ilili Disappoints

Four stars on yelp?
Why????

I get that yelp is supposed to be a user generated platform but that is the inherent problem. Literally anyone, and anyone is referring to individuals illiterate when it comes to taste, food and restaurant, can give ill deserving restaurants 4-5 star ratings. I know what you're thinking, what makes me different than these other yelp users? I'll give you this much, after tasting the food at ilili there is no possible way it could merit 4 stars and for that, I am unlike these yelp users. Anyone who gave ilili this many stars either lacks taste buds or is restaurant and taste illiterate. Yelp is littered with reviews from people who think they know the slightest thing about what good food actually tastes like but, in actuality, have no idea. I had read about ilili when it first opened and had seen it's pop-up at Madison Square Park Eats a couple of years in a row but never took the opportunity to try it. I live for my weekend ventures to new restaurants and figured a four star yelp review would prove impressive.
Lesson learned, skip the yelp reviews and make you're own judgements!

The Food

Lebanese

I went in hoping for a warm and tasty plate of fresh hummus paired with crispy falafel. I was not satisfied with either. The hummus was nothing special and lacked flavor completely while the falafel did not have that perfect falafel combination of crispy outside with spicy, moist and steaming-ground-chickpea inside. The only thing it did have was a cool presentation of falafel cubes instead of balls. (see photo below). Points for eye candy. Although, in a restaurant the real points should be for mouth and taste candy. 

Hummus & Babaganoush

Cubed Falafel

The babaganoush was too smokey. I normally don't love smokey dishes but when done right, I don't mind. This dish, I minded.
The warm eggplant, served with tamarind molasses was sweet and tangy although the small slivers of eggplant were somewhat (not totally though) drowning in the tamarind sauce. I'll eat anything with eggplant and enjoyed a few bites of this dish. Honestly, too many bites became too much with all that tamarind. 

Eggplant & Tamarind Sauce

We also ordered mouhamara which I had quite high expectations for. I've tasted home made mouhamara and have also futilely attempted to make my own. Expecting a paste of spicy and somewhat crunchy (its made with ground walnuts) paired with a hint of sweet and tang, this mouhamara was bland and lacking in any of the former as well as any real flavor.

I walked away feeling like the fries were the best thing on the menu and they weren't fantabulous either. I wouldn't say to run back for them or anything. They were cut fresh and seasoned with loads of herbs and spices. They were good though. I'd order them again if I were, god forbid, dragged back here.

I did not leave feeling satisfied with my Sunday lunch, was quite disappointed and proceeded to clear my palate with the lemony fattoush salad and mint tea. 

Attempting to fill up on tea and salad because nothing else was satisfying

Ambiance

ilili seems to believe it is a fine dining establishment. It starts the customer off with beautifully folded napkins, lots of forks and spoons and well dressed, pretentious waiters to go along with it. And yet, the food is no where near on par with fine dining. Everything about the presentation seems to be trying too hard to be  upscale. The waiter's "have you dined with us before" question, paired with his long soliloquy on ilili's type of cuisine as if no one in this melting pot city are familiar with Lebanese food, was ridiculous and seemed like posing pretentiousness. It would have been quite possibly tolerable and acceptable (and only possibly because poser pretentiousness is never really tolerable) if the food was actually on par with it's fine dining decor and presentation.

The crowd was mostly families and couples and the space seemed quite large for the number of people dining. 

Wait Time & Resos

There was no wait and we were happily seated immediately. I'm sure that you could most probably walk in on any given night and be seated quite immediately as the space is quite large.


Too harsh of a review?
Maybe...
Honesty is always the best policy.

Good For: I don't really recommend it being good for anything. It's nothing special. 

If you are still interested in giving it a try it's good for dinner or lunch with friends and/or family. 

ilili

5th Avenue

(Between 27th & 28th)

http://www.ililinyc.com/

ABC Kitchen Cliches

I know, I know, it's cliche and totally old news to write about ABC Kitchen. But the food is so far from ubiquitous to pass up writing about it. 

