A few weekends ago I was invited to join a couple of friends at ABC Kitchen – a place I had been dying to go for quite a while now. I used to work a few blocks from the restaurant, which is located within the AMAZING home goods store, ABC Carpet & Home. The store has the most amazing collection of chandeliers – I can often be found standing below them with a glimmer in my eye juts wishing I could bring one home... then the salesperson turns to me and tells me I either need to purchase one or take my creepy self away before she calls security. Ah, the life of a dreamer.
Back to the food... To begin with, it was a pretty big deal that we could even get a table at ABC Kitchen considering reservations are usually booked weeks in advance. To give you an idea, you can ask for a reservation a month prior to your requested date and my friend called exactly 30 days prior to our dinner and the earliest time she could get was 10pm. So, even though I had been at a work event since 6:30 that morning and thought I would be dead by 10 that night, there was no way I was passing up the opportunity.
In accordance with the store it's housed in, the restaurant is decorated with fantastic pieces that give an eclectic yet homey feel to the dining room. The lighting is kept low, the chairs and tables are perfectly simplistic and all of the dinner plates, silverware and glasses on each table are different, providing an almost rustic vibe (nevermind that the plates probably cost $50 each). I truly think it is one of the most expertly designed dining spaces in Manhattan.
Unfortunately, I can't speak so highly of the food. Everything we ate was wonderful, of course, but nothing stood out to me in the way I had hoped. Now, I have to caveat this by saying that I don't think we ordered the best dishes on the menu. I was with two friends who don't have the most adventurous tastes and since we decided to order multiple small dishes and share, I think this might have altered the experience.
We kicked the meal off with Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli, which was actually one of the best parts of the meal. The crab was piled high on thick-cut bread and was a wonderfully decadent way to start the evening. We then had a squash dish that was good, but not memorable, and a ravioli that was topped with a classic yet flavorful tomato sauce. Of course, I recommended that we order brussel sprouts and while they were good, they weren't anything I haven't had elsewhere. My favorite part of the meal was a Black Mission Fig, Arugula and Ham Salad, which combined simple ingredients in a way that was executed in the most spot on fashion. The way each of the flavors complemented each other was spectacular. Honestly, one of the best salads I have ever had.
Okay, I know it sounds like I actually had quite an amazing meal, and I did, I guess I was just expecting to be blown away, and, unfortunately, I wasn't. I do hope to go back though – there are too many amazing sounding dishes on the menu not to give it another chance.
One of the most exciting parts of the night was that the chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, came out from the kitchen and sat with friends at the table next to us. It was amazing to see such a talented man drinking wine and laughing with good friends. If we had been smart, we would have demanded the waiter bring us everything that was being served at that table!
This is the worst picture ever, but I had to stealthily snap Jean-Georges
sitting five feet from me! Can you see him in his white chef outfit??
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