Kinski - A Little Taste of Home is Always Good

 

Kinski - 128 Rivington Street, New York NY 10002

646.270.9733

F Train to Delancey Street

Vicky and I ventured over to Kinski the other weekend, a recently opened coffee shop on the Lower East Side.  The draw for this place in particular? The knodel of course, a soft dumpling with sweet or savory filling that reminded us of one of our favorite Slovak dishes, buchty na pare.

Atmosphere:
Bare, simple and no frills is how I'd describe the atmosphere.  There's really not much to draw you in except for the lovely food.  As soon as you come in, you're faced with white walls, a long communal table with mismatched chairs that reminded me of elementary school furnishings.  Low-key tunes piped in from an old fashioned stereo, truly portraying this place as a throwback.

Food:
Although the vibe was nothing to brag about, the food told a different story--especially the knodel.  We opted for the sweet version of this delicacy and tried an open-faced sandwich too.

Apricot Knodel - Wow! We absolutely loved these generous-sized dumplings, which were stuffed with apricot jam, coated in buttery breadcrumbs and served with a side of berry sauce and whipped cream.  The texture was light but denser than the buchty we're used to - it tasted like a cross between pancake batter and souffle batter.  This dish was great to split with another person, as each knodel was pretty large and relatively rich.  Overall, I loved it and can't wait to try the other varieties including nougat, raspberry and bread knodel.

Cranberry Nut Bread With Goat Cheese - The goat cheese was the selling point here but unfortunately it didn't deliver - there wasn't enough of it in the sandwich.  I liked that the bread had an interesting color (purple!) but sadly it was a tad hard and dry.  The honey, which came on the side was very enjoyable, and it was fun to drizzle it on top of the bread and to also dip it into the fresh sprouts. 

Service and Cost:
Kinski doesn't offer traditional wait service, instead you order and pick up at a counter.  I liked our server very much, as she was welcoming and wholeheartedly recommended the knodel.  Everyone was generally nice and helpful and pretty much hands off.

Costs are moderate, and for two dishes and two drinks we paid $24 including tax and tip.  Here's a rundown of the pricing:

Sweet Knodel - $8
Savory Knodel - $8.50-$12
Open-Face Sandwiches - $4.50-$7.50
Weekend Brunch - $8-$9
Cakes/Tarts of the Week - $3.50-$4.50

2 Mmmms