Kinmont offers sustainably-raised seafood
CHICAGO (WLS) -- You don't have to read too far into the menu at the new Kinmont, on the Near North Side, to see that seafood is the star. But this restaurant is hoping to educate, as well as cook, since 100 percent of the menu features seafood deemed "sustainable."
"Ethical sourcing of fish, making sure that we're not depleting our waterways any further and we focus on responsible aquaculture," said chef Duncan Biddulph.
One of the quickest ways to see how serious they are is to dare your friends. Yeah, don't just go for the Platter of shellfish, man-up and get the Tower.
"It's two dozen oysters, 12 shrimp - like shrimp cocktail - half a pound of king crab legs, as well as salmon tartar, marinated mussels and a whole chilled lobster," he said.
They cold-smoke their salmon in-house, and it winds up as an appetizer, with a nod to Sunday mornings.
"It's sort of a play on a lox plate, so we've got cucumber, red onion, dill, cream cheese and then we make an everything crumble that we put over the top," said Biddulph.
Under a section of the menu entitled "for the table," check out the "field and stream," which means the freshest fish and vegetable available in the season. In this case, a few weeks ago it was Carolina wreckfish, seared and then basted in butter with fresh herbs, plated over a garden of ramps and asparagus, along with fresh crab and vibrant pea shoots. Cooking fish is a lot more complicated than grilling a steak.
"Every fish has a different fat content, and the thickness or thinness of the skin and the muscle structure and the bone structure, so you really have to either know what you're doing, or be willing to experiment quite a bit to figure it out," he said.
Now while a lot of the menu here at Kinmont is going to change depending on the season, you can always count on seeing oysters, shrimp, crab and mussels on these shellfish platters, which is a good thing, but just make sure you bring a lot of friends.
There's also an ambitious bar program at Kinmont with lots of great cocktails and seafood-friendly wines.
Kinmont
419 W Superior St.
(312) 915-0011
