Jon & John Eric's Adventures in Food

11-5-11 Tortilleria San Antonio (and Royal Kabab King)

2011-11-07T19:52:00.000-06:00

We put a few restaurants into Mia's hand - shook them up and drew a place to go. Royal Kabab King was the winner. We drove over there from Urban Mining, entered an empty dining room and heard an exasperated sigh..twice!

"We're not ready yet." This was 11:19 and they open at 11 am. And that was our cue to leave and never return.

So we thought about the other options that Mia had held and JE said, "Let's go to Tortilleria San Antonio" on Kansas Avenue. We were happy that fate intervened and drove us away from a restaurant that clearly did not want our business.

The parking lot was full and there was a man selling rosaries outside. We knew this place would be a true adventure. We're pretty sure this place is not accustomed to seeing non-Latinos or Mexicans or whatever the PC word would be.

In the front of this grocery store and butcher shop, they make the tortillas. Stand in line just to the right and order your food.

JE asked for an asada taco and a pastor taco, then asked the man behind the counter what his favorite burrito was. After a bit of attitude from him, he said, "I like the beef." JE ordered that too with a horchata and the bill was less than $9. JE had never tried pastor before because he hates pineapple, but he gave it a shot and loved it (plus there were not chunks of pineapple in his face).

Mia ordered 3 pastor tacos. This lady loves her pastor! She was so hungry that she started eating before we all got our food.

After you order, you get into another line to get your food. That's where they have four or five different salsas ranging from mild to really hot from right to left. The really hot salsa looked like nacho cheese. All of the salsas were great and you can even buy them from the fridge. One of them set Mia's tongue on fire. There are also onions, cilantro and lime wedges for your tacos.

My ordering process was a bit hampered. I looked at the sign and knew what I wanted to order but just about everything I wanted (like a chicken burrito or ranchero steak burrito), they didn't have. I thought it was kind of odd that they had a butcher shop there but no chicken. I decided on an asada taco, carnitas taco and an asada burrito. My food was good. It definitely tasted authentic and the flavors blended together well. I'm not adventurous with hot salsas but even the mildest had a little kick to it.

This place is packed with people buying all kinds of meat from the butcher counter or produce from the store. We may have been sent to another country, but that country was awesome.

We need a couple of places like this on the east side of town because everyone would be way more happy.

You can see we don't have pictures. We were so hungry and the food was so good that we didn't get a chance to photograph them. You'll have to experience it. It's cheap and delicious (even if they don't have a full menu as displayed!).

Tortilleria San Antonio is located in KCK at the corner of Kansas and Mill Street (830 Kansas Ave).

10-29-11 Beer Kitchen

2011-11-07T19:32:00.001-06:00

Keeping with our scary theme, we were really scared when we entered this Westport restaurant -- because it was packed! Usually when we eat out early on a Saturday, we are the only people there. Plus parking in Westport sucks.

Maybe we are spoiled by too many "ah-hah" moments and that's what we were expecting here after reading Urbanspoon and Yelp reviews. But we were simply underwhelmed.

It was the Saturday before Halloween and the servers were in costume (or most were) which was fun. But they have an attitude so be prepared. Our server noticed another server delivering food to one of her tables and mumbled under her breath, "why the f*ck is she doing that?". And JE who I swear needs a hearing aid sometimes, heard it.

Beer Kitchen reminded us of BRGR in Prairie Village, just less snooty, but just as loud. A bonus is that it is closer to home. Another bonus was there were no screaming children running all around like BRGR gets sometimes. But that does mean you have the company of pretentious hipsters and college boys reminiscing about the night before.

JE ordered the BRAVO! burger. It's a burger with crispy prosciutto, maytag blue cheese, fontina, sun-dried tomato relish, baby arugula & roasted garlic aioli on brioche bun (I love it when online menus are helpful). He was excited to try the house blended ground meat from McGonigle's, but for some reason, this place doesn't believe in seasoning the meat. Ugh. He ordered it with a mini truffle fries and water to drink. It would have been nice of the server to tell us that the mini fries you could add were another upcharge for the truffle fries, but oh well. He thought the pickles stole the show.

I ordered what the server suggested, the Hogtied sandwich with a side of mini truffle fries. This sandwich has
black forest ham, bbq burnt ends, smoked bacon aioli, chipotle white cheddar, pickle relish & cider slaw on grilled sourdough bread.

The sandwich was ok but I was underwhelmed by the size and the almost lack of burnt ends on it. This is definitely not what you would get if say a BBQ place had this sandwich. As JE says, "I ate it didn't I?". Yes, I did, but it was just so-so. The pickles were good. The truffle fries were great dipped in the roasted garlic aioli and smoked chipotle aioli sauces we ordered. They also make their own ketchup and have three different types at the table: old school, chipotle and some kind of whisky BBQ. The chipotle was the best in our opinion of the three.

Beer Kitchen is good enough but over priced and not a place that would make you feel the need to have a seizure or testify. It is good though if you have been constipated for about a week because you will find great relief after eating there. JE thinks it's the greens on the burger.

We feel that the gourmet burger craze is near it's end or should be. Beer Kitchen has some specialty burgers but again our food didn't hit a home run with us. They have brunch on the weekends and an extensive beer menu (as the name suggests). It's close enough we may try it again sometime, but we will try to avoid the crowds.

Beer Kitchen is located in Westport at the corner of Westport Road and Pennsylvania (435 Westport Road) in KCMO.

