lhollers Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Alright, alright - after a false start last week, we finally made it in. Great recaps above, so no need to dive in too deep. My main takeaway: for the quality of food and level of service, you'd be hard pressed to find a better value in DC. A couple could easily get out of here with three to four dishes and a glass of wine each for around $100. That said, one could also drop a few hundred by ordering some of the items listed on the "Indulgence" and "For the Table" menus. We were in the former group last night, ordering the lobster french toast (could've licked the sauce off the plate - outstanding dish); the Muscovy duck (my favorite dish of the night); the Hungarian sauerkraut (basically a thinly sliced pork loin with some shredded pork and shredded cabbage); and the Aoyagi clams (weakest dish of the night for me - loved the clam, but the bok choy and sticky rice didn't stand out as accoutrements). Lobster and duck will be mainstays for me from here on out; the pork was heavily salted and a *lot* of meat...not that that's bad, it just wasn't what I was looking for last night. Clams were interesting - sliced thin, the muscle was very sweet and very chewy. The shiitake tempura added some nice crunch and umami. I actually liked the clams themselves, but there weren't many, and, as mentioned above, it just didn't feel like a cohesive dish as a whole. That said, my date loved it, so wtf do I know? To each their own. We actually met up and had a few drinks with Kerstin beforehand, so got the inside intel on the wine and drinks program. She's really trying to make an accessible list (as are all somms, I would hope) that runs the gamut from affordable, lesser-known varietals to the "big spender" celebratory bottles. It was obvious how proud she was of the great values she had found re: bottles in the $40-70 range - bodes well for diners. I had a really nice 2012 Pouilly Fume sauv. blanc that was a blast of bright, fresh citrus; perfect for perking up the palate. With the mains, I moved on to a Hungarian Furmint Sec from Tokaji (sp?); I'd never heard of it, but Kerstin recommended it. Fantastic. Creamy, dry, and some nice acids to counteract the rich sauces on some of the dishes. Also, that butter tho. Some of the best I've had in a restaurant, easily. Service was good, not perfect, but they're just working into their own. As I mentioned in my year-end roundup for BYT, this place is going to slay. Average age in the dining room last night was probably 35 - not what I expected for a chef with this pedigree and background, but definitely welcome. Can't wait to get back and try more dishes. Full service at the (large and beautiful) bar. Cheers! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 The restaurant will offer a seven-course tasting menu exclusively. Ziebold says he hasn't settled on the final price yet. "I'm still trying to work out the price on the Japanese beef and the caviar," he says. "It kind of goes without saying, it's going to be expensive." It also kind of goes without saying that there will be a trickle-down effect to Kinship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 What is going to trickle down? The left over caviar or the prices? And does that mean you're saying the prices at Kinship will be going up?So confused! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 What is going to trickle down? The left over caviar or the prices? And does that mean you're saying the prices at Kinship will be going up? So confused! The beef, and people will be surprised at just how *in*expensive Kinship is. You can come in a sweater and jeans and spend $50, or you can come in a tux and spend $200, and either one will be a good value for the money. $13 for the torchon? Hel-lo? As for the $56 chicken, I'll be writing about it shortly. In the meantime ... if there are two-or-more in your party, just trust me and get it (or, you could spend $28 for a half-chicken at Yona ... that one comes with pierogies instead of Parker House Rolls and ... well, more later - I don't want to scoop myself). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 As for the $56 chicken, I'll be writing about it shortly. In the meantime ... if there are two-or-more in your party, get it. I meant to comment on this in the other thread (maybe it should be moved?) Kinship is charging $56 for a full chicken that has stuffing injected between the skin and meat(!!) as well as other side dishes. Cedar Knoll, a recently reopened place near me is charging $24 for a half chicken! I have no doubt that the Kinship version will be A LOT better than the eight dollar price differential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIShGo Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I had one of the best meals of my life in this lovely new restaurant. I enjoyed everything about Kinship--the decor, the service and the creative, delicious food. Kinship is elegant without being stuffy. The dining room, with its thoughtful lighting, decorated in shades of dove gray, white and cream, evokes a feeling of calm. There is great attention to detail, from the little handles on the backs of the chairs to the beautiful china on which the food was served. We started with the torchon of white mushroom, served with a chioggia beet and wild mushroom salad, huckleberry gastrique and toasted brioche. This was my favorite dish, and one I would certainly order again. Creamy and delicious, mimicking the taste and texture of foie gras, I never would have guessed this dish was vegetarian. Next, we shared the lobster french toast and a sunchokes dish. I would highly recommend both. Like the torchon, these dishes were inventive, visually pleasing and incredibly tasty. For our main course, we shared the roast chicken, which, at four pounds, was much more than the two of us could eat. Normally, I don't order roast chicken in restaurants, preferring to try more unusual dishes that I cannot prepare myself at home. This dish, however, did not disappoint. The bird was roasted to perfection. I enjoyed the lemony flavor and the perfectly crisped skin. It was served with a generous portion of potatoes, parker house rolls, and a refreshing arugula salad, tossed with small pieces of the dark meat. The salad was the perfect complement to the chicken and the potatoes. This dish was such a generous serving, we took it home and still couldn't finish it all for lunch the next day. While our sticky toffee pudding was decadent and generously sized, for me, the coffee service was the exclamation point at the end of a perfect meal. Our coffee was served with steaming hot half and half, along with a disc of delicious toffee, about three inches in diameter. We were given a beautiful, antique toffee hammer, and instructed to hit the candy with it. I thought this was a charming touch and a fun way to end our meal. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Where does their blue fin tuna come from? And how do they get a piece of raw fish to taste sweet, sour, salty and spicy? Where's umami? