Kinfolk: Comfort Food With a Modern Twist
Feels Like Family
As Southerners, we know how important the table really is. For most of us, food is not just fuel…it’s a way to connect, empathize, comfort, and restore. The table is a place to rest after a long day, a chance to look into someone’s eyes as you’re passing a plate, and a refuge from the outside world.
At Kinfolk, an elevated diner in HarborTown, the comforts of a bygone era are fused with a fresh take on breakfast and lunch favorites, creating an eatery where it’s easy to gather, rest, and connect. Truly the best of both worlds, Kinfolk provides a lunch counter experience with one of the tastiest day menus in town.
Open from 7 am to 2 pm Wednesday through Saturday, the self-described country kitchen serves up hearty breakfast sandwiches on their signature square biscuits and the hardest-to-describe flapjacks ever encountered in one of the most charming areas of the city. Set right on Harbortown Square, the first impression you might have of the small restaurant is its traditional diner style. From the traditional wood-paneled walls to the large round light pendants and vintage tiled counter, the design elements are intentional and familiar. You’ve been here before. Or been to a diner like this before. Or seen something like it in a movie. But it definitely feels right.
What’s on the Menu?
Seated inside at a booth or at one of the courtyard tabletops, you’ll soon notice that the menu feels familiar too. Hash - the good kind, perfectly fried up in cubes - a host of sandwiches featuring a hearty, buttered biscuit (or toast, if that’s your jam), and an array of sides ranging from delectable oatmeal to mushroom gravy all promise to be great choices. This is probably not your place if you are starting the new year on a diet. While there is a yogurt option, just about everything restauranteur Cole Jeanes has put on his thoughtfully curated menu is something your grandma would most definitely approve of. Even the oatmeal is topped with a dollop of “pecan pie butter” - whatever glorious concoction that is - and creamed honey.
While the standards are all there…from a fried chicken biscuit sandwich to breakfast bowls…the take on those standards is excitingly new. Take the griddle cakes. These gorgeous flapjacks are made from toasted Ansen Mills oat flour, which gives them a deeper, less sweet flavor than a normal pancake. But the pecan pie butter - there it is again - and rosemary maple syrup make these griddle cakes a stand-alone dish that will keep you nourished well into the afternoon. For protein, choose Tasso ham for something a little special or house sausage, chicken, bacon, or mushrooms done up just right. A good cup of drip coffee or cold brew in a classic diner mug completes any breakfast you choose.
The stylish take on Americana diner meals is something you’ll revisit again and again at Kinfolk. No doubt you’ll leave nourished in more ways than one.
