Kin - The Review

I finally made it to Kin last night after much anticipation. The hype is warranted.

Kin is the most hyped place to open in NOLA since Peche. The trusted few that have tried it have all been blown away and now I'm on the bandwagon.

The place is tiny with 1 communal table and bar seating around the kitchen and on the side wall. When I made reservations on Monday, the side wall was the only availability.
We arrived and were promptly seated, bringing a bottle of champagne and Cote du Rhone (BYOB no corkage). Popped the champs and started perusing the menu.

We decided on 3 apps, 2 entrees and eventually a dessert.

Apps:
Shellfish and Herbs- great way to start our meal. Everything was fresh and the vinaigrette made everything pop. Must order IMO.


Asparagus and Eggs- I don't eat eggs (lame, I know) so I didn't get as much enjoyment out of this dish. Most of the flavor of this one was based around the egg.


Belly and Tomato- Now we're starting to get some big league flavors. The belly was perfectly rendered with a nice crust on top. The tamarind clove glaze gave a touch of sweetness and spice. Another must order. I'll add the radicchio was overly bitter and should have been omitted. It was strong enough to dominate the dish.


Entrees:
Turf in Surf- This was too interesting to pass up. It's a slice of hanger steak wrapped inside a squid body. It was served with a lovely list of mushrooms, and mixed veggies and flavored with a nice chili sauce. The flavors on this were nice, but not overwelming. They nailed the temp on the steak which was impressive to me since it was wrapped in squid. Bravo!


Oysters and gnocchi- All great meals should have a pasta dish. The gnocchi was sublime and along with the crawfish and sauce should be a standalone dish. The fried oysters were unnecessary, but I'm not about to turn them down. I just don't think they added to the dish and found the cornmeal crust distracting from the soft gnocchi and crawfish. Absolutely delicious, but just being thorough.


Heard the dessert list and had to try the Tira-miso. Glad we did. It was a tiramisu with a miso layer in the cake served with a coffee ice cream on top. Boom! Absolute flavor bomb.

I love the progresion of our dinner, starting with some cold apps and salad with medium flavor intensity. It felt each course escalated in complexity and flavor. Perfect dinner.

I suggest trying this place soon, as I see this as a short term pop-up until they find a full time home. The chef is doing special things and at this price point, will be packing it in until they move.

ETA: I tried to get pics of everything before altering the plates because these guys take such care of plating. It's rare to see someone go to such lengths to make a beautiful plate. The chefs at Kin are artists that need to be recognized.