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Kinship - The Upstairs Portion Of Eric Ziebold's New Mount Vernon Square Location, 7th and K Street NW


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I had seen some early posts mention meals at Kinship taking three hours. Are they always that long? I very much want to go (preferably while they still have soft-shells on the menu, but I couldn't get there last week and probably not next week), but three hours is going to be difficult, especially if I want to get someone to join me.

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11 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Lotus, from my experience, everything *but* the Soufflé is for two (the Clafoutis, for example, was enormous). Certainly, all the savory courses are for two people (or more, if you're structuring your meal that way): with the exception of the lobe of foie gras, which I haven't had, plan on generously sized entrees for two people. 

Regarding the lobe of foie gras, I know that it is (or was) the larger of the two lobes. Many years ago at CityZen, I split the *smaller* of the two lobes with one other person, and it was an unbelievable amount of food - it was decadence in excess. So, I would plan on the lobe of foie gras being a Gargantuan entree for two, or an appetizer for four - at $150, I suspect it's well-worth the money, and I was simply never with someone who wanted to invest that much of the meal in this one course; I would be delighted to get it.

Maybe for our Member-Influenced reviews, starting up again this autumn, I'll go with one-or-more of our members to whichever restaurant is selected. If Kinship is selected again, you won't have to twist my arm to order the lobe of foie gras ...

I also want to point out that several of those restaurants on the nomination list were nominated by Mix Meyer, who is no longer with us. :( I may review those on my own, as a way to honor Mix.

To clarify the foie, personally I'd like to be with at least 3 if not 5 other people to order the whole roasted foie. We got 6 lovely slices out of the one we served tonight.

 

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I had the pleasure of dining with Don on four of his 14 trips to Kinship. The first was during his inaugural visit in January, and the other three were during one week in April, while I was visiting from California. I wrote a review in this forum of our first visit, when we shared the Kinship Roast Chicken, and now, more than seven months later, I still fondly and vividly remember that meal.

It wasn't just beginner's luck. Each subsequent visit to Kinship produced memorable meals and enjoyable evenings. The food, the service and the ambiance were outstanding each time we went. I enjoy seeing those menus, Don, as they bring back fond memories of exceptional meals.

Kinship is a special place. There aren't many restaurants I would want to go to three times in one week. I appreciate Eric's creativity and his use of quality, seasonal ingredients. I love the vibe of the place, from the understated, elegant interior to the music that plays in the background. No detail is overlooked. I can't wait to go back.

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Don wrote in the "Central" thread:

There will come a time - hopefully twenty, thirty years from now - that Eric Ziebold can't do the work either, and that is why it's *so* important to chronicle what he's doing right now. We are witnessing history before our very eyes, and nobody is writing about it other than general raves - we need specifics. I'll do the best I can, but I can't do it all. Post menus, list dishes, take pictures - do all that you can to document what this man is doing, and if you think other chefs are producing equally important work, by all means, do the same for them. Don't you wish you had hundreds, thousands, of pictures and descriptions of Michel's dishes from the 20th century?

Um, have you read this thread?!?!  It has tons of reviews with tons of details about the food at Kinship.  The one review with a shocking lack of detail is yours!

I "liked" your review because it was such a long time in coming, but in reality, it was a bit of a let down.  I realize you were writing about meals you had months ago, so the details were not as crisp as they might have been, but whose fault is that?!?!!

I hate to give you crap about this (especially with all the work you put in to maintain this site), but I was honestly shocked when I read your comment above.

( Delete as needed   B) )

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On 9/2/2016 at 8:39 PM, Genevieve said:

I had seen some early posts mention meals at Kinship taking three hours. Are they always that long? I very much want to go (preferably while they still have soft-shells on the menu, but I couldn't get there last week and probably not next week), but three hours is going to be difficult, especially if I want to get someone to join me.

I think it may have some to do with how much you order, and I'm sure if you told them of any time restrictions, they could speed it up a little. I think last time we were there it was just over 2 hours.

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On 9/2/2016 at 8:39 PM, Genevieve said:

I had seen some early posts mention meals at Kinship taking three hours. Are they always that long? I very much want to go (preferably while they still have soft-shells on the menu, but I couldn't get there last week and probably not next week), but three hours is going to be difficult, especially if I want to get someone to join me.

