Kinkead’s, An American Brassiere in Northwest Washington, DC. It is
a little tricky to find and if you call the staff at the restaurant they may or
may not be able to help you find your way to them. Apparently
it’s so trick that they are not exactly sure where they are located. Anyway we digress…This restaurant is an
upscale seafood house. There are three
chefs running the kitchen with a fascinating portfolio of experience. Check out their website. It is an entertaining read, with information
about rugby and a wonderful tale of sibling rivalry. The service at Kinkead’s is pretty good. Our server was a little uptight at first, but
mellowed out as we cracked jokes and give him no choice but adjust the stick up
his hind- parts. Parking is little
tough. They are suppose to have valet,
but did not on the night we visited.
They will validate parking if you use the garage around the corner or
you can search for paid street parking. Kinkead’s
is a possible option for a date night as there is much there to talk about and
observe, not to mention it is a bit romantic.
Overall we give Kinkead’s ♪♪ and a
half notes.
2000 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006-1812
(202) 296-7700
Raspberry point PEI oysters have a very delicate flavor. Initially, the flavor is basically unnoticeable, but if you sit back a moment and wait, it starts to deepen into something that is really quite remarkable. The Stellar Bay oysters from Stellar Bay, Washington have a flavor that hits you instantly, stronger in flavor than the Raspberry point PEI, sort of a cross between a grapefruit and watermelon, TRULY!, with a briny kick. The horseradish that is served with the oysters calms down the flavor a bit. It was wonderful. The Chef's Creek oysters started out with a briny taste that quickly morphed into a sort of grassy, woody, oaky finish, believe it or not.
Salad of Grilled Figs
This salad was perfect for Fall. It was the perfect combo of sweet, savory and tart. The fig was sweet and fresh and filled with a creamy, sweet, smooth cheese. Aged balsamic on the plate grounds the flavor and there is just the right amount of oil and salt on the greens. It was like a chopped salad with endive, supposedly duck, and blue cheese, which gave it it's savoriness. I say supposedly because for some reason, there was only one sliver of duck on the whole thing, which we didn't notice until the end, at which point we realized we were supposed to have Duck. SMH... anywho.
Seafood "cocktail"
The word cocktail did have quotation marks around it, and here's why. It was definitely unlike any seafood cocktail I have ever had. The seafood encompassed shrimp, lobster, crabmeat, mussels and calamari. The "cocktail sauce" was more like a thickened gazpacho soup than a sauce, and it had cumin in it, which was actually a nice addition. It took a minute to get our heads around it though. It was not terrible, but is was not spectacular either. It was basically sort of odd because of the flavor and the way they chopped up all the seafood.
Cod with Crab Imperial
Now, interestingly enough, this dish was fabulous. It was one of their specials, not on the regular menu. It was served with a three mustard cream, which had a wonderfully light flavor that complemented the Cod well. The crab imperial was fresh and delicious. The Cod was firm, moist and juicy. There was a squash puree that was very good, if a little loose. The spoonbread that was served with the dish was also very good, but a little wet.
Tuna
The tuna, oh the tuna, the poor little tuna. It was horrendous. We have no idea WHAT they thought they were doing here, but it COMPLETELY missed the mark. It didn't taste at all fresh. The seasoning with which it was prepared totally overpowered the fish. The black bean patty with which it was served was just ok, nothing to write home about. The sweet potato cornbread muffin was delicious. We were very excited when we read of the preparation of this fish which included cocoa nibbs, cumin and black pepper and sea salt. Alas, our excitement was severely misplaced. We have never been so disappointed.
Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse
This mousse was actually pretty heavy with a hazelnut crunch from its crust. The coffee sauce was not as rich as it could have been. It really didn't add anything to the dish due to this fact. The mousse had a nice, rich chocolate flavor. Over all, the dish was very delicious. We had a mini debate about whether or not it was safe to eat the gold slivers the chef placed on top. Guess what? We ate it and lived to write about it :)
Angela's Review
Ok, so our dining experience at Kinkead’s was… well…
interesting, to say the least. We were
completely unsure what to expect when we began this journey, and while we were
mostly pleasantly surprised, at the same time, we were mystified by and
dismayed over a couple of questionable aspects. We have found that our
experiences with restaurants we find on Groupon or Living Social can be a bit
surreal. This was definitely one of
those occasions.
