A new restaurant opened in Lexington, Ohio about a year ago.  My parents live in Lexington and enjoy trying new restaurants, so they ate at ABC.  Whenever we visit them, they mention trying it.  So, this last trip to Ohio we were finally able to find a night together to eat at ABC Kitchen.

ABC stands for Anything But Chinese.  Or that is what my parents told me.  ABC’s website says it is “a new approach to meat and potatoes and comfort food.”  The website also says the menus “is stripped of pretension, consciously affordable, carefully curated and fun.”  That sentence, however, is not stripped of pretension.  Basically, the menu is American dishes prepared with a twist.

Tom and I were intrigued with the Steak Bar idea so we asked about it.  The waitress said it is called a steak bar because you can order just about anything with your steak.  But it is not a bar like a salad bar.  Three of us at the table ordered the Wednesday special “The Big Meatball.”  Tom ordered the “Eleanor Rigby.”  The Big Meatball was a very large meatball served on a bed of spaghetti with meat sauce.  Between the meatball and the meat sauce there must have been 3/4 of a pound of beef on my plate.  I would have preferred a smaller meatball with non-meat spaghetti sauce.  The sauce was very greasy.  Tom said his sandwich, however, was delicious:  grilled chicken with bacon and cheddar cheese.

The decor of ABC Kitchen is whimsical antique.  The restaurant is filled with antiques that you can buy with fun little displays that invite you to peer into corners.  We walked around and looked at some of the antiques, recognizing some of them from our childhood.  I guess we are antiques too!  The waitress brought the bill to the table in a Dr. Seuss ABC book.

I’m not sure ABC Kitchen will be a big success in Lexington.  It seems a little out there for a small town.  Then again, it is next to the Happy Grape Wine Bar and Bistro, so it may last.  I want to go again because I want to try something beside the Big Meatball.  Something with less meat that I’m sure will suit me better.  The decor is fun and inviting and I’m sure the other items on the menu are better than what I had.