Patience people, some (not all!) my hidden gems and unique finds will make their appearances soon enough. This blog is still a baby!

I've eaten here so many times in various capacities, with different people, and its always been so unbelievably impressive. I'm definitely raving way too often in my recent reviews, but maybe I just like my New York restaurants too much. Or maybe, I've just been giving away my favorite places, cliche or not.

Food

Let's see. Whats good? Um, pretty much everything. 

The only thing I would say to seriously skip is the crispy delicate squash appetizer with shaved parmesan  It's a round battered piece of butternut squash that tastes somewhat like a doughnut. Eh, it's nothing special. 

The roasted squash toast with fresh ricotta is probably the best dish on the menu and last night we were given two complimentary rounds of it. Obviously, we were all quite happy! The crispy thick, pumpernickle-esqe bread (I say "esqe" because I'm not quite sure what type of bread it was) is perfectly toasted and crispy. It is lined with a thin layer of light and extremely fresh ricotta cheese, topped with thick pieces of the warm butternut squash. This is a seasonal item and I'd wait for the Fall to roll around if you are an ABC first timer so that you can taste this item.

Sometimes the appetizers are better than the entrees. I would order this squash toast as an entree ANY DAY. Its filling, warm and just about perfect. 

The ricotta cheese with fig compote and grilled bread is another must-order. It has a bit more of a breakfast taste to it. Regardless, the ricotta is so light and fresh. It tastes like it is actually churned on site. And the fig jam is light as well which compliments the ricotta. The ABC ricotta seems to make an appearance in a lot of the their dishes. It blends very well being that it doesn't have too much of a heavy cheese flavor but acts as more of a complimentary taste to other parts of a dish.

I almost forgot to mention the tuna sashimi. Ughhh, its a must-order. Again, its smooth, and if you're not one for raw fish, this is the time to try it. 

The pastas, the pizzas and the fish are all great as well. Although, honestly, I really think ABC is all about its appetizers, first courses, sides and desserts. Don't get me wrong, the mains are great, but I really come back for the squash toast, ricotta and fig compote, the kale salad, the brussel sprouts (the latter two I did not mention in detail) and the dessert. Honestly, I dont come away raving about the pizza when New York has become a hub of Neapolitan pizza. Nor the pasta, it's not really about the Italian food here. Its more about the "local" and "seasonal" ingredients and what they do with them. 

Finally kids, do not overeat because you are then going to lack space for the best part.
The ABC Kitchen Sundae.
Salted ice cream, caramel popcorn, peanuts, and chocolate sauce.
It's amazingly good. 

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cake, Sundae, Chocolate Chip Cookies

ABC Kitchen food is essentially a gourmet eatery for the common man. The food is seemingly simple, recognizable and doesn't seem confusing or complicated. And yet, it is this seeming simplicity that makes one realize how amazingly complex the food is. To achieve an long list of simple dishes, all of which are smooth and perfectly executed for the sophisticated (or any for that matter) palate is not easy and Jean-George, executes quite 

Ambiance

The decor is ABC Carpet and Home turned restaurant. The side and dessert plates are composed of perfectly mismatched China. Sometimes I feel as though the cutlery and China are what you would find at a remote bed and breakfast (or in my mothers dining room), to give you a better idea. The lighting is dim and its a great spot for just about anything. It's pretty trendy Dinner, Brunch, Lunch, Birthdays, Dates, Dinner with Friends etc. 

Wait Time & Resos

Probably the MOST IRRITATING thing about this restaurant is that they only take reservations one month out. And, of course, they are ALWAYS booked that very same one month out. That is,  only unless you log onto Open Table exactly one month from the date you'd like to eat there. What I do is just make 4-5 reservations in the upcoming month of whatever I can get and then leave all the reservations there as an option. If I don't use the reservation I just cancel, its the only way. The other option is to walk in and let them seat you by the bar. Its not the same, though. You really do want to be seated at a table.
(Although I did pull a fabulous scam on them last night. But more on that another time)

ABC Kitchen

35 E. 18th St. 

New York, NY 10003

(212) 475 5829

http://www.abchome.com