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ABC kitchen is the new born restaurant of Jean Georges people from NYC know him well even if his french,he's probablly the french cook that have really success in the USA, we sometimes even completely forget that he's french.

In Paris, he have only one restaurant "The Market" in avenue Matignon that was really trendy and the place to be on friday and saturday night at his opening 8 or 9 years ago, now still trendy, still good working, nice food but not the place to be anymore. but this is parisian mentality. The trendy life of a place specially a new concept restaurant is more or less 1 year, think about the buddha bar, the bar fly, the cantine 105.....all those places that it was a war to have a booking are now closed or just not anymore on the loop....

let's come back to the topic du jour ABC kitchen, the restaurant is done on partnership with the well known NYC store ABC home and carpet. You can enter the restaurant from the store of from his little entrance on the street what I tried as I didn't realise that it was in relation with the shop when the concierge of my hotel gave me the booking with the adress I just told the taxi driver bring me there please.

the entrance is that small, that normal, ridiculous that you keep searching for it. And that's one of the things that I love in NYC. This non importance to outside, to neighboorhood..... the importance is inside.....

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but once you pull the door you are really "Going Banana" (special dedicace to a friend ;-) the restaurant is huge, the concept unbelievable, crowded at 2.30 like if it was twelve and the first service.

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The concept is supposed to be kind of organic restaurant

the excact sentence of the restaurant is:

The design is simple but unique, there is a real attention to details that makes everything in harmony

almost evrything is different, only the chairs are the same but tables, dishes, tableware, linen.....

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The Menu is a simple recycled paper clip on a piece of recycled box. one side is the menu, the other side the explanation of the concept and the commitement of the restaurant to respect some organic rules, names of producers, designers.... It's a great idea specially to say that everything on the table and walls and even lights, tables and chairs are on sale at the shop ABC home.

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So if you follower of my blog even if I have to appologie because I'm not really regular on posting notes.... but time..... time is difficult to find nowadays .....and I thank you for your messages. you should know that after describing the restaurant layout and blablabla about the concept if any concept ;-) then I talk about serious thing!!!! FOOD.

Before food, keep on mind that on that kind of organic restaurant there's no branded sodas, few wine and beer that are supposed to be organic (if this really exist) and in general water is filtered at the restaurant and sparkling water bubbled there also...it's part of the experience so drink you diet coke before getting there, and don't make the mistake to ask for a diet coke, the waitress who's often on those type of restaurant is really and deeply concerned about organic and health and earth protection will kill you with her eyes : saying it's an organic restaurant, we serve only organic drinks, have a look at our home made cocktail menu!!!!

So just not to feel as ridiculous as I felt in London at Daylesford organic. Take directly the cocktail menu and like if you was used to, ask for a lime and basil home made soda.... that I have to confess is delicious.

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Food yes finally I'm coming to food ;-) , I started with a scallop carpaccio with chilies, fennel and mint, nicely presented, tasty and refreshing. loveat ;-)

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then I had the Crab toast, simple but good, the good thing in the US is that you have a lot of chance to find good quality of crab even in small little restaurant. and it's not expensive as in France.

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The chef sent me as a complimentary his signature starter dish, the roasted beetroot salad with the home made yoghurt, I have to confess that I'm not specially a beetroot lover, few times in a year I ask mum to prepare me a moroccan beetroot salad wich is simple cube of beetroot with some hashed parsley and garlic, salt, peper, olive oil and a bit of lemon juice.

lt;p>this salad was well presented, there was different kind of beet, orange, purple.... some herbs on the top and the yoghurt at the bottom. the roasted beets alone was fine but the mix with the yoghurt, really special, have to say not my stuff at all....

but I thank the chef for the kind attention to make me discovering something new...

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no it's not finish this was just starters.

ah I tried another soda, lemon and thyme, not bad but not as good as the first and too sweet to mix with food.

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as main dish I have to admitt that with the starters I was almost full but I wanted to try the fried calamari with mustard aioli and marinara sauce (thinking to the going banana friend :-)

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it was not bad with the aioli and terrible with the marinara!!!!

fried calamari was not bad, but nothing impressive and impossible to compare with fried calamari in south spain at the chiringuitos. It's not kind of dish that I'll take again, even if it was not bad. but nothing memorable.

and to finish I saw a wood oven and some pizza's flying over heads on the restaurant I said Mmmmmm.... let's try... as I'm still searching for a good pizza in NYC.

there was 2 pizza, the mushrums and fontina one and the simple margharita, I went for the Margharita. (I have to confess that Jean Georges in both Mercer kitchen NYC and Market paris make a delicious truffle pizza with fontina cheese, that's why I said it can't be bad).

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the Pizza was unfortunately not good, the tomatoe sauce so liquid.... and I don't know what was wrong but not good at all. at a point that I took just a little piece to try. and stop saying no need to gain weight for this....

the waitress was asking if everything ok? I was a bit shy, so I said yes excellent it's just that I'm full so she automatically put it on a box (doggy bag) I took it but put it in the first trash I found outside the restaurant!!!!

no dessert!!!! Sorry I love to be a food blogeur but I don't wanna be an obese person so I try to balance. if a lot of food no desert.... ans so one.....

PS: nothing to do with ABC but with my blog in general.I had many messages, some got private answers, some still no answer and there are 2 that I'll answer on the post to make averyone taking advantage of it.

the first message was what camera do you use?

I have a Lumix LX2 that I'm in love with, I have it always in my bag, old, destroyed, don't really take care of it but still working and If I change it it will be for the LX5 that I tried at B&H shop in NYC and that is amazing. and some pictures the ugly ones are taken with with my iphone....

the second message was how to be sure that it's you who try the restaurants?

I never tought someone will ask me this question so now I take a picture of me in the restaurant that you'll be sure it's me.

when I receive this message I went to visit some blogs that I appreciate and it's true blogeur put very often if not always a picture of them on the post.

so I'll do my best to always think about taking a picture of myself. It took me sometimes to get used to take pictures of food before eating now I have a new challenge!!!!

ABC contact:

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I paid 57 dollars + tips. with a bottle of sparkling water and 2 home made soda.

do I recommand to go there? yes at least once for the experience.

ABC kitchen

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