We celebrated our anniversary there last Saturday night.  We were out of there in an hour and 45 minutes.  Things that may have contributed to the shorter time frame: it was just the two of us; we had an early reservation (6:00 pm); we each ordered an app, a main, and a dessert, no extra courses.  Also, we were told that if we wanted to order the chicken, it would take 60 to 80 minutes.  So, if one orders that, it's definitely going to prolong the evening.

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On 9/2/2016 at 8:39 PM, Genevieve said:

I had seen some early posts mention meals at Kinship taking three hours. Are they always that long? I very much want to go (preferably while they still have soft-shells on the menu, but I couldn't get there last week and probably not next week), but three hours is going to be difficult, especially if I want to get someone to join me.

They'll pace to your needs. There's absolutely *nothing* inappropriate about saying, when you first arrive, "We need to be gone in two hours - could you pace the meal accordingly?" I've done this many times, and not just here.

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Great, thank you everyone who responded about length of dinner. 

Question: does anyone know how easy it is to get seats at the bar, especially 2 seats together? (I know date and time would factor into that - something came up where tonight might work, and it's too late for a reservation, but we could try for the bar. I'm assuming that early would be better in that case.)

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We had a dinner reservation last Saturday for 6:00.  We over-estimated how long it would take to drive in from the burbs, so arrived at 5:30.  We were the first patrons to sit down at the bar and remained the only ones until shortly before 6:00, when 2 others arrived.  As we were leaving, shortly before 8:00, I noticed that there were very few people at the bar -- plenty of open seats.  I can't say what the situation was between 6:00-8:00, but I suspect it was not much different.  Not sure what it would be like on a weeknight, but I don't think they have happy hour, so you're probably likely to get two seats together.

2 hours ago, Genevieve said:

Great, thank you everyone who responded about length of dinner. 

Question: does anyone know how easy it is to get seats at the bar, especially 2 seats together? (I know date and time would factor into that - something came up where tonight might work, and it's too late for a reservation, but we could try for the bar. I'm assuming that early would be better in that case.)

 

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1 hour ago, LauraB said:

We had a dinner reservation last Saturday for 6:00.  We over-estimated how long it would take to drive in from the burbs, so arrived at 5:30.  We were the first patrons to sit down at the bar and remained the only ones until shortly before 6:00, when 2 others arrived.  As we were leaving, shortly before 8:00, I noticed that there were very few people at the bar -- plenty of open seats.  I can't say what the situation was between 6:00-8:00, but I suspect it was not much different.  Not sure what it would be like on a weeknight, but I don't think they have happy hour, so you're probably likely to get two seats together.

Terrific! Thanks so much. And I see from pictures that the bar seats have backs (a key feature!) and are nicely padded. Perfect.

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We've eaten or grabbed a drink at the bar about half a dozen times over the last few months and have never had trouble getting two seats at the bar.  Generally we go around 8:30 or 9:00 -- we're often late eaters -- on both weekdays and weekends and usually find it half empty.  (I actually prefer sitting at the bar to eating in the dining room.  I like the vibe more and enjoy the proximity to Kerstin, Nikki, and others behind the bar for getting recommendations/general chatting.)

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13 minutes ago, jca76 said:

We've eaten or grabbed a drink at the bar about half a dozen times over the last few months and have never had trouble getting two seats at the bar.  Generally we go around 8:30 or 9:00 -- we're often late eaters -- on both weekdays and weekends and usually find it half empty.  (I actually prefer sitting at the bar to eating in the dining room.  I like the vibe more and enjoy the proximity to Kerstin, Nikki, and others behind the bar for getting recommendations/general chatting.)

I've been to the bar over ten times and only had trouble once, but even then I got one of those booths in the bar area. At some point, I'd guess the bar will become full on weekends, and then at some point, it will become full on weekdays; on the other hand, Palena's bar was almost *never* full.

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It was my first night off the 3-month-long, "Walking Dead" Diet, and where better to spend it than where I had last gone three months before: Kinship?

I had texted with Eric earlier that day, and knew he was leaving early, and sure enough, he had gone by my 5:30 arrival. Nevertheless, I got a good feeling for just how much his menu has changed in three months (and also just which dishes appear to be "lifers").

When I get back home, I'll scan the menu into this post so you can see as well.

