Well, we’re down into it: the time between Halloween and Thanksgiving when pumpkin spice and cider this-and-that are all the rage. I see cider doughnuts and pumpkin-spiced lattes everywhere. The folks at Fallow Kin don’t seem like the kind to submit to such mass-marketed trends, but in their own way, they’ve got it covered – but on halibut and in mole sauces.
The newly opened establishment at the end of Main Street near Central Square is the stepsister of the James Beard-nominated Talulla in Huron Village, but very different. Talulla is a quiet sit-down nook without a bar, whereas Fallow Kin, taking over the space that had long been the beloved Craigie on Main, is more pop, sizzle and party. As with Craigie, the interior is a series of hamster habitats connected by throughways, from the main dining room and a tasting counter perched over an open kitchen to a bar and more casual café-style dining area. It’s spare and open, with clean lines.
The name is Kin’s mission statement of sorts for sustainability and local sourcing as tenets of culinary creation. “Fallow” land is left untouched to keep it fertile. It’s zero-waste and farm-to-table, and likening the endeavor to the epicurean-adventurous Field & Vine in Union Square would not be wrong as far as the food, even if vibe-wise the two are as different as their locales. I find rotating menus fun, and Fallow Kin seems poised to be seasonal with regular adds and drops in-season. (Just last week there was a steamed cod; now that is gone and there’s an ocean trout with confit potato and rainbow chard. I sadly missed the former and can’t wait to try the latter.)
It’s an interesting slate. There’s no real appetizer lineup, though there is a 4 to 6 p.m. and late-night “zero waste” menu (meaning what you eat is made from the orts of the main dishes) with a half-wagyu burger, chopped salad (a classic concept that seemingly has become a trending, fine-dining must), crispy fried hen of the woods and smoked fish terrine (a whitefish salad).
The heart of the menu is the veggies – something that took me a visit or two to understand, as it seems intended for you to pair its selections with a pasta or a main coming as plain meat or fish on a plate. Most alluring of the well-conceived veggies are the roasted pumpkin with Whitney cheese and pickled mustard seed, smoky cabbage delectably wallowing in a seaweed broth with crispy chicken skin, and caramelized carrots (makes me think of mom at this time of year).
For your mains, there’s that trout, a jumps-off-the-menu-at-you cider-braised halibut and a ribeye with mojo verde and tallow butter (yes, please!). I went in for the Feather Brook Farms chicken, which came up crispy and “under a brick” style. The thing that made the dish dance was the subtly pleasing and quietly unique spicy pumpkin mole, which you drag your tender white nuggets of fowl through. I paired it with that crispy hen of the woods (foraged mushrooms), which came tempura-fried with a creamy garlic dipping sauce and a similarly lightly fried sunchoke.
Other entries that pull the eye to the pasta slate are the clams linguini with seaweed, and seaweed and duck merguez cannelloni with roasted corn.
Kin is a place you can drop into and snack casually at the bar, or sit down for a festive group feast; the plates and concept have a sharable lean. The seven-course tasting menu at the 10-seat chef’s table encompasses Kin’s menu du season with day-of change-ups. Seatings are at 5:30 and 8 p.m.
Fallow Kin, 853 Main St., The Port, Cambridge
Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
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