French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and financier Phil Suarez have been making beautiful restaurant music together since 1991 when they collaborated on their first restaurant, JoJo. JoJo went onto earn three stars from the New York Times, securing the partnership, and resulting in the creation of such beloved New York City restaurants as Jean-Georges, Mercer Kitchen, Perry Street, and Spice Market. Twenty years later, at ABC Kitchen, it’s clear that Jean-Georges and Suarez still have a few guns left in their arsenal—ABC Kitchen just received a best new restaurant nomination from the James Beard Foundation, and Phil Suarez received his own nod for outstanding restaurant group.
Located in the mammoth ABC Carpet & Home on 19th Street in Gramercy, ABC Kitchen is a romantic, rustic farmhouse inspired space featuring low-slung lights, exposed beams and wiring, natural world photography, and whitewashed floors. Relying on recycled building materials, handmade porcelain dinnerware, and salvaged home décor accents, it follows that ABC Kitchen sources locally grown, organic ingredients to inform the menu. The formula’s working; ABC is one of those hotspots that’s only accepting 5:30 and 11:00 PM reservations at the moment, and chef Dan Kluger is turning out both reliable and creative fare.
The staff of ABC Kitchen is outfitted in plaid shirts and each server is friendly and warm with their own personal back story. We loved the girl who refilled our water glasses, a young Janet Jackson lookalike from St. Louis who highlighted her menu favorites with such enthusiasm that we followed her lead and ordered all of them. Suffice it to say, there wasn’t a miss in her collection. As we began to eat, we had a feeling we might be rolling home at the end of the night.
Squash ricotta crostinis ($10) with caramelized onion, maple syrup, and ricotta cheese were the perfect start, followed by pretzel-dusted calamari ($12) accompanied by spicy sauces—one mustard, one tomato. If you’re leaning lighter, all of the sashimis—fluke with black truffles ($22), tuna with ginger and mint ($16), scallops with chilies and dill ($16)—are excellent.
Next came a pasta middle course, which could be served as an appetizer or an entrée. Of the offerings, which included a spaghettini with spaghetti squash tomato sauce ($15) and ricotta ravioli ($14), we chose veal meatballs with kasha and bowties ($16)—a hit for some, a miss for others. I loved the crunch of the kasha, complemented by the soft veal. For me, the light brown gravy infused with some kind of wine (sherry or marsala, maybe?) made the dish.
Four pizzas called our names, though the specific one my brother-in-law was eyeing online (clams, mint, chili variety, $17) wasn’t on the day’s list. Instead, we opted for the traditional tomato, mozzarella pizza ($13) that we loved for its simplicity. The richer choice was the mushroom, Parmesan, oregano, and farm egg pizza ($17), a decadent, gooey treat that I wound up having for lunch the next day.
Finally, the entrees arrived. Yes, we were already stuffed, but somehow, we made it through another course. Fried chicken ($24), a recurring item on Jean-Georges’ menus, was served over well-seasoned bok choy, but the BBQ-sauce laced gravy on the mashed potatoes took some getting used to. The burger ($21) was an exact medium-rare, though I didn’t love the mayo-jalapeno dressing. Mind you, these are minor grumbles on an otherwise excellent meal. The fish route was paved with arctic char in sweet and sour carrot sauce ($26), crunchy cod with mushrooms ($28) and striped bass with chilies and herbs ($27), and for sides, the broccoli with pistachio and mint ($8) was the favorite on our table.
There was little room for dessert, though the menu was deep in deliciousness—doughnuts, ice cream cake, sundaes, and crumbles—but we settled on a simple cookie plate ($7) to sweeten our post-meal palates. I admit; I’m still dreaming about the oatmeal cherry.
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