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Where does their blue fin tuna come from? And how do they get a piece of raw fish to taste sweet, sour, salty and spicy? Where's umami? It comes from the ocean, and it's the condiments that create the four flavors; not the fish itself - my mami came from a glass of red Marsannay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I'm moving this over her for you Don, in order to motivate you to post a full review........ Yes, Kinship (menu here) hasn't yet been examined by any major publication; it's still at the neonatal stage where it has only been lauded by the most popular regional website in the country which influences every "major publication" and every "major critic" in town, and where the chef himself (who ran the kitchen at The French Laundry for many years) regularly signs on and participates, and where the website owner performed the chef's wedding ceremony in France, so yes, now would be a perfect time to go before any publication or person of consequence or expertise says anything about it. But for some reason, last night, you would have been unable to get a seat at the bar, so you might already be too late ... however, if you write me, I can and will help you if you let me know when you want to go, and how many people will be going (and don't be scared by a few of the high-dollar items on the menu - you can dine there very well without spending very much money, and it's world-class cuisine - the best our city has to offer). As friendly as the bar is for the solo diner (for example, their astounding White Mushroom Torchon, followed by their incredible, Tunisien-influenced Oeuf í la Brick au Thon), Kinship really hits its sweet-spot when you have two-or-more people so you can delve into some of their outstanding dishes "For The Table" such as their $56 whole chicken for two - a four-pound black feather - served with the best Pommes Rissolés imaginable, a perfect side salad tossed with the leg meat immediately after a presentation of the entire bird, and a box of their signature Parker House Rolls. Start that off with the White Mushroom Torchon, and finish with one of their Desserts followed by Coffee Service (the decaf is excellent) during which you'll receive the most amazing piece of toffee you'll ever eat (complete with an antique toffee hammer to break it up with). But go now before anyone who knows what they're doing gets word of this place. Kinship-Dinner-01.26.16.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I'm moving this over her for you Don, in order to motivate you to post a full review........ Are these your pumpkins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brr Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 As huge fans of Cityzen and Chef Ziebold we were excited to hit up Kinship last night with some friends - the food was generally excellent but we had pretty significant issues with the pacing. Its a beautiful space and the ladies in our party were especially taken with the "sitting room" and fireplace up front. Food wise, the hits of the night were the Lobster French Toast, the sunchokes and the Tuna Egg Pancake dish. Mushroom torchon, duck, celtuce w lentils and desserts also really really good. Someone mentioned upthread that they were still working out the service and I tend to agree. We were seated at 9, got our orders in fairly quickly and by 10.30 had only received 2 dishes. When we asked what was going on, the server tried to imply it had been at our request because we had made an off hand comment when ordering that we assumed that because we were ordering all small plates they would not come at once. Theres a bit difference between dishes not coming at once and two over a 90 minute period. We also ordered Parker House rolls at the beginning of the meal and once our final dishes were arriving (at around 11.30) we realized that order had been forgotten and had to ask again. The soufflé is delicious but again as someone noted upthread I was expecting something much bigger for a $24 "for the table" dish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Are these your pumpkins? Sadly, no. That picture was already on the site before I made the delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Sadly, no. #firstworldproblems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedm Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 My wife and I enjoyed an incredible meal early Saturday evening. Don and others have provided their incredibly well-written recaps, and as I'm not in their league, I'll just provide a few highlights. For my tastes, the restaurant is ideal. It seats somewhere around 80 people, so it retain an intimate feel. There is a comfortable waiting area just past the entry way, and a spacious bar featuring plenty of seating, as well as a few small tables and booths. The dining area is beautiful; sparsely decorated, and the tables are far enough apart that we didn't feel cramped at all. The noise level is nice as well. We were able to carry on a conversation without raising our voices--a rare treat these days. The tableware was absolutely beautiful, and as we found out the dish ware is made for the restaurant by Cloudterre. Kinship exuded genuine warmth and hospitality from start to finish. Without exception, everyone we encountered seemed to love their work, including "our" dining room attendant. Our server, Liz, was delightful, helpful, and extremely knowledgeable. If you are interested in wine, certainly consider speaking with Kerstin. She is also a wealth of knowledge, and recommended a nice burgundy to match our food choices. We were also fortunate to meet Eric as we entered the restaurant (we had a 530 reservation) as well as Celia, who was a continuous presence in the dining room. Both were incredibly charming and genuine. I would have loved to invite any of these people to sit and chat during dinner! Oh yes, and the food and drinks were incredible! Many have provided wonderful descriptions of most items we ordered. A surprise hit was the sunchoke dish, which was a creamy, tangy, and bright dish accentuated with a bit of crunchiness from pepitas. To end the meal, as others have suggested, we ordered tea and coffee service. The toffee was indeed outstanding, and was matched by an equally delicious latte. Random notes: My thanks to Don, who is responsible for a bit of "edible hospitality". I noted a table of four who brought in a couple of their own bottles of wine. They appeared to take their wine seriously, bringing their wine in nice looking leather carrying cases. It's very possible to dine at Kinship quite reasonably. It's also possible to spend a great deal of money if your circumstances allow. ($100 Armagnac, etc.) In our case, we were celebrating a birthday, and we intentionally over-ordered a bit. For $290 (plus gratuity), we received two cocktails, four smaller plates, the Kinship roast chicken, coffee, tea, (toffee included) and pineapple crumb cake and an $85 bottle of wine. While the smaller plates were shareable for two people, the chicken was easily enough for four, as was the cake. Smart casual seemed to be the prevalent dress. They allow for a small number of walk-in customers. Most importantly, you must believe Don when he says this is an important restaurant. