Take a quick skim of the menu at new Fort Worth restaurant Kin Kin Urban Thai and you'll find familiar Thai dishes: pork dumplings, pad thai, curries. Then there's the burger.
A burger? Yes: Chef Eddy Thretipthuangsin's $15 burger comes between two "buns" made of sticky rice. It's one of the oddities on a menu that is otherwise a walk through the traditional flavors he remembers as a child in Thailand.
The burger comes with two charred beef patties and fixins on the side. Thretipthuangsin's brother Chris doesn't suggest using the veggies, though; just grab your rice-buns and take a bite. Then take a few more, and don't let go. If you set the burger down, chances are the sticky rice will become unstuck, leaving a pile of beef and rice to eat with a fork and knife.
Then ask yourself, as I did Monday night, why you're ordering a burger at a Thai restaurant.
Other items in the "Thai Thai" section of chef Eddy's menu are a better representation of his experience with Thai flavors. Our knowledgeable server said the Texas red fish with curry paste is a can't-miss. The sizzling garlic pork and short rib green curry were popular orders during my recent visit.
Next time I'll take our server's suggestions. The burger was fun for the experience, but it didn't show off what the chef can do.
Kin Kin is open for dinner only, for now, at 2801 W. 7th Street in Fort Worth. Lunch service begins March 24. Two more Kin Kins are expected to open in Dallas this year.
