Wanderlust Chef

ABC Kitchen has had a lot of hype around it since it opened back in 2010, which in turn has made reservations hard to come by. My advice is to plan ahead! Like… a month ahead. We ended up scoring a 9pm reservation which I thought was pretty good.

The space was lovely and airy, it felt a bit like being out in a garden, with whimsical shabby chic decor. After a busy Friday at work I appreciated being transported. The only thing missing at this point was a drink and being that our table wasn’t ready yet – we headed directly to the bar. I ordered the ginger margarita which perfectly hit the spot while Sous Chef ordered a bottle of wine – I guess he had a rough day too.

Approximately 20 minutes later we were seated and after purveying the menu decided to split the crab toast, roasted carrot and avocado salad, mushroom pizza, and the halibut. Trust me when I say I wanted to love this place. Between the hype, and the wait, and the famous chef, and the price tag I wanted to love it so much – but to be frank I just didn’t. Maybe it was an off night? Or maybe mine and sous chef’s taste buds were off? Don’t know.

The crab toast with lemon aioli was more reminiscent of garlic then fresh crab ($16). The carrot and avocado salad seemed to be roasted in cumin and red pepper as that was the primary flavor ($17). The pizza was my favorite savory plate of the night as a runny egg was placed atop a slew of earthy wild mushrooms, ricotta, parmesan, and oregano ($20). The roasted halibut which on the menu advertised to be paired with crushed tomatoes was actually paired with more of a crushed tomato juice and on the dry side ($34). Last, we finished the evening off on a sweet note with their infamous sundae. It included salted caramel ice cream, candied peanuts & popcorn, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce which all in all was playfully delicious ($14). Definitely my favorite part of the night (outside of my date of course).

If I had to do it all over again I would have skipped this place and done a repeat to Upland which I highly recommend or tested out Blue Hill NYC. Will I be back? Probably not, as it was an expensive meal at nearly $250 for two and nothing exactly blew my socks off. Although I must admit over half of the bill was devoted to alcohol… Oops!

ABC Kitchen, 35 E. 18th St. (between Broadway and Park Ave. S.); 212-475-5829 or abchome.com/eat/abc-kitchen/

Upland, 345 Park Avenue South; 212-686-1006 or uplandnyc.com