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 A real review will follow at some point, but this is the restaurant in DC right now. No one is close to what EZ is putting out. The plan now is to figure out financially how to eat here as many times as possible without losing my house. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I'll sneak in here before Josh writes his review with a mini-review and tip. After our first visit, my wife and I were dying to go back to try more of the menu and wanted to beat the post Post-review rush so we checked on Open Table (last Thursday) and they had nothing for 3 or 4 days. My wife decided to call to see if they held any seats back for call ins for Friday. Nope. They were fully booked, but they took our name down just in case. In the meantime, we decided, "Screw it! We'll just arrive right when open and try to get seats at the bar". Right before she left her office to head to the Metro, she got a call saying they had 2 seats open up in the main restaurant that we could have. Score! So that's my tip - - if you can't get it, try calling and getting on the cancelation list. Also, we could have eaten either at the bar or at one of the tables in the bar area (there are three and two were taken), but we got there at about 5:35, so if you plan to do this, you should probably go early. The meal was great again. We tried all new things and the main purpose of our visit was to try the chicken which almost didn't happen because we again go lost on the top half of the menu. We over-ordered on the top half and still got the chicken, so we ended up taking more than half of it home. My son devoured most of it as soon as we hit the door. The skin/stuffing combo was a highlight of the dish. Very different than anything I've ever had. Another highlight were the Pommes Rissolees. The potato chunks/cubes were somehow unbelievably fluffy and light inside but they had a bit of crispness on the outside. These weren't your Sunday morning home fries! Another draw to get us in there was the Fairy Tale Pumpkin Salad which was a new addition to the menu. I grow these pumpkins as ornamentals, just because they look so cool, but I've never eaten one. If you didn't know it was pumpkin/squash you were eating, you'd think it was carrots. I don't know how they did it, but the little cubes of pumpkin were not soft and mushy, rather they had a slight crunch to them. Very interesting. We also loved the hell out of the Sautéed Moulard Foie Gras with Duck Scrapple and Bacon Vinaigrette. Not surprising, this was on the "Indulgence" part of the menu! Crazy good. We used our bread soak up every last bit of the sauce. And based on all the raves up tread, we got the Torchon of White Mushroom. For 13 bucks, this is a bargain, and if you didn't know better, you'd swear you were eating meat. We were too stuffed to order dessert, but we earlier bonded with Kerstin the Sommelier over a love of Rose' in any season, and she sent over some amazing banana ice cream that is inexplicability absent from the menu. This may sound strange, but it was crazy good. A glass of port may have also been involved. (!) Having been twice, and ordering completely different things both times, I could easily go back tonight and order a third meal of all new choices. And probably a fourth time tomorrow. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Another draw to get us in there was the Fairy Tale Pumpkin Salad which was a new addition to the menu. I grow these pumpkins as ornamentals, just because they look so cool, but I've never eaten one. If you didn't know it was pumpkin/squash you were eating, you'd think it was carrots. I don't know how they did it, but the little cubes of pumpkin were not soft and mushy, rather they had a slight crunch to them. Very interesting. You're being a little too modest, Bart. These are most likely *Bart's actual pumpkins* on the menu - I had this salad as well, last Friday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedm Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 You're being a little too modest, Bart. These are most likely *Bart's actual pumpkins* on the menu - I had this salad as well, last Friday. You went again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Josh Posted February 19, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted February 19, 2016 As is our custom, we showed up for our reservation about 20 minutes early to have a drink at the bar. The hostess suggested that if we'd rather, we could sit in the lounge, a small room just to the left of the entrance with cushioned benches and a fireplace. Not a minute after sitting down, a bartender stopped in with drink menus and suggestions. I went with a gin cocktail called Midnight Sun that deftly balanced the dryness of gin with herbal notes from aquavit and Cocchi Torino, and a touch of sweetness from Benedictine. Perfect aperitif. My wife had an equally delicious cognac-based drink (Champs-Elysee) that included green Chartreuse and Lemon. At the appointed time, the hostess came over to tell us our table was ready. Unlike an earlier annoying experience at Washington's #1 restaurant, she said straightaway that the tab would be transferred. Our server greeted us at the table, noted we were still enjoying our cocktails and conversation, and pretty much left us alone for 10 minutes or so. I haven't stressed so much over what to order in a long, long time. We started with the Path Valley Sunchokes with clementines, pepitas, and cilantro chimichurri, and the Sautéed Moulard Foie Gras with duck scrapple and bacon vinaigrette. The sunchokes haunt me. Impossibly creamy, with a nicely browned, caramelized exterior offset by the bright chimichurri. Seriously, we woke up this morning, and my wife looked at me and said "Sunchokes." The foie was a nice foil to the brightness of the sunchokes, with an extremely rich bacon sauce. Now, because we are dealing with Chef Ziebold, even a dish with foie gras, duck scrapple, and bacon came off as rich, yet somehow not a gut bomb. These both paired well with glasses of the Francois Diligent Brut Champagne and the (oh-so-delicious) Donnhoff Riesling. The next course brought the Oeuf A La Brick Au Thon for the wife, and the Hungarian Sauerkraut with shoat and creme fraiche for me. We had to do a bit of sleuthing to figure out what the hell my wife's dish was going to be. (For those who, like me, aren't in the know, "Brik" is a Tunisian and Algerian pastry with a savory filling, often egg.) The dish is served as a semicircle of crisp fried pastry with a perfectly cooked egg enveloped within, runny yolk and all. Neat trick. Several slices of rare "tuna confit" lay on top, with a pepper and olive "marmalade" (more of a salad). This worked very well together, though I think the subtleties of the flavors were a bit lost on me going from my richly-spiced dish for just a bite or two of the tuna. The shoat was served as a pieces of braised pork molded together in a cube, with a bit of