PX This.

PX This presents THE F&F REVIEW

Hey, sorry we couldn’t make it to "Friends&Family," we were out of town/ had to work/ not invited. We’re really glad we finally managed to come by, though— it’s so nice to see you!
What’s that? You would still like us to take the time to fill out the F&F survey, because you’d love to take advantage of all our vast experience, knowledge, insight, and expertise as long as we’re already here? Because you invited 75 people to F&F, and afterward all you got was 41 "Congrats[es]!" 22 "Awesome[s]!" 3 "Ciao[s]!" and 9 "Best of luck[s]!" ?
Of course, we’d be honored. Oh ha, yesss, we’ll be honest— brutally honest even, ha ha! After all, that’s what friends & family are for!
No no please, don’t send anything more, we’re stuffed, we can’t breathe, you’ll have to roll us out of here, ha ha ha… !

Kin Shop

What was your first impression?
Oh look, it’s Pichet Ong!

Please rate the Bar:
Sigh… actually, you know what? We don’t really feel like it today, sorry. Thanks to StumbleUpon being so cool and totally loving on our awesome celebrity listicle thingie, we’ve pretty much satisfied our visitor ‘goal’ for like the rest of the entire year. So we’re taking the day off! Yay!
Thank goodness we found someone percipient enough to fill-in for us! Hooray! Take it awaaay, GastroChic!

Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
Oh, hmm. Whoops— not much of a drinker here, but she did like the Kin & Tonic! OK, so! Let’s just move it along…

Please rate the Dining Room:
"The green-tinged decor beyond the plate glass windows is sophisticated if casual. The atmosphere… can be at odds with the price point. While the dining room feels feng shui‘d to the nines (or make that the eights), the matching prints running down the wall and green tones everywhere make it seem like a designer quickie job…"

Please rate the BOH:
"Several of the shared entree dishes are in the $20+ range. Harold Dieterle delivers in the dishes we tried, reviving the nearly lost art of authentic Thai food in New York. (And yes, he’s plainly visible in the open kitchen, not hanging out with his friends in the dining room.)"

How was the staff?
"Service, while very friendly and efficient, can be a little too fast. Our appetizers landed before our cocktails, and as the meal progressed, I felt the need to continue chewing just to provide some visual proof that we weren’t finished eating yet, lest the super efficient busboys clear away our plates mid-bite."

What did you eat?/ How was the food?
Scallops with Sugar Snap Peas : "There is some sweetness here, but it’s naturally derived from the toasted coconut… The crunch of super fresh snap peas plays off the tenderness of the scallops, set in a peanut-y coconut sauce with flavor hits of Thai basil and kaffir lime."
Spicy Duck Laab Salad : "is indeed spicy – addictively so. You have to keep eating the morsels of ground duck laced with chili and sliced Chinese long beans just to put out the fire."
Steamed Red Snapper : "… marked as spicy [but] unexpectedly mild… in green sauce with cashews, bok choy and kabocha squash [pictured]. This excellent piece of fish benefits from the sweet and sour taste of a classic coconut lime sauce. It doesn’t need to be spicy, though if you actually want your snapper that way, the house-made chili oil and chili flakes on the table will do the trick."
Crab with Pan-Fried Vermicelli Noodles : "exudes that musty umami taste of a good authentic fish sauce and the slow build of hidden spice. The vermicelli are cooked just so, a tangle of elastic noodles netting all the other ingredients. But as a Marylander, I had to ask, where’s the crab at, hon? For $21, we were expecting more of the starring ingredient."

What did you like?
"… that Kin Shop is not for NYU students." [Ha ahaa, OK so we slid that observation in this slot. Couldn’t resist.]

What did you dislike?
"If you’re spending over $100 on a meal for two, you want to linger and enjoy your meal. Oddly, I found myself missing the lackadaisical service in Paris."

What was your last impression?
"… we are thrilled to have an authentic Thai place in the neighborhood again, albeit unexpectedly by Top Chef winner Dieterle. This cuisine deserves its own revival, and Kin Shop sends it down the right path."

Would you come back?
"dying to try this place… let me know when you’re ready to go back. Signed, husband allergic to peanuts thus no thai for me."

Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
Thanks and have a good night!

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