Thursday, June 7, 2012

Year one: American Thai

It's been awhile (about a little over a month) and I apologize immediately for my neglect. I started a new job and began the most famous time of year of us media buyers; UPFRONTS!!!  But let's be honest, this isn't a real excuse as to why my post on Kin Shop is soooo late.  I mean KFitz and I went there to celebrate knowing each other for a whole year, which was back in Feburary.  Better late than....never???

Since it was our anniversary dinner, deciding on a place was huge for us foodies. We contemplated for weeks; we even made a reservation through opentable at Spice Market. After tons of research, reading lots of reviews and falling in love with Chef Harold Dieterle, we canceled the first res and decided to take our chance at Kin Shop. And what a fantastic decision; not that Spice Market isn't delicious but that's a subject of a larger Jean Georges post.  "Coming Soon"  Obviously, Asian inspired food was the direction we wanted to head in and Kin Shop did not disappoint.  


Over lovely conversation about how great our drinks are, Kev and I shared the Crispy Roti and Tasting of Condiments while we waited for our apps to arrive. We should have had patience to wait to eat the roti with main meal as is proper.  

DRINKS FOR THE EVENING: 
Massa(man)hattan - old verholt rye, vya sweet vermouth, angostura vitters & massaman-brown sugar syrup
The ALN - farmer's organic gin, house-made spicy thai pickle brine & pickled watermelon radis.

Tasting of condiments 



Then it was on to the fluke....we weren't sure if we should eat the leaf under the fluke but we did anyway.  The combination of lychees, fluke, chili jam topped with fried garlic created a taste explosion in our mouths.  I heard from a friend at work this was good but it exceed every expectation.  (oh and the leaves we weren't sure if we should eat are shiso leaves)  

Miang of fluke


Whats better than fried pork and oyster salad you ask?  NOTHING!!!  The pork was melt in your mouth good and the oysters were crispy and so large we almost couldn't believe it. Celery, peanuts and mint topped with a chili-lime vinaigrette is the perfect Thai combination I want every time I crave this style of food. (if you look close you can see the crispy roti in the picture - what is roti you ask...well here you go <--click me to learn about food.)


Fried pork and oyster salad



DISCLAIMER: When it comes to taking pictures during dinner I tend to fail most of the time, I usually capture the first round of food but once the main course comes, all I can about is getting the tasty goodness into my mouth as fast as possible (that was not meant to be a setup for "that's what she said" - but go for it because I know I would)  

So, this night was no different....which is why I do not have a single pic of our main courses. 

We shared, Massaman: braised goat and Northern style curry noodles.  If you've ever eaten massaman in a traditional Thai restaurant and liked it, you would die over how delicious Kin Shop's is. As expected the braised goat literally melts but it also enhances and adds to the coconut flavors. The northern style curry noodles were also outstanding; a little too spicy for me but what isn't?  

A rather small place, with dim lighting; setup just right.  Tables along the right side, not too tightly packed together, and a large bar towards the back on the left side.  The back wall is an open kitchen, where you can watch the chefs create the modern Thai cuisine.  The music is awesome and the scene is all over the place.  From the "hipster" types to your foreigner who has no idea what to order.  Servers were helpful, friendly and provided just the right amount of service where it wasn't annoying but we didn't feel neglected.  I highly recommend this place and I will, without a doubt, come back multiple times to make sure to try everything on the menu.

As a side note, I mentioned to my friend who works at Bravo that I was in love with Chef Harold, Kin Shop and Top Chef and she sent me a copy of the Kin Shop menu Signed by Chef Harold Dieterle.  How cool is that.  I'm going to frame the menu and hang it in my kitchen.


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