delciously gelatinous skin on top. The sauerkraut was bathed in a meaty wine-y sauce that was rounded nicely by the quenelle of creme fraiche dusted with paprika. This was a killer dish, balanced in every way. Both of these were paired with a bottle of Cab Franc (Chateau de Villaneuve, 2001). Kudos to Kerstin for a fine recommendation that, at $60 was well-below the ceiling I gave. Our server checked in briefly after the dishes were served, and we were left to our food and conversation. I'm not much a dessert person, but Earl Grey ice cream that came with the sticky toffee pudding was nice. Nicer still was the Butler and Nephew white port. We had a 9pm reservation, and are old and tired, so we skipped the coffee service. I told my wife about our discussion on this board about what constitutes "good" service, and my belief that it's best when you never want for anything, but don't notice the wheels turning all around you. That is exactly what we experienced last night. Everyone was warm and relaxed, and allowed us to enjoy our time together without injecting themselves into the evening to generate some kind of "experience" or whatever. As Don and others have noted, while not "cheap," the menu at Kinship is set up in such a way that I can see myself heading back many times without breaking the bank. I think I'll follow in Bart's footsteps and head back very, very soon. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 As is our custom, we showed up for our reservation about 20 minutes early to have a drink at the bar. The hostess suggested that if we'd rather, we could sit in the lounge, a small room just to the left of the entrance with cushioned benches and a fireplace. Not a minute after sitting down, a bartender stopped in with drink menus and suggestions. I went with a gin cocktail called Midnight Sun that deftly balanced the dryness of gin with herbal notes from aquavit and Cocchi Torino, and a touch of sweetness from Benedictine. Perfect aperitif. My wife had an equally delicious cognac-based drink (Champs-Elysee) that included green Chartreuse and Lemon. At the appointed time, the hostess came over to tell us our table was ready. Unlike an earlier annoying experience at Washington's #1 restaurant, she said straightaway that the tab would be transferred. Our server greeted us at the table, noted we were still enjoying our cocktails and conversation, and pretty much left us alone for 10 minutes or so. I haven't stressed so much over what to order in a long, long time. We started with the Path Valley Sunchokes with clementines, pepitas, and cilantro chimichurri, and the Sautéed Moulard Foie Gras with duck scrapple and bacon vinaigrette. The sunchokes haunt me. Impossibly creamy, with a nicely browned, caramelized exterior offset by the bright chimichurri. Seriously, we woke up this morning, and my wife looked at me and said "Sunchokes." The foie was a nice foil to the brightness of the sunchokes, with an extremely rich bacon sauce. Now, because we are dealing with Chef Ziebold, even a dish with foie gras, duck scrapple, and bacon came off as rich, yet somehow not a gut bomb. These both paired well with glasses of the Francois Diligent Brut Champagne and the (oh-so-delicious) Donnhoff Riesling. The next course brought the Oeuf A La Brick Au Thon for the wife, and the Hungarian Sauerkraut with shoat and creme fraiche for me. We had to do a bit of sleuthing to figure out what the hell my wife's dish was going to be. (For those who, like me, aren't in the know, "Brik" is a Tunisian and Algerian pastry with a savory filling, often egg.) The dish is served as a semicircle of crisp fried pastry with a perfectly cooked egg enveloped within, runny yolk and all. Neat trick. Several slices of rare "tuna confit" lay on top, with a pepper and olive "marmalade" (more of a salad). This worked very well together, though I think the subtleties of the flavors were a bit lost on me going from my richly-spiced dish for just a bite or two of the tuna. The shoat was served as a pieces of braised pork molded together in a cube, with a bit of delciously gelatinous skin on top. The sauerkraut was bathed in a meaty wine-y sauce that was rounded nicely by the quenelle of creme fraiche dusted with paprika. This was a killer dish, balanced in every way. Both of these were paired with a bottle of Cab Franc (Chateau de Villaneuve, 2001). Kudos to Kerstin for a fine recommendation that, at $60 was well-below the ceiling I gave. Our server checked in briefly after the dishes were served, and we were left to our food and conversation. I'm not much a dessert person, but Earl Grey ice cream that came with the sticky toffee pudding was nice. Nicer still was the Butler and Nephew white port. We had a 9pm reservation, and are old and tired, so we skipped the coffee service. I told my wife about our discussion on this board about what constitutes "good" service, and my belief that it's best when you never want for anything, but don't notice the wheels turning all around you. That is exactly what we experienced last night. Everyone was warm and relaxed, and allowed us to enjoy our time together without injecting themselves into the evening to generate some kind of "experience" or whatever. As Don and others have noted, while not "cheap," the menu at Kinship is set up in such a way that I can see myself heading back many times without breaking the bank. I think I'll follow in Bart's footsteps and head back very, very soon. Great review. So readable. I had this quick "vision" of being a beagle sized dog sleeping at the feet of the masters of the house; ears perking up tail wagging upon hearing the word "sunchokes". Ha ha Seriously the vision of the shared delight hit my funny bone, but the power of the shared experience is a wonderful testimony. Thanks for the above piece. Very descriptive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notquiteanonymous Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I know I'm swimming against the current here, but had a bit of a clunker at Kinship last weekend, if I'm being honest. First impressions were generally good, and it's certainly an elegant space. Started with some excellent cocktails that were well balanced and flavorful (and not too sweet, which is always my bugaboo). When we ordered wine, my fiance's glass came out dirty, though they replaced it promptly and brought a fresh half bottle (effectively comped my glass, which was a good response). The menu feels a bit disjointed to me, and while I have zero doubt this restaurant can pull off the various types of food, it felt a little scattershot seeing such different types of food and thinking about how to combine them into a meal if one doesn't to choose just from one section. Started with the Ayogi clams and the torchon. The clams were fantastic, and probably the best thing we had all evening -- rich and tangy all at once, with a great texture and fried rice I wish I was still eating. The torchon seems to get a ton of love, and the technique is impressive. But I felt like the more delicate flavor was lost against the bread and it wasn't as spreadable as other foie torchons