Albertine

I've had a rocky history with the Kindred restaurant empire — milkbread and Kindred never quite won me over, though Hello, Sailor still reigns supreme in my book. Their biggest swing yet, Albertine, opened in Uptown three months ago with a Mediterranean-meets-Southern-flair menu inside an otherwise soulless corporate office building. The exterior gives zero indication of what's inside: sky-high ceilings, herringbone wood floors, marble I wanted to chisel off and take home. We opted for a dining room booth over the lounge, which was the correct call. A $25 martini, shockingly good dates, and a steak-and-frites situation worth discussing, ahead.