S E O U L D I V A

GRUB 411:

• ABC KITCHEN, 35 East 18th Street, 212.475.5829
• http://abckitchennyc.com/
• TYPE:  “nouveau” American
• PRICE:  $$$¾
• QUICKVIEW:  Impeccable decor, odd crowd and underwhelming food.  The bountiful flavors of the fresh, natural, organic ingredients weren’t celebrated in any of the dishes — it was disappointing after all the hype.
• SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

FULL REVIEW

Every now & then, there’s a new “Restaurant du Jour” in NYC.  Y’know — the one that everyone is raving about, dying to get reservations for, and aching to “be seen” there.

Right now, I think that restaurant is ABC Kitchen.

I’d been hearing about this place for months from all my foodie friends (particularly the Immaculate Infatuation boys and my girl Miss Info), as well as all my PR friends.  So it was definitely high on my “Must Eat” list

Last night, I was lucky enough to dine in the company of Eva from Teen Vogue (@evachen212), Ning from Marie Claire (@nylaning), and none other than my partner in crime – ERIN! (@erinmccaffrey)

AMBIENCE: you can’t beat it.  All of us were absolutely smitten by the decor. Personally, I was wondering if I could curl up in a corner and spend the night in this minimalistic wonderland of white-washed wood, unfinished beams, and classy chic.  (kinda like that episode of Saved By the Bell, where Zach & the gang spend the night at the mall trying to buy U2 tickets)

CROWD: It was like “50 First Dates”.  It was a mixed bag, indeed.  When we first ordered, we were in the company of casually dressed, seasoned New Yorkers who were enjoying an early dinner before doing assumingly artsy things.  (this included people like designer Rachel Roy, who dined in an out-of-character pinstripe suit, with no jewelry and loafers)

The second half of our dinner, was quite a different tapestry of diners.  We saw:

• More than a buttcrack.  It was a full-on half-ass.  Think of the words “ultra low rise” and “sitting down”.
• Is that a dress? or a Tunic shirt?  We feared this poor girl’s virtue would be compromised when she sat down at her table.
• A girl sporting a plunge V-neckline with a rhinestone snake in the middle.  Straight outta Baby Phat.
• Mail Order Asian with Perv-y Old White Guy: This was more than we could bear.  She was no older than 30 in a skin-tight leopard print strapless dress.  He was probably 60+ and extremely difficult to look at.  The kicker: when she got up to use the restroom, his eyes were glued to her ass and he LICKED HIS LIPS.  *shivers*

FOOD:  I must admit, I had very very high expectations.  The culinary schtick of the restaurant is using local, sustainable, organic produce.  COOL – I can dig it.  I guess for something so organic & “fresh” themed, the flavors were a little understated and “muttled” (to use @evachen212‘s fave word).

Surprisingly, the dishes were NOT prepared and seasoned in a way that enhanced the natural flavors of these organic ingredients.  If anything, the natural beauty of these ingredients were muddied and dulled down, instead of celebrating their flavors.

I was surprisingly underwhelmed.  This is not to say that it was a good meal – it was. But was just underwhelmed compared to all the hype and the restaurant’s mission statement.

Another interesting thing: this was my first time eating here, but everyone else had been before.  All of them said that several of the dishes were quite “spicy”! Not a problem for me, b/c I LOVE spicy food, but I thought it was interesting to hear.

Apologies – I was not on my game last night (totally forgot to snap the menu!).  But here’s the plate-by-plate of our meal, with input by my fabulous co-diners! (particularly for those non-raw plates!)

PLATE-BY-PLATE

• GAZPACHO WITH WATERMELON: This was a deliciously refreshing take on gazpacho.  The watermelon gave such a lightness to the soup.  I’m also such a fan whenever the dicing is so delicate and dainty.  I also ordered this because it’s dairy free (surprisingly, not all gazpachos are!)  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• CRUDITES WITH ANCHOVY DIP: A crudité platter, is a crudité platter, is a crudité platter.  This one is no different.  I didn’t try the anchovy dip (obviously), but the platter seemed heavy on the root veggies: carrots, turnips, radishes, dikons. SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• RAW DIVER SCALLOPS WITH CHILIS AND SEA SALT. My homegirl @nylaning tried this seasonal app, and she barely finished it.  Apparently, the dish was so spicy from the chili peppers, it completely overpowered the natural sweetness of the scallops.  NINGDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• FRESH MOZARELLA AND HEIRLOOM TOMATOES. @erinmccaffrey‘s app: First thing she said, “SPICY!” (Notice the huge jalapeno slices — not part of normal tomato & mozarella fare).  She did say the tomatoes were deliciously sweet and juicy.  But she would have preferred burrata instead of mozarella.  ERINDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥½/♥♥♥♥♥