I've had. In addition, the pickled mushroom salad was nicely acidic and tasty but felt a bit like a separate appetizer. Given that the shroom torchon doesn't have funkiness of foie, going with something like a cracker might have been a better option. Entrees were the duck and the tuna confit. Duck was great, and cooked nicely, though I only got a bite of it. Which was because we didn't realize the tuna included gluten, and fiance doesn't do that whole gluten thing. I suppose if we'd paid more attention whne ordering we would've figured it out, but given the number of GF folks out there, probably worth the waitress pointing out. In addition, the server claimed the tuna was toro, though it was clearly loin, and while the sweet pepper marmalade was done with excellent technique (garlic cooked separately to mellow it out and then combined with the other ingredients) and was tasty, it wasn't nearly as flavorful as the duck. All in all, cool technique with the egg and the feuille, but not the most exciting dish. I know the restaurant is still new and probably trying to refine its dishes, but the torchon and tuna felt a little over-engineered to us and just not as flavorful as we'd hoped, and not nearly as flavorful as the other dishes we had. Coffee/toffee service was delightful and service was good, if not outstanding. But at $190 with tax and tip, having ordered two cocktails, a half bottle of wine, two apps/entrees, and two coffees, it's a pricey place to have a couple of misses like that, particularly with other options around Mt. Vernon triangle being so good (side note: good gosh are we lucky to live right there). Interested to know if others have had similar experiences, as ours seems to stick out against all the raves here. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I know I'm swimming against the current here, but had a bit of a clunker at Kinship last weekend, if I'm being honest. First impressions were generally good, and it's certainly an elegant space. Started with some excellent cocktails that were well balanced and flavorful (and not too sweet, which is always my bugaboo). When we ordered wine, my fiance's glass came out dirty, though they replaced it promptly and brought a fresh half bottle (effectively comped my glass, which was a good response). The menu feels a bit disjointed to me, and while I have zero doubt this restaurant can pull off the various types of food, it felt a little scattershot seeing such different types of food and thinking about how to combine them into a meal if one doesn't to choose just from one section. Started with the Ayogi clams and the torchon. The clams were fantastic, and probably the best thing we had all evening -- rich and tangy all at once, with a great texture and fried rice I wish I was still eating. The torchon seems to get a ton of love, and the technique is impressive. But I felt like the more delicate flavor was lost against the bread and it wasn't as spreadable as other foie torchons I've had. In addition, the pickled mushroom salad was nicely acidic and tasty but felt a bit like a separate appetizer. Given that the shroom torchon doesn't have funkiness of foie, going with something like a cracker might have been a better option. Entrees were the duck and the tuna confit. Duck was great, and cooked nicely, though I only got a bite of it. Which was because we didn't realize the tuna included gluten, and fiance doesn't do that whole gluten thing. I suppose if we'd paid more attention whne ordering we would've figured it out, but given the number of GF folks out there, probably worth the waitress pointing out. In addition, the server claimed the tuna was toro, though it was clearly loin, and while the sweet pepper marmalade was done with excellent technique (garlic cooked separately to mellow it out and then combined with the other ingredients) and was tasty, it wasn't nearly as flavorful as the duck. All in all, cool technique with the egg and the feuille, but not the most exciting dish. I know the restaurant is still new and probably trying to refine its dishes, but the torchon and tuna felt a little over-engineered to us and just not as flavorful as we'd hoped, and not nearly as flavorful as the other dishes we had. Coffee/toffee service was delightful and service was good, if not outstanding. But at $190 with tax and tip, having ordered two cocktails, a half bottle of wine, two apps/entrees, and two coffees, it's a pricey place to have a couple of misses like that, particularly with other options around Mt. Vernon triangle being so good (side note: good gosh are we lucky to live right there). Interested to know if others have had similar experiences, as ours seems to stick out against all the raves here. Thank you for this thoughtful, detailed, post - it's *perfectly fine* here to "go against the grain," and there isn't a single thing you wrote that "violates" any type of protocol. I made the mistake once of getting the torchon after my meal, as my "cheese dish" (I get creative sometimes, and do this). In this instance, it doesn't work - the torchon needs to be had as the very first thing in the meal, and even Eric agreed with it not working well as an after-dinner cheese plate: I wonder if the Ayogi clams might have lessened the dish for you - that's one dish I haven't had, so I don't know, but your description makes me want to try them on my next visit (I've been tempted; I just haven't pulled the trigger yet). The menu is a bit confusing at first glance, but if you study it for a few minutes, you can see that it's easy to cobble together a well-priced meal with dishes priced only in the teens. Granted, interspersed among those dishes is a $150 roasted lobe of foie gras, so the menu "forces" you to examine everything. You're right about the torchon and the tuna being mild dishes, although the runny egg makes the brick au thon a happy dish, in my eyes (it's a riff on a classic Tunisien street-food item, and it's the first time I've ever encountered the dish in Washington, DC, or for that matter, anywhere else). Do not feel badly about writing a thoughtful, honest opinion about your experience at Kinship. And more importantly, welcome to the community! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notquiteanonymous Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Thank you for this thoughtful, detailed, post - it's *perfectly fine* here to "go against the grain," and there isn't a single thing you wrote that "violates" any type of protocol. I made the mistake once of getting the torchon after my meal, as my "cheese dish" (I get creative sometimes, and do this). In this instance, it doesn't work - the torchon needs to be had as the very first thing in the meal, and even Eric agreed with it not working well as an after-dinner cheese plate: I wonder if the Ayogi clams might have lessened the dish for you - that's one dish I haven't had, so I don't know, but your description makes me want to try them on my next visit (I've been tempted; I just haven't pulled the trigger yet). The menu is a bit confusing at first glance, but if you study it for a few minutes, you can see that it's easy to cobble together a well-priced meal with dishes priced only in the teens. Granted, interspersed among those dishes is a $150 roasted lobe of foie gras, so the menu "forces" you to examine everything. You're right about the torchon and the tuna being mild dishes, although the runny egg makes the brick au thon a happy dish, in my eyes (it's a riff on a classic Tunisien street-food item, and it's the first time I've ever encountered the dish in Washington, DC, or for that matter, anywhere else). Do not feel badly about writing a thoughtful, honest opinion about your experience at Kinship. And more importantly, welcome to the community! Thanks! Have read this board before but new to posting (which I guess is the message board equivalent of "long time listener, first time caller"). I'll be interested to go back at some point and see if my impressions are different. But was a little disappointed at first blush. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinoue Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I told my wife about our discussion on this board about what constitutes "good" service, and my belief that it's best when you never want for anything, but don't notice the wheels turning all around you. That is exactly what we experienced last night. Everyone was warm and relaxed, and allowed us to enjoy our time together without injecting themselves into the evening to generate some kind of "experience" or whatever. As Don and others have noted, while not "cheap," the menu at Kinship is set up in such a way that I can see myself heading back many times without breaking the bank. I think I'll follow in Bart's footsteps and head back very, very soon. I think it was a testament to the service that we spent a nearly 3 hour meal there with our kids, and everything went smoothly. We didn't realize how long we had been there until we were leaving. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Which was because we didn't realize the tuna included gluten, and fiance doesn't do that whole gluten thing. I suppose if we'd paid more attention whne ordering we would've figured it out, but given the number of GF folks out there, probably worth the waitress pointing out. Fantastic review. If only everyone else put so much thought into evaluating their dining experiences! I will quibble with the quoted text above. The proportion of folks with an actual gluten allergy is exceedingly low, and those who have it are well-versed in what foods to avoid and/or question. It would be pretty silly for restaurants to start alerting diners to dishes that contain gluten. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALargeFarva Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I've been twice and can confidently say it's the best restaurant I've been to in the DC area. He took the Parmesan reggiano agnolotti off the menu recently, which is unfortunate because it was my favorite dish at CityZen and so far my favorite at Kinship. Must orders for me are the mushroom torchon, beets and stroganoff (and Parmesan reggiano agnolotti). The service was fantastic both times. The interior, including the main dining room, waiting area, and especially the bar area, is in my opinion the most well-done interior of any restaurant in DC. It is luxurious without being pretentious, which is so hard to pull off. I went in jeans, sneakers and a polo the second time after wearing a suit the first time and felt equally at ease 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 He took the Parmesan reggiano tagliatelle off the menu recently, which is unfortunate because it was my favorite dish at CityZen and so far my favorite at Kinship. I've been looking at the menu(s) a lot lately and I've noticed that they are changing all the time. I was there a week an a half ago, and the current menu is maybe 40% different! (maybe only 30%, maybe 50%). The point is, if you see something you like on the menu, don't wait! Go immediately! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALargeFarva Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I've been looking at the menu(s) a lot lately and I've noticed that they are changing all the time. I was there a week an a half ago, and the current menu is maybe 40% different! (maybe only 30%, maybe 50%). The point is, if you see something you like on the menu, don't wait! Go immediately! Couldn't agree more. Our server indicated that they made a big menu change over this past weekend, which I inferred to be the only big change they've made so far, and that she expects more frequent changes once Métier is up and running "soon." If you want it, order it before it's gone. I also noticed that I wrote it was tagliatelle when it is actually agnolotti. They're obviously nothing alike, aside from some common letters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 The game right now is to go as often as you can before they get the press attention that is surely coming soon. I ate at the bar tonight, and at 8pm, only 6 seats were taken, leaving it 2/3 empty. The Sicilian Spritz, a mocktail with salted blood orange cordial, grapefruit, and lime was a perfectly refreshing shift from the gym (which is conveniently just a short walk away), to dinner. The torchon has been discussed previously, and is excellent. I would add: I loved it with the soft brioche, and found the texture to be perfect tonight. It's true that the salad of celery root and pickled mushroom brings a whole different flavor profile with it, though I appreciated the (muted) acidity between bites of the rich and buttery bread+spread. The shrimp boudin was a new addition from last week, and is served with softened leeks, and a foam somehow involving salsify and shrimp. Tasted on its own, the boudin was almost too shrimpy, but as a whole the dish worked very nicely. My only issue tonight (and this is due to how I ordered), is that nearly everything I ate had the same soft texture. I really wanted something crispy/crunchy somewhere along the way for textural contrast (though I still stand by my preference for the soft brioche)...Next time I'll keep that in mind. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 And it's broken down by neighborhood so to assemble a Top 10 or 20 list would take many clicks and lots of cutting and pasting..........come on Don! Fill in the blanks!1. [Kinship]2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20. +1 Kinship is the best restaurant in DC right now. Everything I had tonight was superlative. The apple confit, a new addition to the menu, is the best dessert I've had in not-so-recent memory. