Opening Alert: Akinto at Wink & Nod Debuts Tonight

Chef Patrick Enage's six-month residency in the kitchen at Wink & Nod starts tonight. Akinto, meaning "this is mine" in Tagalog, is inspired by Phillippines native Enage's personal history. "I see Akinto as an exciting opportunity to introduce guests to the Southeast Asian flavors and ingredients I grew up with — the flavors that shaped my culinary perspective," the chef said in a statement.

Enage recently returned from a month-long informational visit to Asia to learn more about its edible traditions and essential ingredients. Akinto's menu, printed in full below, is designed to encourage sharing, with small plates like bao beef sliders and mini banh mi. It also includes large dishes, like chicken tom kha gai with Thai coconut broth, lemongrass, and lime; steamed striped bass with orange miso tamarind glaze and long beans; and more.

Owned by Boston Nightlife Ventures (The Tap Trailhouse, Griddler's Burgers and Dogs), the South End craft cocktail "speakeasy" Wink & Nod also operates as a culinary incubator. Akinto is the third restaurant to pop up inside its kitchen since it opened a year ago. Whisk was its first resident, followed by a seven-month run of Bread & Salt Hospitality that just ended on Saturday. Enage comes to the kitchen with his mentor Bill Brodsky, the newly-appointed chief culinary officer of BNV. Enage was Brodsky's chef de cuisine at City Landing, which closed in January.

Akinto at Wink & Nod will serve dinner Monday - Saturday from 5 - 10 p.m.