• ROAST CARROT AND AVOCADO SALAD: with crunchy seeds and sour cream. @evachen212 ordered this for an app, and I for my main (minus the sour cream, of course).  I had already pre-peeped the menu before going to dinner, and this was one of the things I was very excited about.  Sadly, the carrots came out withered, wilted, and a sickly brown color.  It was devoid of any beautiful orange color — or sweet flavor.  Perhaps lightly grilling them would have been a better option…SOMEthing that would maintain some semblance of freshness.  Didn’t end up eating the carrots at all.  The crunchy seeds were lovely, but I ultimately ended up with an Avocado Salad.  EVADIVA & SEOULDIVA SAY: ♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• ROASTED BEETS WITH HOMEMADE YOGURT: @evachen212‘s app.  See, I’m scratching my head with this one…because there is definitely some sort of dressing or oil on this app as well.  @evachen212 had ordered this app before and said it was delicious — not so this time.  There was too much “liquid” in the bowl.  The yogurt ended up being too soupy.  EVADIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• MARINATED OLIVES. I ordered these for the table. I’m a huge fan of ordering olives at a nice restaurant — love seeing how they marinate them.  Clearly, ABC Kitchen used chilis (shocker) and orange.  The olives themselves were delicious; they were plump, hard, juicy and meaty (except for the nicoise olives).  But I wish they had a little something extra as far as flavors.  Perhaps some fennel or some more herbs?  It was 70% there.  SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• KASHA AND BOWTIE PASTA, VEAL MEATBALLS. @nylaning tried this baby. From the looks of it, it looked like something you’d wanna eat on a cold wintry night.  Unfortunately, she could barely finish it because it was SO salty.  Again, for such a “locavore” type of restaurant, it’s surprising that things were so overseasoned.  NINGDIVA SAYS: ♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

ARCTIC CHAR. @evachen212′s entree.  (apologies for not getting the description right!).  Personally, I think that Char looked a little over-cooked?  She enjoyed the dish overall, but felt that all the flavors were very muttled and murky.  Not clean or distinct.  EVADIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

SPAGHETTINI WITH RUBY RED SHRIMP: @erinmccaffrey ordered this baby.  She actually really liked the dish.  Pasta was cooked a little more than al dente. The dish was still light, and the shrimp were deliciously fresh. ERINDIVA SAYS:  ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

WARM CORN WITH PECORINO CHEESE. Again, @evachen212 & I both ordered this side dish (except mine was without the cheese).  The corn was fresh, not canned – off the cob.  But the difference: Eva’s corn was not overcooked…mine was mushy.  I love cooked corn when it’s still a little “al dente” and plump.  :)  This side also had a bit of a kick to it from chilis…so it may have been too spicy for some. SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

BLUEBERRY PIE. @nylaning said:  ”Adorable.  But the crust wasn’t flaky enough.”  Yes, who doesn’t love a personal-size pie.  But the key to a great pie is a great crust — you can’t have Pie Greatness without it. When trying to figure out whether the blueberry filling was fresh, the blueberries were small in size — probably a good indication that they’re organic.  Unfortunately, @nylaning felt that tasted a little “Jammy”. NINGDIVA SAYS: ♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

SUNDAE with salted caramel ice cream, candied peanuts & popcorn, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. @erinmccaffrey thought this was some kinda magic.  The whole sprinklings of Cracker Jacks gave the sundae a really nice texture and crunch.  Plus the salty caramel ice cream made this dessert not overly sweet. ERINDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

CHOCOLATE CAKE with malted chocolate ganache and toasted marshmallow frosting. @evachen212 loved this dessert because of the delectable marshmallow frosting, but also because the dessert was not too sweet.  Let’s face it — we’ve all been there before: dessert sweetness overload.  It’s refreshing to hear that someone balanced it right. EVADIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

MARKET STRAWBERRIES with meringues, sour cream poppy ice cream and jus. Naturally, I had to ask for this dessert “in parts”.  The strawberries were delicious and beautifully cut and had some lime juice and fresh mint – very yummy.  @nylaning tried the ice cream and loved it!  I sneaked in a meringue and was delighted — crisp, light and amazing. SEOULDIVA SAYS: ♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