For an apéritif, I began with a usual Kinship Spritz ($11), made with Cocchi Americano, Dolin Blanc, and Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine - this makes for a wonderful, if slightly pricey, way to wind down from your day, and ease into dinner.

Being on my way to Nice, France in a couple of days, of *course* I got the Salade Niçoise ($18), a dish which had many of the correct ingredients, being made with yellow filet beans, confit potatoes, tuna crostini, lemon-basil vinaigrette, and Harissa Aïoli. I love Salades Niçoises, and have to consider myself something of an expert at them. While the ingredients in this were certainly beyond scrutiny, the salad as a whole didn't knit together the way I had hoped, plus the dressing didn't work, and there were a couple key ingredients missing (for my tastes). There's no question this was a great, fresh salad, but I would hesitate to call it a classic Niçoise - I might also order it again.

Continuing with my tuna theme, I next got a Tuna Tataki ($24), knowing full well how much Eric loves this dish. This was a delicious Tataki, and was my favorite savory course, served with a spring onion and butter pickle salad, negligible piece of shiso tempura, and an absolutely fascinating but overabundant portion of dashi gelée resting on the bottom.

The course of the night came during dessert, when I was privileged to order the Late Summer Melon Savarin ($12), one of the best desserts I've had in a long, long time. Delicious melon was served with Greek yogurt cream, Anise Hyssop granité (only one piece of which hadn't been cut properly), and musk melon consommé - it was one of "those" dishes where the sum is not only greater than the parts, but it somehow made the melon taste more intense than any melon I've ever tasted - this dish was a triumph, and should be considered with any meal here.

Kinship didn't "impress" me on this visit as much as it did "wow" me with a couple of its courses - my opinion of it remains unchanged, and it must be considered at or very near the top of anyone's Best Of list for Washington, DC. Beware of any such list that does not include it!

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I finally made it over to Eric Ziebold's hype machine in Shaw. A building that contains both the more "casual" Kinship and the formal jackets-required tasting menu only Metier.

I came late on a weekday with my wife hoping to sit at the bar and have dinner. There were no seats, but were told we could hang out at the bar tables and it was likely that we could sit shortly. I had a glass of Riesling from Santa Barbara ($15) and my wife had a glass of Languedoc white ($12). One of the bar servers was very proactive in coming and updating us as to the status of our seats.

We were seated and presented with the menu. The menu isn't organized in any discernible way helpful to the guest, but rather based on the way Chef Ziebold came to create the dish. It's a cool story, but makes the menu a bit unapproachable without explanations. I side with Sietsema in pining for the days of menus with "small plates"/"appetizers" and "entrees" sections. In any event, each of the three columns has two small plates, two entrée-sized plates, and one dessert. There is also an "indulgence" column with more decadent entrees at more decadent prices ($28-80) and two desserts that didn't fit anywhere else. Finally, there's large plates "For the Table" - from the famous roast chicken to a whole lobe of roasted foie gras ($150, who wants to have a group Yelp date?) to a presumably gigantic salted caramel peanut bar ($24).

With the assistance of our server, we decided to over-order a bit to try more of Chef Ziebold's food, knowing we would be bringing some chicken home. We ordered the torchon of white mushroom (baby beet and wild mushroom salad, huckleberry gastrique, toasted brioche) ($14), the Maine lobster French toast (Asian pear, cucumber, and sesame mousse) ($30), and the Kinship roast chicken (lemon-garlic panade under the skin, pommes rissoles, frisee salad) ($56). To the server's credit, she noted that the chicken is probably enough food for two people, and didn't encourage over-ordering.

The white mushroom torchon was unreal. It looked like and had the texture of foie gras, but had the earthy taste of mushrooms. With the little fruit kick of the huckleberry gastrique, I would be hard pressed to not pick this over a foie gras terrine every now and then. The Maine lobster French toast was very good -- it was (understandably) small for $30, but the ability to put seafood and French toast together and have the best parts of both amazing foods shine through was well worth it. At this point we re-up on wine with a glass of a sauvignon blanc blend from DeLille (WA) ($16) and a Bordeaux blend from WA ($18). Bread is served with just-almost-at-the-point-of-melting spreadable butter.