Ok, so first of all, the space is
beautiful. You would never know from looking at the outside how much space is
inside. You walk in and look down a set of stairs and see a very nice bar area
with lots of people milling about.
Directly in front of you is the front desk, and off towards the back of
the restaurant is a piano player dressed in a tuxedo, behind which is another
staircase. We were directed up the staircase into a very distinguished looking
space; consisting of mustard and charcoal walls and medium-colored wood paneled
booths with black cushions, black and wood tables and beveled glass paneling
rising above the back of the seats. In the middle, along wrought-iron railings
that give the place a sort of New Orleans, French quarter feel, are tables and
chairs to seat other diners. Up here there is still more multilevel seating.
The place seems to go on forever. Now given all the really neat things about
the place I have just enumerated, I wish someone could explain to me why the
HECK someone thought it was a good idea to have the likeness of the Greek God
Poseidon, emblazoned all over EVERY piece of dishware in the place. It was the
most gaudy, god-awful addition to any restaurant’s décor I could imagine. My
dear LORD! But that’s just me...lol. The
other thing that was highly disappointing was the state of the bathrooms in
this place. I have been in fast food chains whose bathrooms I would rather use
than the ones here. They are small, which I understand cannot be helped, but
given this fact, one would think that they would have someone checking on them
periodically throughout the night as this would make upkeep even MORE
important, right. I’m like come on guys, let’s get it together. <sigh>.
Anyway, on to the food; it was pretty good, all things
considered. First of all, the chef’s ability to choose oysters in unparalleled. I had no IDEA that so many varieties of
oyster, from so many different places, with COMPLETELY different tastes were
out there. This was probably my favorite part of the whole meal. Now from the
sublime, to the ridiculous, I never knew that there were as many ways to RUIN
tuna as there are, but eating out as much as I do, I have found that there are
MANY, MANY ways, and this time around, I was subjected to yet another. The tuna
was awful. It did not have a fresh tuna flavor and did not hold up well against
the heavy seasoning in this particular preparation. And those of you who have
been reading this blog regularly, you know how much it hurts my heart to have a
chef RUIN a poor piece of tuna this way. It is really hard to rate this restaurants,
but I have settled on ♪♪ and a half note.
Melissa's Review
Kinkead’s
is quite the enigma. This place has so
many things that are wonderful and so many other things that are just out of
place. Take for instance the décor; the restaurant
is elegant with its superb lighting, cozy booths and sophisticated two story
dining. However all of that is totally blemished
by the tackiest emblem of Poseidon imprinted on their water goblets, candle
holders and the plates. When I say tacky,
I mean tacky! I would expect to see that
emblem at a cheap hole in the wall crab shack in Dundalk. It was embarrassing. Kinkead’s is a fine dining seafood house; it
is no place to have a tacky, cheap Poseidon decal. The next portion of the enigma is the
food. The chef served the most exquisite
oyster sampler Angela or I have every experienced! I mean this thing was next level. In my wildest dreams I would never have
imagined that oysters could have so many different tastes and nuances. There were three different oysters on the
tray and each one was so fresh, exotic and profound. They were clearly the highlight of the
meal. Then came the Tuna; this mess tasted
like a kindergartner made it while mom and dad were not looking. It was terrible! To begin, it was clear that the tuna was not
at all fresh. It had an off color. Fresh tuna should always be a bright pinkish-
reddish color, something a bit darker and richer than the flesh of
grapefruit. This tuna came out pale,
dull and too purplish in color. I knew
right away that it was either old or previously frozen. The menu said that the tuna was prepared with
lots of exotic flavors and spices. Ya’ll,
that tuna was flavorless, sad and pathetic!
I mean come on this is a high price seafood house! How are you going to serve flavorless fish? I am so utterly confused! With all that being said, Kinkead’s is a
risky restaurant. You might like it if
you order wisely and ignore Poseidon. Over
all, I hesitantly give Kinkead’s ♪♪♪.
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