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bart Posted March 5, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted March 5, 2016 So the original plan was not to come back until the end of March to celebrate my wife's birthday at Metier, but she testified at a Senate hearing this week and absolutely crushed it, so we needed to celebrate and there wasn't even a nanosecond of deliberation. Even though there are dozens, scores, hundreds of restaurants we haven't been to yet, this place was calling out to us to return.It's funny how some meals stick with you and keep getting replayed in your head, while others make no lasting impression at all. Our previous two meals here have been replaying in our minds and conversations over and over, and last night's meal will be added to the list. Josh mentioned this phenomenon about the sunchokes in his review and I know exactly what he's talking about. Sometimes we'll just say, "those scallops" or "that duck" and we'll sit there, lost in thought and usually moaning. Maybe drooling too.Last night was our third time there and we still haven't repeated a dish, but it's been very hard not to re-order the Lobster French Toast again and again. The problem is there are so many other things on the menu we want to try, we can't manage to squeeze it back in. So far we've tried 20 different dishes, and like the last two times, we could return again tonight and have no trouble creating another meal with all new dishes. As I mentioned in a earlier review, the amount of changes that the menu goes through is staggering. It's borderline criminal! It's impossible to keep up! I said it above and I'll say it again, if you see a dish that you like, do not wait! Go now to get it! Even that may be too late. Last night, the menu we were given had maybe 6 updates and changes to the one currently online. Crazy, absolutely crazy.We started the night with a Kinship Spritz. Neither of us are cocktail drinkers, but this was champagne based and we were celebrating so it was an obvious choice. Very, very refreshing.We again bonded with Kerstin the sommelier over our love of Rosé and she told us she had a couple new ones in that weren't on the menu yet. After a description of both, we went with the Margerum, Riviera Rosé (Santa Barbara) which was the most pale Rosé I've ever seen. In the bottle you could detect a slight pink color but in the glass it looked like a white wine! My wife who is much better at putting a name on a taste, said it was dry, very refreshing and had a bit of a cucumber finish. If you like Rosé, ask for this one.The meal itself was an endless parade of sauces, flavors, textures and ingredients. The number of different sauces we had was crazy. I can't imagine how many different pots they have going back in the kitchen. Same goes for the bins of ingredients. There must be dozens of them back there because every dish had A LOT of components besides the main ingredient.The first round was:Takenoko Tempura which actually the new seasonal growth of bamboo, tempura style. It looked a bit like a giant breaded scallop and tasted a bit like a giant piece of baby corn. It had a slight corn-like taste, but had the crunch of baby corn.Scallop Navarin which had many tasty components and a fantastic broth. My wife's comment after taking one bite was "This is going to be my favorite dish of the night" She later revised that statement! Visually, this dish was stunning. Lots of bright colors.Maine Sea Urchin with potato agnolotti. It also had little bits of colored potato cubes, and a meyer lemon beurre blanc sauce. Like everything tonight, there was lots of layers of flavors happening here.The second round was:Shrimp Boudin with melted leeks and a salsify puree and lemon broth. This looked a bit like a piece of salmon floating of a white froth and tasted a bit like a more substantial shrimp mousse, if that makes any sense. This ended up being my wife's favorite dish of the night.Duck Ballotine on a bed of "pasta" made with celery root(!!). This was duck prepared three ways and served as cut slices of sausage on top of crunchy pasta (from the celery root), on top of a crazy rich brown sauce.The third round was:Shaved Perigord Truffles over hand cut tagliatelle, with the truffles being shaved on the top at the table. Very nice.Kinship Zingara which was grilled veal sweetbreads, braised corned beef tongue, Darden ham, Perigord Truffles, Champignons de Paris (mushrooms). This is one of the dishes that is not on the online menu and holy moley it's amazing! Either this one or the scallops were my favorite. I can't decide. The different meaty/mushroom flavors and textures were fantastic. All were very soft and tasty but all slightly different from each other. If you like any of those ingredients, GET THIS DISH! It was on the "History" section of the menu but could easily go on the "Indulgence" list.Everything about this meal was absolutely perfect and again we were there for over two and half hours and it never seemed slow or dragging. I'm not even sure how that's possible that's how it was.---The scallop dish 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Where does their blue fin tuna come from? And how do they get a piece of raw fish to taste sweet, sour, salty and spicy? Where's umami? It would be better described as blue fin tuna 4 ways - sweet, sour, salty & spicy. My favorite, and I would rather have 4 pieces all done the same, would be the "salty," which has the tuna on top of a mushroom turnover that was just delicious. The "sour" tuna was masked by the accompanying slice of grapefruit while the "spicy" tuna was masked by the accompanying radishes. Did anyone else try this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Three stars from Tom:"Kinship Review: The Welcome Return of a Favorite Chef" by Tom Sietsema on washingtonpost.comAnd a scoup that Metier will be $200 per person with service included (no word on taxes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dracisk Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 So happy I snagged a reservation for next week when Tom said in his chat he'd be reviewing this week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALargeFarva Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Three stars from Tom: "Kinship Review: The Welcome Return of a Favorite Chef" by Tom Sietsema on washingtonpost.com And a scoup that Metier will be $200 per person with service included (no word on taxes) I can't help but think the impending opening of Métier may have pushed the rating down a 1/2 star. I genuinely can't fathom how it only got 3 stars. Everyone's taste is different, but it's hard to dispute that the food, service and decor are among the very, very best in DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I was thinking the same thing about the "low" ranting. Not so much in the context of Metier (but now that you mention it, it's an excellent point), but more in relation to the 4-star places in the Fall Dining Guide. Rose's Luxury is a full star better than this place?!?!? They only have 13 dishes on the entire menu! And while some of them are unique and brilliant, others are much less so. I've actually had an inedible dish there once. And I truly mean inedible. And at the rooftop private dining meal, we had a "for the table" dish that most of the table didn't like and didn't get past the second bite. Three stars is a great rating but it seems like an insult here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deac Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Someone posted on another thread that Tom seems to have a trend lately of going 3 stars on the initial review so he can bump it to 4 in the subsequent dining guide. Places like Rose's, Convivial, and there was another that I can't remember. And I'm also guessing he gives 3 or 4 to Metier but doesn't want the flagship to be below the "lesser" of the 2 places. