beets is what makes this dish. This dish is good, but honestly needs a little more to brighten the flavor a little. The beets I tasted were just slightly overcooked, and while they had a very clean flavor, couldn’t help but get lost in a muddle of yogurt at the bottom of the bowl. It wasn’t the worst, but certainly not one of my favorites either.
Roast carrot and avocado salad – This salad has so many flavor components going on. The carrots are roasted with Moroccan spices (cumin and Aleppo pepper), and laid on a plate with a half slice of avocado. Fresh spring mix and a small amount of housemade sour cream finish the dish. The carrots have a spicy kick to them, mixed with the creaminess of the fresh avocado, and then offset by the textural component of “crunchy seeds”, as described on the menu. I honestly can’t remember which seeds they used at this time.
Pretzel-dusted calamari – This is probably the best calamari dish I have ever tasted, period. I love fried calamari, and am always so depressed when it is served to me soggy or just slightly crispy. This calamari is right on the money, with every piece perfectly crisp and flavorful. The marinara and mustard sauces served with it complement it so well. I recommend the mustard sauce, as it gives every bite a good kick.
Housemade ricotta ravioli – This dish is simplicity at its finest. Fresh pasta, stuffed with housemade ricotta cheese, served with a simple and perfectly executed tomato sauce. I could argue that the dish could use another level of flavor, but if I did that it would only take away from the beauty of what it is.
Cavatelli and spring vegetables – Spring in a bowl is how I’d describe this dish. Cavatelli pasta served with an abundance of English and snap peas, with small specks of salty guanciale, ramps, and pecorino cheese. The pasta was cooked a perfect al dente, and the small bites of guanciale are such a tasty treat.
Crispy pork belly – On my second visit, the kitchen was nice enough to send me and my dining companion a taste of this dish. I am going to take a moment and tell you how much I hate myself for not eating it. The pork belly had a beautiful bronzed crispy skin, and the soft velvety texture of the warm pig just fell apart over a sea of grilled ramps and the smoothest, silkiest mashed potatoes I have seen outside of Le Bernardin. By the time this dish hit the table I was getting full. I was only able to take two small bites of it before the server asked to take it away. That’s not the part that pissed me off. It was the fact that I didn’t ask the server to pack it for me. Not just for the fact to enjoy it at home later on, but I am so incredibly upset at the fact that animal died for no reason. Here it was, broken down, roasted, heated, crisped and sitting right in front of me, and then thrown into the garbage. Please, I beg you, do not ever make the same mistake I did.
That aside, I do hope you make it out to ABC Kitchen one day. It is hard as hell to get a reservation, but it’s with good reason. If you’re lucky enough to dine here, or even have a few drinks at the bar, you won’t be disappointed with anything. Now go. Eat. Enjoy.
ABC Kitchen
35 E 18th Street
New York, NY 10003
all the different toasts...me wants.
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