One could be forgiven for having low expectations of Kin Shop, Harold Dieterle's new Thai restaurant in the West Village.
Because, on some level, it sounds like a disaster. Top Chef graduate takes over a floundering trendy Chinese spot and turns it into a "contemporary Thai" restaurant? In another chef's hands, you may well have found showy and unevenly executed fusion fare.
But Harold Dieterle has already started to prove that he's more than a television phenom. His West Village spot Perilla, classy but understated, is the sort of neighborhood restaurant that might not come to mind often, but when it does, you're reminded of how tasty those duck meatballs and squishy doughnuts really were. It's been quietly successful since he and partner Alicia Nosenzo opened it in 2007, no small feat for a small restaurant over these last three tumultuous years.
Dieterle has clearly been slow and deliberate in his choice to branch out—only a second restaurant in the four-plus years since his television crown. He's got a tight beat, the two restaurants within a ten minutes' walk of each other. But while his expansion is cautious, Kin Shop is anything but.
Simply put, it's some of the best Thai food we've had outside Thailand. Eyebrow-raising good. Text-your-friends-from-the-table-good. Return-the-next-night good. We walked in with no particular expectations, and left absolutely floored by what Dieterle's kitchen had served us.
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Because, on some level, it sounds like a disaster. Top Chef graduate takes over a floundering trendy Chinese spot and turns it into a "contemporary Thai" restaurant? In another chef's hands, you may well have found showy and unevenly executed fusion fare.
But Harold Dieterle has already started to prove that he's more than a television phenom. His West Village spot Perilla, classy but understated, is the sort of neighborhood restaurant that might not come to mind often, but when it does, you're reminded of how tasty those duck meatballs and squishy doughnuts really were. It's been quietly successful since he and partner Alicia Nosenzo opened it in 2007, no small feat for a small restaurant over these last three tumultuous years.
Dieterle has clearly been slow and deliberate in his choice to branch out—only a second restaurant in the four-plus years since his television crown. He's got a tight beat, the two restaurants within a ten minutes' walk of each other. But while his expansion is cautious, Kin Shop is anything but.
Simply put, it's some of the best Thai food we've had outside Thailand. Eyebrow-raising good. Text-your-friends-from-the-table-good. Return-the-next-night good. We walked in with no particular expectations, and left absolutely floored by what Dieterle's kitchen had served us.
- Skinny 11-10-2010 12:34 am