Kinship

Kinship is acclaimed Chef Eric Ziebold and partner Célia Laurent’s new restaurant located in downtown DC. Offering creative and contemporary American cuisine with a continued dedication to hospitality, the restaurant lives up to its name by creating a feeling of being close or connected to people.  Closest Metro is Convention Center.

Having recently been awarded one Michelin star, we visited for dinner to treat ourselves after a long work week. The menu is grouped into five different categories of food inspiration: Craft celebrates a cooking technique; History revisits classics or dishes that Chef experienced while traveling; Ingredients celebrates a specific product to highlight in the dish; Indulgence highlights specialty items such as Ossetra Caviar or White Truffles; and For the Table features larger portions suitable for multiple people to share. Within each category are appetizers, entrees, and desserts, so it was a different organization of the menu than most restaurants, which allowed you to pick and choose to make your own food adventure. Before diving into our selections, we ordered a bottle of 2014 François le Saint, Calcaire, Sancerre, from France. This dry white wine of the sauvignon blanc grapes paired well with our entire meal.

From the Craft section we ordered our appetizers: the special White Mushroom Torchon with Huckleberry Gastrique.  This delicate spread was so smooth and rich, that any meat-lover would not realize it was all vegetables.  It really set the bar for an incredible meal.

Following key, we enjoyed the Yellowfin Tuna Tataki with spring onion and butter pickle salad with a shiso tempura and dashi gelée. The fish was of the highest quality, and the balance of salt and crunchy textures really elevated this dish.  The presentation and interpretation was very modern.

While many other items looked good, we decided to get an item For the Table and settled on the Crab Stuffed Dorade with caramelized fennel and sweet peppers with a saffron emulsion. It was served with toast with a roasted red pepper spread, as well as a box of fresh Parker House rolls. While the fish was fresh, I was a little let down by the presentation.  I suppose I expected a whole fish, but this was already portioned out. Even the sides, sauce, and rolls were all presented in separate plates.  The fish itself was OK- a bit bland on its own with soggy skin.  But the crab meat and saffron sauce added tons of umami.  Also, I imagine most patrons appreciate not having to pick apart a whole fish themselves; but to me, that is the "family style" fun of it.  Nevertheless, we devoured every last bit.

Lastly, for dessert we chose the German Chocolate Cake from the History section. It was classic with pecan ganache, poached cherries, and toasted coconut ice cream.  Keith is not a huge coconut texture fan, so left most of that to me.

All in all, we had a great meal with the appetizers being the main stars.  Price is above average, but not exorbitant that you feel you have to save up for.  The ambience is dark and romantic, with distinct service, though our server did forget to refill our wine glasses throughout the evening.  The location is quite close to the metro station, which is always super convenient.

Total Rating: 4.28
Food: 4.5, Price: 3.5, Service: 4.5, Ambience: 4, Accessibility: 5