Kings County Imperial

About

Josh Grinker and Tracy Jane Young open Kings County Imperial, a reinterpreted Central Chinese restaurant.

Story

Josh Grinker and Tracy Jane Young open Kings Co Imperial in Williamsburg (20 Skillman Avenue between Meeker and Lorimer, 718-610-2000, www.kingscountyimperial.com). The culinary duo behind the Park Slope neighborhood institution Stone Park Cafe, Josh and Tracy first met while working at the celebrated Chinese restaurant A Single Pebble in Vermont. Having traveled extensively throughout China, including a recent trip to Central China last year, they have channeled their knowledge and love of Chinese cuisine and culture to create Kings County Imperial. The 65-seat restaurant features a menu of reinterpreted Central Chinese classics using market-fresh ingredients, many of which are grown in the restaurant’s on-site heirloom Chinese vegetable garden. An integral ingredient in Chinese cuisine, the restaurant also features small batch, hand-crafted soy sauce. The sauce, served via a tap at the bar, is made exclusively for the restaurant by their partner company Kings Co Soy Works in Brooklyn.

Celebrating the convivial nature of Chinese cuisine, Josh and Tracy’s menu is served family-style. The Dumplings, Buns & Dim Sum section features dishes such as Wok-Seared Long Dumplings that are filled with pork, garlic stems and red vinegar; Crispy White Radish Cake made with fresh soaked rice, daikon radish, lap chuang sausage and shrimp that’s served with rock-sugar sweetened oyster sauce; and Prawn Fries with Chinese Ketchup. The menu also includes a selection of Noodles such as the chewy Clay Pot Silver Noodles with pom pom mushrooms, choi sum and sliced beef; Bejing Wheat Noodles served with chinkiang vinegar and garnished with radish, cucumber and sesame oil; and the Ants Climbing a Tree dish which is composed of stir-fried bean thread noodles with tree ear mushrooms and The Big Wok section focuses on large plates and includes Sichuan Marinated Duck with baby bok choy and wok salt; a Market Salt & Pepper Dry Fry that rotates daily between shrimp, squid, beef rib, blowfish tails and tofu; Cantonese Crispy Garlic Chicken with dried garlic, soy and vinegar; and Fragrant River
Fish that’s poached, served in a soy-chili broth and garnished with fresh Szechuan peppercorns, fresh Thai chilies and pea shoots. Vegetables such as Cold Smoked Cucumber Salad; Dry Fried Yardlong
Beans served with pickled kohlrabi root, fermented black soybeans and ground pork; and Lotus Root Salad with kim lan, Chinese green onion and a black-and-white vinaigrette are also available.

Additionally, the menu features a section of Soups; Fried Rice, with options such as Angry Pig, Emerald Vegetarian and their signature Mock Eel which is prepared with shitake mushrooms cut into thin, long strips to resemble baby eels and then stir fried until crispy with soy sauce, ginger and scallion. In partnership with Kings County Soy Works, the restaurant also showcases their small-batch, handcrafted soy sauce – barrel-aged and sun-fermented in Southern China – which is on tap at the bar for use in the kitchen as well as poured for guests as a table condiment.

Beverage Director Richard Murphy, formerly of Buttermilk Channel, created Kings County Imperial’s beverage program, which features a menu of tiki-style cocktails that complement the fiery menu. Drinks include King Kamehameha Club with Don Julio Anejo Tequila, fresh lime juice, blue agave nectar, allspice dram and mezcal spritz; Buddha’s Hand is made with gin, lemon juice, honey syrup, a house-made pineapple cordial, orange bitters and sparkling rosé; and the Imperial Mai-Tai is offered on tap with aged rum, rye whiskey, lime, orgeat syrup, orange curacao syrup and mint. A focused list of wines, served by the glass, bottle or on-tap, is also be available, as well as a selection of draft and bottled craft beers.

The intimate dining room, designed by Ian McPheely—whose past clients include Cherche Midi, Schiller’s Liquor Bar and the Greenwich Hotel—is inspired by the charm of old-world China, and is adorned in rich hues of traditional greens and reds. The walls feature traditional latticework embedded with laser-etched light boxes highlighting images of Chinese landscapes and are lined with reclaimed mahogany tables and chairs. An antique mahogany bar anchors the back of the room with custom wrought-iron shelving and 12 metal bar stools crafted by Ferra Designs. The light-flooded second dining area, located in the back of the restaurant and set beneath a vaulted ceiling, is designed to mirror the hull of an old “junk” or a traditional Chinese cargo boat. The restaurant also boasts a backyard garden where they grow a variety of heirloom Chinese vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and greens such as tatsoi, choi sum and Chinese red mustard. The garden also features goji berry bushes, fresh Szechuan peppercorns and a fruit-bearing peach tree.

Kings Co Imperial is open for dinner on a first-come, first-served basis from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM Sunday through Thursday, and from 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM Friday and Saturday. For more information or reservations, call 718-610-2000 or visit www.kingscountyimperial.com