In what will surely be an affront to certain species of indiscriminate eaters, there is no dolphin, baby seal, or mermaid meat on the menu at Kinmont. For the rest of us it’s comforting to know that the Element Collective’s new fish house serves only sea creatures that aren’t (yet) about to go the way of the coelacanth. That the folks behind Old Town Social and Nellcote would choose this moment to open a seafood restaurant is no surprise. This year’s fish houses are like last year’s fried chicken shacks (and in that regard the group is well behind the curve, opening its sustainable-chicken sandwich shop Leghorn just last week.) Right now you can’t bottom trawl the near north side without dragging up a new oyster bar.
Dairy dances with seafood in quite a few of these dishes, to differing effect. The smoked fish seems lost in a creamy dip, while sweet king-crab meat is prominent in a gooey cheddar-laden gratin. You can almost stand your spoon up in a thick whitefish chowder approaching the viscosity of mashed potatoes.
Dishes like the trout give me confidence that this kitchen isn’t incapable of doing great things with these humble fish. But right now it isn’t doing many of them any favors.
419 W. Superior 312-915-0011kinmontrestaurant.com
