Eats Beat: Kin Kin Thai on the way; Le Cep is here
For a change, the news at Bite City Grill is about expansion.
Chef “Eddy T” Thretipthuangsin’s American menu has brought the first success to the Montgomery Plaza space, and next week he will announce a new Thai restaurant nearby.
Kin Kin — “eat eat,” or, loosely, “let’s eat” — will open in Crockett Square as soon as New Year’s at the former MK’s Sushi (The Fish) in the West 7th shops.
He will preview Kin Kin with a special $55 Thai menu Tuesday at Bite City, featuring a choice of halibut in a chili-tamarind reduction, a braised short rib with Massaman curry, or a tiger prawn with baby bok choy, plus appetizer, Thai coconut soup, coconut-almond spinach salad and pandan panna cotta.
“It’s just to give a little idea of what’s ahead,” said Eddy T, chef at Pakpao Thai in Dallas before moving to Fort Worth in a partnership with the owners of neighboring Sushi Axiom.
Kin Kin will be in the Cultural District, he said, and will be “more elevated and definitely more fun” than Pakpao.
He’s adding a Thai restaurant in Fort Worth because former Pakpao customers expect it, he said. A native of Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, he recently spent weeks in Bangkok catching up on the foodie scene there.
Kin Kin’s dishes “will be interesting if you’ve never had Thai food before, and different or visual enough to stand out, even if you grew up on Thai food every day,” he said.
Bite City continues with its regular menu and a winter update soon, he said; 2600 W. Seventh St. (actually, it’s on the back of Montgomery Plaza near a bank and West Fifth Street), 817-877-3888, bitecitygrill.com.
Worth a Crowley side trip
Every town has a sports bar and grill with a good burger. But not many are as good as the Break Room Bar and Grill in Crowley.
The Break Room, a venture by former Charleston’s workers, combines smoky dive-bar, poolroom ambiance with steakhouse-quality burgers, chicken sandwiches and bar food.
The roasted-Hatch-chile cheeseburger on a jalapeño sourdough bun is a favorite, and diners recommend the wings and meatballs with sauces from mild to ghost-pepper.
The Break Room opens at 11 a.m. daily and serves food as late as 2 a.m.; 806 N. Crowley Road, 817-297-3903, facebook.com/thebreakroombargrill.
Flash and style on Seventh
The new Le Cep Restaurant, serving chef Sandra Avila’s contemporary French cuisine, will open Tuesday in a former West Seventh Street coffee bar.
Le Cep is a flashy, 21st-century European restaurant, serving in a sleek, cozy dining room with husband and former Alcon Labs marketing executive David Avila’s wine pairings.
Le Cep is open for dinner only Tuesdays through Saturdays.
The Avilas ask — this is unusual in Fort Worth — for nicer or semi-formal attire; 3324 W. Seventh St., 817-900-2468, leceprestaurant.com.
This story was originally published October 30, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Eats Beat: Kin Kin Thai on the way; Le Cep is here."