The chicken is divine. If you've had the NoMad (NYC)'s famous black truffle/foie gras/brioche stuffed roast chicken, this is its less decadent little brother. The chicken is, of course, perfectly cooked. The lemon and garlic elevates it to a pretty amazing level. The skin was crispy. The dark meat was shredded into a frisee salad. The potatoes were decadent on a level I don't normally see. And the Parker house rolls are some of the best dinner rolls you'll have. We end up wisely boxing much of it to share a dessert.

The German chocolate cake (pecan ganache, poached cherries, toasted coconut ice cream) ($12) is, well, just as fantastic as it sounds. Everything works very well together to make a cool version of one of my favorite desserts.

I'll definitely repeat, and Metier has leapfrogged Pineapple as one of my next expensive tasting menu style places to go.

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Looking forward to Friday night belated birthday celebration at Kinship. After tasting the menu at CityZen just before Chef departed, I am looking forward to the evening. No current menu is online, and there are no recent posts, so if anyone has been recently,  please post! Thanks! (I'll add my .02 review after we dine...)

ETA-the menu online is very close to the current one, I'm told. I'll report back later!

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Hey Squids - I was just at Kinship this Saturday for an early dinner pre-company holiday party. We ate in the bar area and didn't venture too far beyond what we had in our prior visit.

Starters were Lobster French Toast and the Risotto with White Truffles. The Lobster French Toast was unchanged from our earlier trip and just as delicious.

Risotto was also excellent, and it should be noted that the truffles are priced fairly gently relative to other places in town and in other cities this season. Great dish, but then again when is anything with enough white truffles on it bad?

Main course was the roast chicken, which continues to be superb and an EXCELLENT deal. The two of us couldn't finish the chicken, accompanying salad and parker house rolls. The pommes rissolees were also fantastic. The chicken is different than the Palena/ Grill room bird from years and months past - if this bird is brined it is not assertively so, but is no less moist. The panade is excellent, and I had more of it this time than on my prior visit. The chicken could have easily served three, and potentially four, but not four with hearty appetities. Also totally possible that we received a bird on the small side as there were just two of us.

Wines were a glass of champagne, a glass of Chateau Musar white, and the outstanding '08 Raffault Chinon "les Picasses". Can't recommend this Chinon enough - pure Cab Franc goodness, and very easy on the wallet.

Great meal - looking forward to returning soon.

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19 hours ago, Keithstg said:

Hey Squids - I was just at Kinship this Saturday for an early dinner pre-company holiday party. We ate in the bar area and didn't venture too far beyond what we had in our prior visit.

Starters were Lobster French Toast and the Risotto with White Truffles. The Lobster French Toast was unchanged from our earlier trip and just as delicious.

Risotto was also excellent, and it should be noted that the truffles are priced fairly gently relative to other places in town and in other cities this season. Great dish, but then again when is anything with enough white truffles on it bad?

Main course was the roast chicken, which continues to be superb and an EXCELLENT deal. The two of us couldn't finish the chicken, accompanying salad and parker house rolls. The pommes rissolees were also fantastic. The chicken is different than the Palena/ Grill room bird from years and months past - if this bird is brined it is not assertively so, but is no less moist. The panade is excellent, and I had more of it this time than on my prior visit. The chicken could have easily served three, and potentially four, but not four with hearty appetities. Also totally possible that we received a bird on the small side as there were just two of us.

Wines were a glass of champagne, a glass of Chateau Musar white, and the outstanding '08 Raffault Chinon "les Picasses". Can't recommend this Chinon enough - pure Cab Franc goodness, and very easy on the wallet.

Great meal - looking forward to returning soon.

Thanks for the post Keithstg! I'm trying to decide between the Foie Gras Torchon or the Lobster French Toast...both have received rave reviews! The chicken I was told is ~4 lb but we won't be getting that this time. I may go for the Spanish Turbot, Quince Salad and one of the above. Perhaps the Oyster chowder instead of the Quince Salad, if that one is amenable to my allergies. And debating among the Parsnip Cake, Maple Syrup Dumplings, Honeycrisp Apple Galette or Chocolate Chestnut Turinois for dessert. Too many to choose from-I don't usually have this many options!

(One of the downfalls/benefits of many allergies...selecting what to order ahead of time)

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26 minutes ago, squidsdc said:

Well that is no help at all!  Haha. Any other recs on the desserts?

