It seemed a preposterous idea from the restaurant proprietor Jean-Georges Vongerichten: a slightly spartan, vegetable-centric restaurant in the dark, low-ceilinged recesses of an upscale furniture store in the Flatiron district. But when ABC Kitchen opened, in 2010, the shiny veneer of health imparted by the chef Dan Kluger’s cleverly seasonal menu made it one of the city’s most popular restaurants. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before Vongerichten and Kluger took Kitchen’s savvy, snacky sensibility one step further and opened a tapas joint. After all, they didn’t need to look far: their new place, ABC Cocina, has taken over the old Pipa space, also associated with ABC Carpet & Home, one street up from Kitchen. Gone are Pipa’s heavy wooden chairs and non-ironic chandeliers; the warehouse-like room is now decorated in adherence to the quintessentially noughties philosophy that if something can be made of Lucite it should be.
ABC Cocina’s Web site studiously avoids making claims that the food is from any particular place—instead, the restaurant is a “modern global exchange,” which means that the sizable bar can serve sangria, margaritas, and caipirinhas. As is always the case with margaritas, you will order one of the fancy ones, seduced by the promise of basil and grapefruit and guajillo, but will discover, fifteen dollars later, that the best of the lot is the good old classic. There are two kinds of sangria. Surprisingly, the white one, made with passion fruit, is not too sweet, and actually tastes like wine, not cordial. The caipirinha on a recent evening was made with strawberries from the Union Square farmer’s market, mint from the roof, and, a waiter proudly announced, no added grain sugar.
The price of the tacos has attracted some consternation online. They vary in quality. The fourteen-dollar glazed-short-rib taco, for instance, is served with frizzled red onions, bullies of the vegetable world that inevitably overpower both the short rib and the accompaniments (in this case, a habanero relish). The chef explained that the slider taco came from an initial thought that a burger was needed on the menu; later, he turned the Wagyu patties into taco meat and drizzled yellow secret sauce on top.
The unevenness of the menu seems to arise from an impulse to make everything seasonal, even if it doesn’t suit the dish. You might wonder why the perfectly good guacamole needs to be topped with sweet peas and sunflower seeds, but then marvel at the light, bright sugar-snap-pea salad, which is tossed with a house-made sour cream. There’s also an outstanding raw shaved-fluke appetizer, made up of ribbons of fish and mint, crunchy puffed rice, and a tangy green-chili dressing. Under “rice” is the restaurant’s crown jewel: a rousing rendition of arroz con pollo, with plenty of glistening crackling skin and just enough lemon zest. You will enjoy it the next day as leftovers, because it’s a mountain of rice, and it will taste even better for breakfast. (Open weekdays for lunch and dinner and weekends for brunch and dinner. Plates $7-$24.) ♦
