Why Come Here? Some of the city’s best Latin American inspired food and cocktails
Right Amount for 2: 6 dishes, preferably at least 1 from each section
Mezcal Cured Salmon
Regular readers of this blog may remember that ABC Kitchen is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. You also may have noticed that I have a thing for Latin American food. So when the team behind ABC Kitchen opened a Latin American inspired restaurant, you can imagine my excitement. It was warranted.
Those of you who speak a little Spanish have probably realized ABC Cocina translates to… ABC Kitchen. Muy Creativo. But fortunately, the creative energies not wasted on the name have gone into the food. The menu is set up tapas style with a surprisingly large number of offerings for a restaurant of this ilk. The sections covers everything you could imagine in Latin American cooking: salads, ceviches, croquettes, tacos, grilled items and rice dishes. Getting all these down is bound to be a challenge even for a team consisting of two of the cities top Chefs. It’s also perhaps why initial reviews in July found the food hit-or-miss. However, it seems like things have now come together as all ten dishes we ordered were thoroughly enjoyable. Also, bravo for spacing the courses perfectly. There were neither long waits nor more than two dishes on our table at a time. How to Serve Small Plates by ABC Cocina should be required reading for all tapas restaurateurs.
The decor is, well, not authentico Latino Americana. Like ABC Kitchen, ABC Cocina is located within the ABC Home store and most items can be purchased inside. This leads to an eclectic mix of items throughout the restaurant, although between the neon blue lighting and central chandelier resembling giant bubbles, I couldn’t help but hear “Under the Sea” in the back of my head while waiting for our table. So if you’re planning on living in an underwater dome to avoid paying NYC rents, at least you know ABC Home has you covered, which is nice.
A note on reservations: they are hard to come by. However, there are a lot of tables for walk-ins and they were quoting fairly reasonable 1-1:15 waits last Friday night. We could have been seated within 30 minutes if (ahem) someone in our party had been on time, but we stretched it to the full 1:15 after that. This did unfortunately include the “they’re paying right now” spiel followed by another 20 minutes of waiting that happens way too often in this city. At least you can enjoy some amazing cocktails in the while you wait. Toss back a few basil jalapeno margs and the time flies by.
Short Rib Tacos
As I mentioned, everything I tried was worth ordering and if there was no more to the menu, I would still happily come back often (although my wallet would be less happy). Since there are so many other dishes, I’ve narrowed down the list below to the ones I consider the must orders for first time diners:
Short Rib Tacos 
Big hunks of moist, juicy short rib in a spicy habanero relish with some crunchy onions on top in a delicious corn tortilla. We made the mistake of only ordering 2 for the three of us. Don’t make that mistake.
Arroz con Pollo 
It sounds so simple you’re tempted to avoid it, but fortunately our waitress steered us in the right direction. The cracklings and lemon zest go along with perfectly cooked rice make this one extremely satisfying dish.
Beef Tenderloin “Burnt Ends” Nothing like your typical Texas BBQ Burnt Ends, these are rare pieces of meat that have picked up a nice char from their short time on the grill. The tangy, spicy chimichurri is the perfect complement.
Shrimp Agua Diablo A spicy sauce it cut by the sweetness of…banana? It sounds a little strange, but it’s a tropical tasting delight. The crunchy almonds add a nice texture.
Mezcal Cured Salmon The smokey salmon and cucumber yogurt dill sounds more like brunch than dinner, but it’s a light and fun start to the meal.
ABC Cocina
38 East 19th Street (Park & B’way)
New York, NY
