With both indoor and roofed-patio seating facing Columbus Avenue, A.G. Kitchen is the neighborhood spot to relish in the warm weather, people-watching, and good food. Whether you’re seeking a familiar childhood dish or looking to be transported to the tropics, Chef Garcia’s Nuevo Latino flare will let you find flavor with a little bit of both. From the cubano sandwich to their assortment of classic burgers, A.G. Kitchen serves up both South and North American comfort food in style.
We started our night with a couple of cocktails: a lime mojito and a strawberry fields—a serious mixture of sparkling wine and strawberry/mint infused cachaca with muddled strawberries. With liquid summer perched at our fingertips, we were ready to take on our meal. We began our foray into dinner with their signature guacamole. With a prominent lime flavor and a hint of cilantro, this dish was unbelievably addicting and, though we had already cleared our dish, we couldn’t help but crave more.
We started our meal with an assortment of appetizers: seafood ceviche, bacon-wrapped dates topped with blue cheese, and Dominican honey-glazed calamari. It’s hard to go wrong with bacon-wrapped anything, the combination of almond slices and melted blue cheese atop an endive salad creates a satisfying mixture of textures and palettes that left me feeling nostalgic for suburbs and southern cooking. The ceviche—a concoction of shrimp and lobster sprinkled with mango and avocado was cool and refreshing, and it was brilliantly paired with the savory calamari. For our main course, we opted for a house favorite, the Brazilian-style Samba Chicken and the ManhattanLatin burger, topped with guacamole, bacon, cheddar, and their signature A.G. sauce: a perfect fusion of multiple cultural comfort foods. Other favorites include Garcia’s “paella” and the Surf n’ Turf—exceptional seafood cuisine.
Though we were already full, we couldn’t leave without a peek at the dessert menu, which, if you’re an 80’s child, you can take a trip down memory lane to browse their menu on their vintage viewmaster (an 80’s Red Plastic Handheld Slide Viewer toy). We ended our night with the chocolate empanadas: powdered to perfection, lathered in chocolate sauce, and topped with whipped cream. We practically inhaled our dessert.
Whether you’re looking for your next brunch spot, a cocktail destination, or a quiet family dinner, check out A.G. Kitchen; it will satisfy both your stomach and your inner child.
Twisted Talk: Where do you go in Manhattan for comfort food? Have you dined at A.G. Kitchen before? Discuss below!
