Read full review
2013-06-03
4916 views
I literally live next door to ABC Kitchen. I might technically live in the same building. But I hadn't been there until last night. I called Saturday for a Saturday reservation, and couldn't get in, but I asked for Sunday instead and they had a spot. Do book ahead, especially if you have lots of people.Please read the other reviews for a description of the dai-pai-dong-meets-haute-cuisine thing they've got here. It would be repetitious for me to redescribe it, but you should know what you're get
I literally live next door to ABC Kitchen. I might technically live in the same building. But I hadn't been there until last night. I called Saturday for a Saturday reservation, and couldn't get in, but I asked for Sunday instead and they had a spot. Do book ahead, especially if you have lots of people.
Please read the other reviews for a description of the dai-pai-dong-meets-haute-cuisine thing they've got here. It would be repetitious for me to redescribe it, but you should know what you're getting yourself into.
When we arrived (exactly on time), our table wasn't ready yet. The server suggested we have a seat at the "bar" and look at the menu-- the "bar" was just a table higher than the others with two stools instead of chairs. You might take that as a criticism, but I thought it was awesome-- you won't get even that sort of ghetto halfhearted attempt at the thai vietnamese beijing dumpling place in throwing distance across the food hall.
After not too long a wait we were seated, and we already knew what we wanted, cuz we had the menu at the bar. Unfortunately, they were out of our chosen appetizer (kataifi with eggplant and avocado! too bad) so we instead ordered the foie gras. First was the bread course:
Very dense, chewy, flaky rolls. It struck me as very American, but what do I know, I've hardly been anywhere that's not America. OK, but just taking up space that the better stuff can take up.
The pan seared foie gras came on top of some marinated diced apples, with some soft buttered toast and salad on the side. I'm by no means a foie gras expert-- I've maybe had it once or twice before in my life-- it was very fatty, quite soft, and not nearly as liver-y as liver. You probably can't see this in the picture but some of the lettuce was browned from bruising or air exposure. Subjective opinion: B
My favorite dish of the night was the cassoulet with duck confit. It was piping hot, the duck was falling-off-the-bone tender, and the rest of it was great too. In addition to the duck, there was some fatty, thick bacon and some sausage slices. One of the sausage casings was really chewy, but that's about all I can find to fault with the dish. A
The final course was the roasted suckling pig. At one point during our consumption of it, my wife said, "I think I just ate a mouthful of pigfat." That sort of describes the thing. Very tender meat, really crispy and fatty skin, with lots more fat all over. I thought it was a little bland-- definitely have it with the mustard if you get it. The sides it came with-- a meagre amount of mashed potatoes and cabbage-- were flavorless and insubstantial. The pork itself was really good though. A-/ B+Overall, I thought the experience of ABC went above and beyond the sum of the dishes we had. The staff were friendly, and the food clearly had a lot of care put into it. I unequivocally recommend you try it, if you haven't yet. A-
Post
