ABC Kitchen (#16) and Minetta Tavern (#14)

This review is a double header because I was lucky enough to try 2 restaurants off the list in one day. I had lunch at ABC Kitchen, which was phenomenal and dinner at Minetta Tavern which was equally superb. What I learned by having 2 meals out is how vastly different 2 places can be yet still manage to wow you.

Let me start with ABC Kitchen. So I met my friend Edit here for lunch at 1pm. I missed the front entrance to the restaurant and ended up entering through ABC Carpet which was a very pleasant way to start the experience, even though I can't even afford a bar of soap here. The dining room is only concrete and wood and almost minimally decorated but they have somehow managed to create a room that is not only pleasing to the eye but also comfortable to be in. Everything that decorates the room can be found, for sale, at ABC Carpet from the lighting fixtures to the tiny bud vases on the tables. Edit and I each ordered a drink. I, a Yuzu C which was a combination of fresh orange, grapefruit, pineapple and yuzu juices. Edit had a lemonade spiked with vodka which was almost too pretty to drink. The glass arrived ice cold with a sugar rim and 3 visible lemon wedges tucked between what looked like hand-cut blocks of ice. It took us about 20 minutes to order because everything looked so delicious. We ended up sharing 3 items. We started with the tuna sashimi marinated with ginger and mint. The tuna was so fresh I kept expecting it to walk off the plate. We had to ask for bread to sop up all the gingery goodness at the bottom of the plate. For the second course we shared a kasha and bowtie pasta with veal meatballs. The kitchen was kind enough to split the dish for us so we each got our own helping. It is such a small, but important detail, to know that our server paid attention when we said we were going to share and was kind enough to pass that information on the kitchen who made sharing dishes easier. The pasta was almost orgasmic. There was just enough kasha to add a little bit of texture to the dish. The meatballs were tender and full of flavor. I could have eaten an entire trough of this. For our final course we shared the crispy shrimp salad with carrot-sesame vinaigrette and a side of brussel sprouts with rosemary and garlic. Again, the salad came to the table on 2 plates so that we each got our own serving. Brussel sprouts are my favorite vegetable hands down and these made me want to cry. They were mainly baby sprouts but they were fork tender, the garlic was roasted to the point of crispiness and there was enough rosemary to taste without being too overwhelming. The shrimp salad was also delicious. The dressing was the same dressing you get on house salads at every Japanese restaurant you have ever eaten at. It was creamy, salty and tangy all at the same time. The shrimp were fried with a light batter but were not heavy or greasy.  I found myself checking Edit's plate to see if she had eaten everything so that I could sneak an extra bite off of her plate. We both decided to skip dessert ( I know I know what a shame) because we were too full but Edit did order an espresso which arrived in an antique gold gilded espresso cup which was the icing on the cake. I have already made dinner reservations here for Mother's Day because I enjoyed it so much and want to bring my mother.

Now for Minetta Tavern. Came here for dinner with my friend Jaime who knows both the manager and bartender which definitely helped us secure a reservation on such short notice. Our reservation was for 7:30pm so I got there about 7pm with the intention of having a glass of wine with my friend Elsi while I waited. Unfortunately there was not enough room at the bar for us so Elsi and I went around the corner, at the suggestion of Nigel the front door guy, to Perla a newly opened restaurant. Perla is from the same guys who own Fedora (next up on my list) and Joseph Leonard. Very cute space with some amazing wines courtesy of Jen Sgobbo. Have been on a hunt to find the bottle of Pouilly-Fuisse I had there to no avail. Anyway, I digress. So I waited at Perla for Jaime who ended up being close to half an hour late. Needless to say, Minetta Tavern gave our table away. Which we were anticipating so we decided to eat at the bar which was an experience all itself. Jaime, who is a firecracker walked in and commanded the attention of every man, woman and child within earshot of her without even realizing it. We sat book-ended by 2 lone male diners who we each, separately struck up a conversation with. The diner to my right whom I will affectionately call Arrogant bastard, name of his beer not his disposition, who suggested I order the Black Label burger he was having because he thought it was superb. I listened and am so happy I did. the burger was out of this world, served with fries that weren't too crispy or too soggy. As an appetizer I had the bone marrow with toast and shallot confit. I am, and always will be, a huge fan of bone marrow. My mother thinks it is an absolute absurdity to pay for food that was thrown away by butchers when she was younger and I sort of agree but it is so damn tasty. I even made Arrogant Bastard taste the bone marrow because it was not to be missed. The desserts were a bit of a miss for me and I am a dessert girl. We ordered 3, yes 3. We had the coconut cake, the chocolate mousse bombe and an apple tarte flambe with creme fraiche. I could have done without any of them. I was underwhelmed. Still, the whole experience made me want to return, between the easy conversation with perfect strangers to the bartender who could not get enough of my friend Jaime, to the drunk couple next to us who got into a fight and the girl stormed out. It was almost like dinner theater that you got to play a starring role in.


So ABC Kitchen is someplace I will be returning to for quiet, special events for phenomenal food and beautiful decor while Minetta Tavern will be that place I will go to for a friends 40th birthday or to forget about the bad date I had over the weekend.



"Food is not about impressing people. It's about making them feel comfortable."-Ina Garten,