I've liked all the single-sized desserts just about equally (it's just a matter of which ingredients sound good to you); the only clunker was the double-sized Rhubarb Clafoutis, which just didn't bear any resemblance to a Clafoutis, and even my dining companion (who didn't know what a Clafoutis was, just didn't love it). *Everything* else has been wonderful.

Regardless of dessert, do yourself a favor and get an order of coffee - decaf if necessary. Just trust me on this and do it, and you'll be in for one of the most delightful surprises you've ever had. If you have peanut allergies, ignore this paragraph.

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9 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Regardless of dessert, do yourself a favor and get an order of coffee - decaf if necessary. Just trust me on this and do it, and you'll be in for one of the most delightful surprises you've ever had. If you have peanut allergies, ignore this paragraph.

Totally agree. I don't usually bother with coffee in a restaurant, even with dessert, but this coffee service was delightful.

Also just have to say I'm seething with jealousy that you're going to Kinship tonight.

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30 minutes ago, squidsdc said:

Well that is no help at all!  Haha. Any other recs on the desserts?

The apple confit is the best dessert I've had anywhere in recent memory.  But sounds like they're doing something different with apples this season?

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3 hours ago, DanielK said:

You can't lose with either the Foie Gras or the Lobster French Toast.

But if you had to pick one, pick the Lobster French Toast!  With seared foie gras, it might be another story, but I'd rather have the LFT than a torchon.

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28 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I've liked all the single-sized desserts just about equally (it's just a matter of which ingredients sound good to you); the only clunker was the double-sized Rhubarb Clafoutis, which just didn't bear any resemblance to a Clafoutis, and even my dining companion (who didn't know what a Clafoutis was, just didn't love it). *Everything* else has been wonderful.

Regardless of dessert, do yourself a favor and get an order of coffee - decaf if necessary. Just trust me on this and do it, and you'll be in for one of the most delightful surprises you've ever had. If you have peanut allergies, ignore this paragraph.

I saw your post on the decaf previously and was planning on ordering...but yes, I am allergic to legumes, so peanuts are out. :( (sigh) 

Thanks for all the help everyone!

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1 hour ago, squidsdc said:

Pssst- cashews now, so I got to indulge!

Do you know this for a fact? Write Celia and ask her - this is her job, and she's always happy to field questions such as this.

Get the chicken so you can have the Parker House rolls, among other things.

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14 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Do you know this for a fact? Write Celia and ask her - this is her job, and she's always happy to field questions such as this.

Get the chicken so you can have the Parker House rolls, among other things.

Yes they are definitely cashews. I was told they changed the recipe about a week ago. And unfortunately, just like at Palena, I'll never be able to eat the chicken. Garlic is integral to the dish. (I miss the Parker house rolls!) I'll write more later, but just want to say that most of the menu was available to me, without alteration, or with very slight accommodation. That is a major feat. The newly added oyster stew is a must order IMHO, and the lobster French toast was everything it has been hyped to be. Aside from the surprise on the coffee service, the actual coffee was the most disappointing part of the meal. More on that later....

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I recently dined at the bar with one other. We had the tataki tuna, turbot, duck confit and whole chicken. Needless to say, this was a bit overzealous for two people. The tuna, as has been previously described, is fantastic. The turbot is served with the fin, which is fatty and flavorsome, as well as a thick broth. I'm surprised more has not been said about the duck confit. The sauce contains hazelnut and some kind of sweet, seasoned bread - a perfect and unexpected combination of flavors that somehow complemented the bird perfectly. 

I'd also agree that the coffee service is an unexpected and indulgent surprise.

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After far too long of a break, my wife and I had another victorious dinner here tonight.  For once we didn't over-order and only had four (completely new) dishes.  In fact in all of the times we've been here, I don't think we've ever ordered the same thing as on a previous visit.  Of course that's not hard to do with a menu that changes this often.

The service equalled the food and we especially loved our French waiter in the bar area, whose booths have become our favorite part of the restaurant.  

There's nothing like ending a hectic first week back in this gourmet temple of serenity.  

Oh yeah, I must salute them once again for the range of wines and prices on their large wine list.  We had a wonderful Petit Verdot for $45 which, if memory serves me, is $15 dollars cheaper than the least expensive of the handful of wines at Momofuku.  

