Comments (0)

By Brittany Ho, June 10, 2012 8:31 pm

Proprietors/Executive Chef: Alicia Nosenzo & Harold Dieterle

Greenwich Village – 469 6th Ave, New York, NY

love Harold’s (Season One Top Chef Winner) first restaurant…perilla. So when I heard he opened up kin shop (2010) I was curious yet skeptical.  i knew it would be his take on contemporary Thai cuisine, which I was by no means…an expert of.  but I also knew it would be anything but traditional.  Still… I’ve got to try… the press/blogs/practically everything raves about this ‘must try’ restaurant. It’s been on my bucket list for some time, now I can check that baby off and call it a day.

so is it Thai food or not? no… it’s not Thai food… not in the traditional sense anyway… pretty modern, highly elevated American/Asian Fusion cuisine, with lots of prominent Thai ingredients/flavors….but I would not deem it Thai.  You wouldn’t find the dishes here (in its presentational format) anywhere in Thailand….Overall, i thought it was a good take…but i was rather disappointed that it didn’t completely blow me away.  But glad that I had set up realistic expectations.

Spicy Duck Laab Salad w/toasted rice, romaine hearts & ground chili

Pretty spicy– not impossible to eat, but then again, I can handle some heat. I liked it… good flavors… maybe a little strong with the fish sauce, or whatever dressing was marinaded over the ground duck.

Massaman Braised Goat Stews w/ fried shallots, purple yams, mustard greens & toasted coconut

this was an interesting dish….the goat was braised very tender…so the meat fell beautifully off the bone.  As you can see from the picture, I wish there was more of the curry.. we ordered sticky rice & roti because we thought we had something to dip with…It’s a pretty heavy dish, so highly recommend that you share it…unless you are a curry lover… go nuts.

Stir Fried Dungeness Crab Noodles

my favorite dish..but again, the cellophane noodles are drenched in sauce… so it made it a bit salty.  It had a nice satay peanut finishing to it…  since the sauce was so thick, I was surprised that cellophane noodles were used…. nonetheless, i love dungeness crabs and wish there was more of it.  it’s quite lost in that sea of sauce & noodles.

Crispy Roti

Steamed Sticky Rice

Great experience, now it’s been checked off my bucket list… not likely I will come back anytime soon, unless the menu changes with some new specials (which it looks like it did).  I still love Perilla though, though one has nothing to do with the other…

Comments (0)

By Brittany Ho, August 21, 2010 7:32 pm

www.pintonyc.com

Proprietors/Chef: Teerawong Nanthavatsiri / Kobsak Songyoo / Tony Phutchaphong

Category: Thai

Neighborhood: West Village
118 Christopher St, New York, NY 10014
(212) 366-5455

chicken panang

chicken basil

PCU Beef Noodles

Mood: Spicy, but can accommodate your non-spicy requests .  Gourmet in a good way.  A small touch of class without the decadence.  Wine bottles so cheap, makes a perfect date for two.

Tastes Like: pure, fresh and to the point.  not overly complicated, but simple flavors that really stand out due to the freshness and quality of the ingredients.  the one thing on the menu that caught my eye was the fact that their meats & tofu were organic/free range.  I’m an avid supporter of organic products and antibiotic free.  Chef Tony came from Jean Georges, so I should have already expected nothing but the best here.   You should feel good about the food you’re eating (literally), so kudos to Pinto for sharing their love.  I loved my chicken panang curry, it was fragrant and not too heavy.  I typically like my curry super thick, but this was not so thick and it had the right amount of sweetness and spice.  I was ok with it.  The basil and zucchini was a bonus to the dish, as you typically don’t get too many veggies in a traditional thai curry dish.  Other notables were the chicken basil and the pad see ew.  The noodles were chewy and sweet!  Check out their lunch steals… for $8, you can salad, appetizer & main entree.  Unbelievable and unbeatable!

Must Haves: Thai ice tea (deconstructed), PCU noodles with beef and mushroom crunch for apps

Stay Away: NA

Ambiance: lovely for it’s modernity with an evident tint of chicness, rightly so to make up for the tiny fact (no pun intended) that the bar and restaurant itself is very narrow, so I would not suggest party size bigger than 5.  makes a wonderful spot for date and warm, intimate group of friends.

Service: no complaints.. took a while for us to get our orders in, but I guess it was our fault for being so indecisive!

Rating: 4 stars

Caveat: This location use to be near my old work place.. i used to pass by it all the time, but thought it was some super fancy overly priced Thai restaurant.  Don’t judge a book by its cover.  Prices are super decent for the ambiance.