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScotteeM Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Bart, I enjoyed your review. I have to ask, though: Where are you seeing an updated menu on line? On the website I only see a menu dated December 2015. I've tried clearing my cache, but still the same menu shows up. The dishes you described, however, are on that menu. We have a reservation for tomorrow at 5:30, and I can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Here's the latest menu I can find: http://kinshipdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Kinship-Dinner-Menu-7.pdf I think the last time I was there it was ......Menu-5.pdf, but I'm not totally sure. This one looks nearly identical to the one I had. Here's a tip for you historians and archivists out there. If you change the final number in the web address for the menu from 7 to 6 to 5 to 4, etc, you can see older versions of the menu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dracisk Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 I was there Wednesday and I'm pretty sure the menu Bart posted is the one we had. Everything was delicious, especially the lobster French toast and the roast chicken! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 It clearly changes more frequently than that, because I was there two weeks ago, and my menu had elements of 5, 6, and 7, but wasn't any of them exactly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 It clearly changes more frequently than that, because I was there two weeks ago, and my menu had elements of 5, 6, and 7, but wasn't any of them exactly. Daniel, I'm not so sure there have been more than seven menus, although it's possible - the opening menu was in place for a fairly long time (it's only been open 13 weeks). Hmm, I take the last part of my sentence back - the "Rohan Duck" changed to "Muscovy Duck" within days, so it's menu #2 that might have been in place for most of January, but anyway, it seems like they might be using this system, in which case it's a *terrific* reference, and I hope they keep using it. Eric and Celia are both obsessed enough to do this, too (I say this in a good way). Kinship, if you're reading this, I suggest figuring out a way to change the year and month of the menus, unless that's a date that signifies when you first opened - I can pretty much promise you that serious diners (not just me) will use this system as a reference in the future, to see what seasonal ingredients might be coming up on your menus. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 An additional FYI is that the menu posted online may not be the one you get that very night. The last time I was there, the menu we were handed was new and different from the one that was posted online. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Daniel, I'm not so sure there have been more than seven menus, although it's possible - the opening menu was in place for a fairly long time (it's only been open 13 weeks). Hmm, I take the last part of my sentence back - the "Rohan Duck" changed to "Muscovy Duck" within days, so it's menu #2 that might have been in place for most of January, but anyway, it seems like they might be using this system, in which case it's a *terrific* reference, and I hope they keep using it. Eric and Celia are both obsessed enough to do this, too (I say this in a good way). Kinship, if you're reading this, I suggest figuring out a way to change the year and month of the menus, unless that's a date that signifies when you first opened - I can pretty much promise you that serious diners (not just me) will use this system as a reference in the future, to see what seasonal ingredients might be coming up on your menus. I was there on Wed 3/23. We got the Rabbit as the family-style dish, and that appears only on menu #7. But we also got the Sticky Toffee Pudding from the History column, which appears in #6 but not #7. I think you can treat the numbers like "revolutions", where they are doing a menu change, but there are still clearly every day/week "evolutions" where individual items slip on and off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 I was there on Wed 3/23. We got the Rabbit as the family-style dish, and that appears only on menu #7. But we also got the Sticky Toffee Pudding from the History column, which appears in #6 but not #7. I think you can treat the numbers like "revolutions", where they are doing a menu change, but there are still clearly every day/week "evolutions" where individual items slip on and off. What you say must be true (I mean "mathematically" must be true). I was there on Fri 3/25, and there was the Sticky Toffee Pudding, but no Family-Style Rabbit on the menu, so it hopped on-and-off the menu (and then back on again?) very quickly. Just knowing the nature of the restaurant, it's almost a certainty that there will be various tweaks from day-to-day, so yes, you're right. Rabbit is expensive and extremely labor-intensive to extract the meat - how was it? (Yes, you just got pinned into a corner.) I view Kinship as a historically important restaurant, and I think it would be invaluable reference material to have a copy of all menus available - it would also be a major PITA for them to do, but still, invaluable reference material (for me, anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Rabbit is expensive and extremely labor-intensive to extract the meat - how was it? (Yes, you just got pinned into a corner.) It was fantastic, but I think that about just about every bite of food I've ever had from Eric. He pulled out the "rib chops" and served them as a rack on the side of the dish with a stuffing - nibbling on those baby chops was possibly the highlight of my week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Great thread. Been too long since I have been reading here regularly. Must fix. We have very early mid-week reservations coming up later this month and really looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandres374 Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Kinship now requires a credit card deposit ($25/pp) for Friday and Saturday reservations on Open Table. Must cancel 48 hrs in advance to avoid losing deposit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Went last week - great meal. Really good service and nice space. More on this later, but this is a super, super place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngfood Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 9 hours ago, Pool Boy said: Went last week - great meal. Really good service and nice space. More on this later, but this is a super, super place. Look forward to your report and other recent ones as we're getting excited for our first visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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