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Similar to Bart, after too much time between visits, I'm heading to Kinship tomorrow to celebrate an anniversary with my wife. We over-ordered during our previous visit, and while that was a fortunate "mistake", I would like to at least try to order more appropriately this time.

We shared the roast chicken before, and while it was superb, we may share another "table" dish this time. If we do, it's likely to be the beef, since my wife is not fond of fish, lamb, or foie gras (sigh). We may also just order from the top of the menu, so who knows. The desserts look amazing, so I'd like to save room for that as well.

Would love to hear recommendations. Thanks!

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I was there last week with a 6-top, so we got to sample quite a few things.

We got the whole roasted foie lobe - it was worth every penny of the $150. No joke.

We also had the lobster french toast (I order this every time, and the one time we didn't, Chef sent one out as a gift. He sure showed me!), and the Duck Confit a L'Orange. That duck was incredible - it was compressed into a loaf with the crispy skin on top. I didn't want to share.

For mains, we shared the whole chicken, short ribs, and seared scallops. I'd order every single one again. They're all what I feel like when I eat Eric's food - they are classic preparations, with enough of a twist to make you consider the ingredient and the preparation, without distracting from the food.

Desserts (we did not have room at this point, but soldiered on) included the maple syrup dumplings and creme brulee. And birthday ice cream cake! The praline they are currently serving with the coffee is cinnamon cashew.

They are different restaurants, but there's something of a parallel between Kinship/Metier and Rose's Luxury/Pineapple and Pearls. I know that the Silverman pair gets the media attention, but having eaten at Rose's just a couple of weeks ago, given the choice, I'd go to Kinship every time.

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Commemorated four years of dating bliss with @MichaelBDC at Kinship last night. We managed to not over order and had an amazing meal. 

We started with the ramp-ricotta dumplings and the asparagus dijonnaise for appetizers. Both dishes were a lovely celebration of Spring. Especially loved the dumplings and the fricasseed artichokes that accompanied them. For our mains, we had the rockfish and the quail. Both were cooked perfectly and showcased the quality of the main ingredient. I have been cooking a lot of fish at home lately and wish I could come close to executing fish that  well. My favorite dish of the evening was the quail which was served with seared chicken liver, garganelli, chive blossoms and espelette broth. I couldn't get enough of that broth. We finished off dinner with creme brulee, which we ordered because of @MichaelBDC's love for grapefruit. He loved the grapefruit sorbet and I loved the creme brulee so it was a good choice for us to split.

Service was lovely. Megan steered us away from an Italian red that would have been a bit too heavy for our meal and towards a similarly priced and wonderful I Custodi. She also deduced that we would be sharing everything and we were set up accordingly and plates were placed in the middle.

My only regret is that we did not order the chicken. With our late reservation and the length of time it takes to roast the chicken, we didn't want to wait until 9:30pm for our entree. Next time, we will need to get an earlier reservation and order that chicken.

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Dinner last night was really good. Had the ricotta ramp dumplings mentioned above, asparagus vinaigrette, green tomato soup, and, for the first time, the roast chicken. Everything was well done and tasty. For dessert the crema fritta with rhubarb and a grand marnier vanilla ice cream float was lovely. 

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On 9/16/2016 at 3:00 PM, DonRocks said:

I've been to the bar over ten times and only had trouble once, but even then I got one of those booths in the bar area. At some point, I'd guess the bar will become full on weekends, and then at some point, it will become full on weekdays; on the other hand, Palena's bar was almost *never* full.

 

On 9/16/2016 at 2:48 PM, jca76 said:

We've eaten or grabbed a drink at the bar about half a dozen times over the last few months and have never had trouble getting two seats at the bar.  Generally we go around 8:30 or 9:00 -- we're often late eaters -- on both weekdays and weekends and usually find it half empty.  (I actually prefer sitting at the bar to eating in the dining room.  I like the vibe more and enjoy the proximity to Kerstin, Nikki, and others behind the bar for getting recommendations/general chatting.)

Has anyone noticed whether it's gotten more difficult to get seats at the bar (particularly on weekends)? Possible impromptu dinner here tonight or Saturday, but no reservations available since it's very popular. Thanks!

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10 hours ago, Genevieve said:

Has anyone noticed whether it's gotten more difficult to get seats at the bar (particularly on weekends)? Possible impromptu dinner here tonight or Saturday, but no reservations available since it's very popular. Thanks!

