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Very Best Restaurants: Kinkead's

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Kinkead's ***
Washington, $$

Nantucket scallops are the sweetest of any to be found in American waters. During their brief season in November, chef Bob Kinkead air-freights them in, fries them up, and serves them with impeccable French fries, coleslaw, and house-made tartar sauce. Not only is this simple seasonal specialty one of Kinkead's best, but it typifies the chef's approach to cooking: Restrict seasonings and garnishes to those that complement the main ingredient of the dish, keep the elements of a dish within the boundaries of a single national cuisine, and realizeas is the case with these scallopsthat even the best of chefs sometimes cannot improve upon tradition.

With a formal upstairs dining room and a cafe with a huge bar downstairsyou can order from the same menu at both locationsKinkead's is a Modern American restaurant that accommodates all appetites, but fans of its carryout are slated for disappointment: It soon will be replaced with a seafood bar specializing in chowders, stews, and freshly shucked shellfish.

Kinkead's faremostly seafood, with the exception of such token meat entrees as the grand braised lamb shank with Tuscan beans or the chef's take on Brazil's national dish, feijoadaencourages both casual, one-plate meals and formal dining. If it's relaxed and casual you want, try the citrus-accented seafood soup from Cadiz, and have it downstairs.

Kinkead's , 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington; 202-296-7700. Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday and Sunday for dinner. (Cafe not open for dinner on Saturday.) MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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