Kimski

The Marszwewski clan have a wide ranging and expanding empire.  They started out with Maria's Packaged Liquors & Community Bar, a Slashie (bar/packaged liquor store) in Bridgeport.  They then went on to Marz Community Brewery, which was contract brewed and largely served and sold at Maria's (as well as other places around the city).  In the early days, they would have cookouts in the back patio featuring Korean and Polish (and Korean-Polish) fare.  This eventually became the Counter Service restaurant Kimski, a name referencing both their Korean and Polish heritages and Their mother's maiden name, Kim.  While I was interested to see what they might do, I have some friends of Korean and Polish descent who were also interested, so we decided to make it a group outing.  Maria's is an old-style storefront, Kimski is very modern with a patio in front under an angled overhang.  The ordering area is actually pretty small with the counter straight in as you enter and the kitchen window to the left.  There are event posters on the walls and Korean toys on the counters.  In order to get to the main seating area, you actually have to walk around the counter.  So we ordered our food and wandered back with a number to show where to deliver our food.  The interior dining area is largely black with high unfinished ceilings, has a large bar, and seems to be a joint space with Maria's, which is also black.  The back wall's are glass sliding doors that lead to an enclosed patio with high walls and generally has a tan color scheme.  There is one graffiti art painting in the corner with "No Smoking" written (painted) in many languages and styles.  There are booths and four tops in the interior dining room, but as it was a nice day, so we decided to sit on the back patio.  There are smaller Two Top and Four Top banquette picnic tables around the edge of the patio as well as a few large high top tables in the center, where we sat.  The bar is separate from the food area, so you have to get your beer after you order food and wait for it.  It is not delivered.  I like the tap list here because there is generally a wide variety of different beers from all over.  Before the Marz Brewery Tap Room opened, there used to be several Marz Beers on tap.  I was surprised not to see any on the tap list when we were there.  I like Marz beers and they were close, so we decided to visit Marz Brewery Taproom after.  Despite the fact that there were no Marz beers, I was easily able to find something that I would like.  I went with Odd Side Ales Shadynasty New England-Style IPA.  This had a nice hop flavor featuring pine and grapefruit flavors without exceptional bitterness.  It had a nice head that broke down quickly and left some lacing, and had a dry finish.  It was a good beer.

Our food started arriving when we were drinking our beer and everything was shared.  One of the first things that arrived was the Scallion Potato Pancake.  The pancake was made with Beer Batter, Scallions, Shredded Potatoes with Dill, and topped with Tamari Sour Cream Sauce and Scallions.  This was pretty good and very Polish.  I liked the dill flavor in the pancake, and the sour cream provided for a nice sour finish.

Banchan aren't exactly a dish, but are more various sides that are presented with your main meal.  They can be any number things, but are meant to enhance the main meal.  Banchan was on the menu and I like the idea, so I ordered a course.  The menu lists it as a serving of three Ko-Po vegetable sides.  I also like surprises, so ordering this was a given.  While I did know that I was going to be getting vegetables, I didn't know exactly what vegetables that I would be getting or how they would be prepared.  I was presented with a plate of Green Beans, Zucchini, and Broccoli served with Red Pepper.  I am going to guess that they had been canned (or Mason Jarred, as it were).  I was kind of mixed on this.  The beans were nice and crisp, but the zucchini was pretty limp and the broccoli was a bit dry.  The flavor for all of the vegetables was good, but the texture needed work.

There was a dish on the menu that was a combination of Korean, Polish, and Quebecois Bar Food, and a couple were ordered.  This was the Kimski Poutine.  A standard poutine will have cheese curds and brown gravy on french fries.  With this, there was the Fries, and the Wisconsin Cheese curds, but the gravy was Kimchi Gravy, and it was topped with Pickled Onions, Scallions, and Sesame Leaves.  It was nice and gooey with some spiciness, and a sesame finish.  While everyone had some and seemed to enjoy it, I am going to guess that I gave the impression that I liked it more than everyone else because it was given to me to finish, which I heartily enjoyed.

My main course was kind of a spin on Bibimbop, a Korean dish that I really like.  Called Be Bim Noods, it was made with Cold Cooked Wheat Noodles instead of the standard rice.  It was also served cold.  The Noodles were topped with Kimchi and Cucumbers, and served with a Sliced Hard Boiled Egg.  This was a favorite.  It was good and I liked it, but it was also pretty spicy.  This was a dish that should have been fairly easy to eat with chop sticks.  I can use chopsticks, though not well, but I did eat much of it, slowly, with chopsticks.

While the food was fairly simple and their were a few slips, I did enjoy things here.  It's very casual and friendly, the food is easy to share, and the dishes that were wins were very good.