Yes.  We tried to do my birthday there a few Saturdays back and were unable to get a table and ended up with the last two seats at the bar at little before 7:00. 

Note that they told us that we could not order food (just drinks) if we wanted to sit at the otherwise available table near the entrance, which seemed odd.  That said, we had eventually had a lovely meal at the bar itself. 

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10 hours ago, youngfood said:

Note that they told us that we could not order food (just drinks) if we wanted to sit at the otherwise available table near the entrance, which seemed odd. 

That is odd - the only thing I can think of is that they changed their policy to hold those tables for diners at Métier, but I don't know that.

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Finally getting to Kinship next week!  So pleased, especially as I never got to CityZen.

One question: I am definitely getting the lobster French toast, and as a soft-shell crab lover, figured I would get the crab. But there's overlap in the ingredients, which I hope wouldn't make them too much the same.  The lobster French toast is currently served with cucumber, rhubarb, and sesame mousse.  The soft-shell crab says it's with rhubarb gazpacho, toasted cashew, and sesame oil.  I am very fond of sesame, and much less so of rhubarb (I don't affirmatively dislike it, I think, but have never enjoyed it particularly - but I don't think it would lessen my enjoyment of the lobster).  Are the two dishes likely to taste too similar?

The current online menu was not particularly appealing to my dining partner, but I know the menu there may end up being quite different.  I'm hoping there will be fish on the menu (I see sea bass and cobia on the current online menu), with a preparation that isn't too rich and doesn't depend on serving the fish rare, and/or a nice salad for one of the courses (no salad on the online menu right now, but I know they've had some good ones before). If they had the halibut with trumpet mushrooms people loved last summer, I might well get that myself instead of the crab, but I wouldn't choose the sea bass or cobia over it.  

Do people have recommendations on any of the currently listed desserts? They all sound pretty good. Can't do chocolate, but the blueberry blintz, strawberry-banana trifle, and pralines 'n' cream look appealing.

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41 minutes ago, Genevieve said:

Finally getting to Kinship next week!  So pleased, especially as I never got to CityZen.

One question: I am definitely getting the lobster French toast, and as a soft-shell crab lover, figured I would get the crab. But there's overlap in the ingredients, which I hope wouldn't make them too much the same.  The lobster French toast is currently served with cucumber, rhubarb, and sesame mousse.  The soft-shell crab says it's with rhubarb gazpacho, toasted cashew, and sesame oil.  I am very fond of sesame, and much less so of rhubarb (I don't affirmatively dislike it, I think, but have never enjoyed it particularly - but I don't think it would lessen my enjoyment of the lobster).  Are the two dishes likely to taste too similar?

I'm in the minority (maybe even a minority of one), but the Lobster French Toast isn't my favorite dish at Kinship - it's *very* rich and decadent (there's loads of butter), but I don't think it's Kinship at its most sublime. That said, I don't think the flavor profile of your two dishes will be too similar, as the rhubarb will cut through the butter quite nicely, and the texture of the crab shell and cashews will complement the softness of the lobster and french toast - if you had said "Lobster French Toast and Foie Gras," I would have asked you to think twice.

Anyone on the staff there should be able to help you with questions such as this, as the entire staff is intimately familiar with the dishes (which is just one reason that this is the best restaurant in DC).

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We both loved Kinship.

I had the soft-shell crab as an appetizer and the lobster french toast as a main. The flavors were not very similar despite the rhubarb and sesame in both. The rhubarb "gazpacho" was a terrific contrast in flavor and texture to the crab. I really prefer soft-shells sauteed or otherwise not fried, but these were the best tempura'd crabs I've had, as the crab flavor didn't get lost under the breading. The lobster was amazing. 

My husband had the creme fraiche agnolotti and the lamb shoulder and thought both were wonderful. 

For dessert, he had the chocolate sesame torte and I had the pralines 'n cream. Both were scrumptious.

Service was very very good (I particularly liked that when they called to confirm the reservation, they asked about any food restrictions, and then the waiter had those on a list and asked us about them and said he'd alert us if anything we were ordering had those ingredients).

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On 7/17/2017 at 10:26 AM, Genevieve said:

We both loved Kinship.

