Jean-Georges's Double Life

Opening two restaurants at once yields mixed results.

- Adam Platt

WITH ITS ROSTER of soul cleansing juices; its breakfast muffins with uplifting names like “Morning Glory”; and its clean, white, vaguely medicinal décor, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s much-praised new veggie palace, abcV, looks like it’s been almost willfully designed by the great chef to set off alarm bells deep in the heart of even the most modest carnivore. Nearly everything in the open, light-filled space (tables, chairs, wall decorations) is brushed with the kind of pale, soothing colors that you might see in the cafeteria of a first-class rehab facility. The menus are filled with all sorts of ominous- sounding items (steamed broccoli, lettuce cups, restorative tonics containing “ashwagandha,” whatever that is), and the friendly wait staff tend to exude the kind of toothy, wide-eyed well-being that you see among the ranks of what the late great carnivore Josh Ozersky used to refer to suspiciously as “the Veggie Army.”

But never fear, carnivores. The ranks of the Veggie Army have grown in stature and confidence since Ozersky’s time, and Jean Georges, who spent the early part of his career creating culinary fads (molten chocolate cake, anyone?), is in the business, these days, of perfecting them. His abcV is not a vegan restaurant (although there are many vegan options on the menu), but if you feel like a helping of gluten-free pancakes in the morning, it has an excellent version with almonds, topped with a puff of banana whipped cream. If you wish to sample state-of-the-art “cold pressed” juices, it has those, too (try the “Root