What pairs well with fresh, seasonal fare? The sunset over an ocean view.
As artful as the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego it shares space with, The Kitchen at MCASD is extending its hours into sunset, serving its acclaimed seasonal dishes with a view of the coast that inspired the menu.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Tim Kolanko, chef partner at parent company Urban Kitchen Group. “Every night I’m in there, I just walk out at sunset and … I’m just blown away by what a gorgeous place it is.”
The Kitchen began serving dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. June 15, Wednesdays through Saturdays, building on its celebrated menu influenced by the regions of southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East.
“I love the menu,” Kolanko said, and he’s not the only one: “We’re getting great feedback, which is wonderful.”
The current dinner menu features Kolanko’s takes on traditional recipes, like a chilled cucumber tahini soup with marinated shrimp and cucumber and a summer corn torchio pasta with cherry tomato, roasted pepper, Calabrian chili breadcrumb and salsa verde.
Cooking up incredible experiences for summer also means adding specials, Kolanko said.
“My goal is to have this restaurant always be really seasonal, and the best way to do hyperseasonal is to do specials, because you could buy what is literally best in the moment.”
That’s how Kolanko cooked for 10 years at The Lodge at Torrey Pines: I would go to Chino Farms and pick up the stuff off the stand and write the menu that night. That’s my wheelhouse.”
Admitting it’s “very challenging logistically to do that for a whole menu,” Kolanko nonetheless holds fast.
“That’s the way we should cook.”
Specials at The Kitchen will likely be presented on Friday and Saturday evenings, with more days added in following popularity.
Any guesses what the specials might entail? “Whatever inspires [me] that day,” Kolanko said, adding fig season is “right around the corner” and the success of the one-night “Study of Tomato” dinner was “amazing,” prompting him to contemplate bringing a dish or two from that menu back as a special.
The Kitchen will also present “The Study of Melon” Thursday, Aug. 8, which may mean more melon-focused specials to follow.
The lunch menu has some overlap with dinner, though some dishes are adapted, like the Lebanese 7-spice roasted chicken, which becomes a chicken skewer for lunch; other dishes are made “a little more casual and more lunchy,” Kolanko said.
stuffed turkish eggplant + mushroom + peppadew relish + pine nut + arugula + pita crouton + cilantro tahini.
Running a seasonal menu often leads to surprises, he said, as the stuffed Turkish eggplant with mushroom and peppadew relish became “a crazy runaway hit,” as patrons love Kolanko’s vegetarian version of the traditional dish.
The entire menu spotlights the fresh lightness that Kolanko feels people want when sitting at the coast.
“That was really our starting point,” he said, “and I think we’ve done a good job of staying true to that vision.”
Will dinners at The Kitchen stay past that final summer sunset? Kolanko hopes so.
“We have this amazing space. We have this sunset,” he said. “Why not? … It is just purely just magical out there.”
The Kitchen is still open for lunch Wednesdays through Fridays and weekend brunch; more information here.
All photos by Guillermo Lopez.