I had the soft-shell crab as an appetizer and the lobster french toast as a main. The flavors were not very similar despite the rhubarb and sesame in both. The rhubarb "gazpacho" was a terrific contrast in flavor and texture to the crab. I really prefer soft-shells sauteed or otherwise not fried, but these were the best tempura'd crabs I've had, as the crab flavor didn't get lost under the breading. The lobster was amazing. 

My husband had the creme fraiche agnolotti and the lamb shoulder and thought both were wonderful. 

For dessert, he had the chocolate sesame torte and I had the pralines 'n cream. Both were scrumptious.

Service was very very good (I particularly liked that when they called to confirm the reservation, they asked about any food restrictions, and then the waiter had those on a list and asked us about them and said he'd alert us if anything we were ordering had those ingredients).

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to getting here again very soon - it is one of our favorite places.

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@MichaelBDC and I went here with my aunt and cousin for their last meal during their D.C. visit. I told my cousin that if she goes to Georgetown, I can take her here for all of her milestones. :lol:

We ordered several dishes to share and had a lovely bottle of wine from Washington State to enjoy throughout the dinner. The lobster French toast met the hype. Luckily for my cousin and me, my aunt doesn't eat seafood and @MichaelBDC is slightly allergic to shellfish. Pleasantly surprised by the amount of lobster meat on the plate. The saganaki (fried cheese, sweet pepper sauce, and fava beans) was good but probably our least favorite dish of the evening. I loved the ingredients, but he dish just didn't come together for me. Also, I found it odd that the fried cheese was served at room temperature (maybe just a little warm). The last appetizer was the heirloom tomato salad, which was amazing. Everything one would want from a good heirloom tomato salad, with the Ziebold touch. We should have gotten a second order.

I tried to get the table to order the roast chicken but my aunt and cousin were not having it. Instead, the four of us split the braised lamb shoulder and the old bay rubbed ribeye for our entrees. As my aunt kept saying throughout the meal, "very good." I can't remember much about the dishes now, but I really liked both entrees and we cleaned the plates. 

Dessert was the chocolate sesame torte and the gooey butter cake. We also received a little portion of pecan brittle from the kitchen. Chocolate sesame torte was great without being too rich. Butter cake was nice and simple. I really liked the raspberry buttermilk ice cream that accompanied it. 

Another amazing time at Kinship. And since that chicken is still on my "to eat" list, I have another reason to head back. 

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Finally got to dine here over the weekend and am so glad I finally made it down (and was able to get a reservation time slot.  Started the meal with a glass of Digby English Sparkling Wine while my wife had the American quarter cocktail.  Both were excellent, although I'm a bit biased on the former as it's produced by a college friend.  For starters we went all in and got the fois gras torchon and the Lobster French Toast.  I actually preferred the former - the French toast was good but didn't blow me away.

Two entrees were the Rack of Lamb and the Kinship Sauerkraut.  The former was really, really good - the curry was excellent, the eggplant was quite tasty, and that's before we get to the lamb itself.  That being said, our consensus was that the pork and sauerkraut dish was the winner for the evening.  Wow.  As my wife put it, it's not too hard to make foie gras taste great, but when you make sauerkraut the star of the evening (successfully), you should take a bow.  Admittedly, we've both got a bit of Eastern European in our genes, but this one was amazing.  Kudos to the team there.

Finished up with the donuts and peanut torte for desert.  In retrospect, probably should have skipped this course, although both were very good, as it just ended up making the whole meal a tad too rich.  Unforced error on my part, so this shouldn't take anything away from the kitchen.  Service was excellent through the night as well.  Definitely enjoyed everything about the meal and can't wait to get back.

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1 hour ago, youngfood said:

We haven't been able to try Metier yet, but our most recent meal at Kinship gives us every reason to believe the Washingtonian's rating of it as the best restaurant in town.  I'm not sure when we'll manage to try Metier, but I'm sure it won't be long before we find an excuse to return to Kinship.

*Great* review, youngfood, and much obliged for the hat-tip (I wish I could take original credit for it, but it might have been Eric who urged me to try it the first time).

Serious question: I don't think you can cherry-pick things - such as Métier being #1 - from Listicles in isolation (this is a general comment, and I'm not trying to bust on Washingtonian - I've dined with Ann and Cynthia, and am quite fond of them both). That said, how do you reconcile Kinship not being in the Top 25?

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