ABC Kitchen

At this restaurant, located smack-dab between Union Square and the historic Flatiron district and occupying a stylishly rusticated space inside the furniture emporium ABC Carpet & Home, Jean-Georges Vongerichten shines the spotlight on farm-to-fork vegetables. The ambiance is something along the lines of shabby chic, like a stylized country farmhouse (everything from white-washed walls and exposed rafters to dun-colored, compostable place-mats) that's been transplanted to the city. The much-loved roasted carrot and avocado salad is a worthy preamble to main courses like wood oven-roasted Maine lobster.