Kindred

I think it was my good friend Candice who first mentioned Kindred to me. And even though the Missus is now eating a fairly vegetable heavy diet at home, I wasn't sure about Kindred.....I mean not just vegan food, but a Death Metal themed vegan restaurant? Though the cocktail menu did entice us a bit and then I recommended the place to my coworker "AA" who is a tried and true vegetarian....she absolutely loves the place; it's now her "date night" stop.

So, of course we had to stop by.

We loved the setting and most of all our favorite Server; Tracy!

And now kindred has become a fun stop for us.

We'd tried a host of cocktails; anything with Bourbon, Rye or Mezcal....with names like Psychic Venom.

Most were decent; though some on the sweet side.

All of this came to a stop when one day; I ordered what I thought was a great sounding cocktail and it arrived looking flowery pink!

At this point I enlisted the help of Tracy, who having served us at least three times before already had a bullseye drawn on our tastes and recommended something called the "Golden Axe". I'm usually not a fan of too much saffron or turmeric, but man, this cocktail with Bourbon and Rye is now my favorite.

The turmeric rice nectar adds a touch of bitterness, the ginger, spice, the booze some good smokiness.

The Missus will still order something like the "Horrorchata" or the "River Styx"...but I'm styx-ing with my Golden Axe.

As for the food, over our half dozen or so visits to Kindred; we've only ordered four items......two are winners, one is good, and the last meh..... I will say; we stayed away from items like salads and typical fare. So maybe that's the way to go here.

Both the Missus and I love mushroom; so when Tracy mentioned "the Dip" being something that used to be on the secret menu....and so we should try it; we did.

It's the earthy-salty mushroom jus that makes this for us. Heck, we'd just take bread slathered with the horseradish aioli and we'd be good to go. As it is; the peppered satan seitan, does no damage, and the sautéed pepprs and onions add a touch of sweetness and light pungency. There's also a nice spicy component to this as well. And as strange as it sounds; the tapioca mozzarella has a non-descript, but not terrible flavor or texture. The chips have usually been on the soggy side when we order this. But we're not here for the spuds.

Our other go-to are the Skewers.

Like the Dip, it's the flavors that make this dish for us; garlicky chimichurri, punchy harissa, which kind of leaves the horseradish sauce in the cold here.

The seitan is nicely charred, crisp around the edges, not mushy like other versions I've had. The flavoring of the seitan is covered up pretty well; which I think is the M.O. here a Kindred.

The "Hearts of Palm" is basically a farinata (garbanzo bean flour) flatbread.

The texture is somewhat "mushy - doughy", though it's moist, there's a bit of an earthy flavor to it. Again, it's the Aji Amarillo Aioli and lime that really gives this dish some "umph". It's a decent dish; though perhaps a bit too sour at times.

We've tried the Herb Puffs twice and it really didn't make an impression on us.

While light, on both occasions it was served rather cold and had lost any pleasing crispness.

As a whole, we enjoy Kindred, the staff are great, we've found some favorites, the music......well, maybe I'm too old? Though I get a kick thinking about Bee-Oh-Bee who loves Death Metal....I keep reminding him to bring his lovely Missus here. The food is unique and they don't hold back on flavor either. And that Golden Axe...….

Kindred
1503 30th St
San Diego, CA 92102
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 4pm - Midnight
Friday      4pm - 1am
Saturday    10am - 1am
Sunday      10am - Midnight

 

Comments

[kat]

looks like a great place!

[Kirk]

It's quite different and we enjoy it Kat!

[Junichi]

I knew this was a vegan place. Didn't realize they had a death metal theme. I love all kinds of metal so I may have to stop by for a drink next time I go to Hamiltons.

[Kirk]

Check them out Junichi and let me know what you think!

[Lynnea Fleming]

A long time favorite for Matthew and I, since we started leaning real heavy towards the veggie end of the diet spectrum…glad you and the missus are enjoying it! The brunch is also delicious!! Well worth the weekend wait(and I don’t wait in line for much :D )

[Kirk]

It so nice to hear from you Lynnea! We really did enjoy Kindred....and are trying to eat more veggies as well.