10-15-11 Dos de Oros Taqueria

2011-11-07T19:08:00.000-06:00

It's pretty horrifying to drive down to 130 something and Holmes and be the only English speaking people in a restaurant. The parking lot was filled with trucks full of lawn mowers and landscaping equipment. The other diners had roofing and guttering t-shirts on - they cleaned up in the restroom. Welcome to Dos de Oros Taqueria.

JE was stressed out that we may have to eat in the car. There are only about 7 booths available in the restaurant. Thankfully turn-over here is pretty quick. He thought about screaming "IMMIGRATION!" just to get a table, but he didn't have to.

JE ordered a burrito grande barbacoa with no lettuce, a chicken soft taco and an asada sope (no lettuce) with a horchata which came to be $14.81.

The burrito was huge and smothered in some kind of white cheese sauce. The taco was a street type - two tortillas with meat, cilantro and onions just as it should be. The sope? He had never had one before but he was happy that he did. It's like a mini hurache. Yum!

I ordered a chicken burrito, asada soft taco and chicken sope.

The burrito was delicious and the white cheese sauce was divine. The street taco was just like other street tacos I've had in the past and it was good as well. And the sope? It was like a hurache or a tostada and it was also good but it had too much lettuce.

This place is an off-shoot of the main restaurant (called Dos de Oros) just around the corner which we will have to try sometime.

The guy next to me had a hangover from too many cervesas and Patron so he was eating menudo (blech!). Some other guy had a really annoying ringtone that sounded like an odd cartoon. And there were plenty of other people to watch or listen to if you know a little Spanish.

Overall delicious food, but it could benefit from making their own tortillas and expand the dining room a bit.

Dos do Oros Taqueria is located in South Kansas City at 650 E Blue Ridge Blvd.

10-8-11 Chapala Restaurante Mexicano

2011-11-07T18:51:00.001-06:00

On a weekend when Jon was playing (and winning) in a softball tournament, JE, Mia and Lisa decided to have their own food adventure after going to Urban Mining. Welcome to Chapala Restaurante Mexicano.

This nice little restaurant is located at Truman Road and Hardesty...and that's what makes it scary. JE didn't think he'd ever been that far east on Truman Road. Past all the discount furniture stores, funeral homes and a big cemetery, they arrived at an orange painted building to have their "we were exactly the same in college" lunch with his dear friends Mia and Lisa.

There was one person working the dining room and one person in the kitchen this Saturday afternoon. The menu is large and easy to navigate. Chips and salsa are complimentary.

JE had the #8 combo that included an enchilada, taco, tamale and burrito for $8.95 and a horchata to drink. Lisa had another combo and Mia got two pastor tacos (her favorite) and a side of rice.

JE was horrified when his meal showed up covered in shredded lettuce (not his favorite) and melted shredded cheese. He should have opted for something more authentic. It was still good and he didn't think the shredded lettuce came out of a SYSCO (the devil!) bag.

Lisa's meal was much the same.

Mia's tacos were served on freshly made tortillas. JE was jealous. She said the meat was a bit burned but the tortillas were awesome.

JE was really hoping for a place that could rival El Camino Real so he wouldn't have to drive all the way to KCK. But Chapala didn't measure up. He's still a fan of this place across from the St. John School of Theology and it is apparent they have many obvious regulars.

See what you think at Chapala Restaurante Mexicano located 5224 E Truman Road in KCMO.

10-1-11 Dixon's Chili Parlor

2011-11-07T18:28:00.002-06:00

October is/was scary food adventure month. It could be a place we heard bad stuff about, a haunted restaurant, a chain or just a scary location...or maybe a restaurant we have a coupon for out of the Entertainment Book. Dixon's Chili Parlor was a little bit of each.

Our first encounter with Dixon's is a bit odd. When we lived in an apartment complex about 6 years ago, Jon had the pleasure of taking the dog out in the field behind the complex. While the dog was doing her thing, an older neighbor named Jack was taking his dog out as well. Jack liked to talk quite a bit and on this day, he mentioned how he visited Dixon's for lunch. While he recounted his story, he kept farting and talking about Dixon's. His 20+ minute story was filled with released gas. Jack definitely liked the chili. Thank god for wide open spaces.

We arrived at Dixon's prepared to be underwhelmed. No one was there, but that didn't last long. Perhaps this is a hell mouth or it has loyal followers (like Jack) but what it does have are the best wait staff in the gay area of this city. It officially has an Independence address but is on the border between Independence, Raytown and maybe Kansas City. Which one is it?

The parking lot and restaurant really started filling up at noon. Large groups of big people enter the clean dining room. Jon said, "Do you think they're here for the all-you-can-eat tacos?" And that was exactly what they were there for.

We both ordered spaghetti with chili on it and a taco.

The chili is not what you would expect. It is unseasoned ground beef with your choice of beans. You can order it juicy (or soupy) and you season it yourself with the condiments on the table which included chili powder, vinegar and bottled chili peppers. Saltine crackers are also there for you to put in your chili. The taco was your run of the mill taco (reminded Jon a little of In A Tub in the Northland just not as greasy) with cheese, hamburger meat, and lettuce with a side of taco sauce. We could see how people would like the all-you-can-eat tacos for 6.99.

President Harry S. Truman loved this place and we did too. When we checked out at the register, the young woman asked us if we had been there before and would we be back? We said of course as she punched a frequent visitor card for us. We used a coupon from the Entertainment Book so it was a good deal. And if we would have been hungry for desert, they have huge pie slices available.

For being the longest operating restaurant in the area (since 1919), it was a good food adventure and one we'd try again.

Get your chili on at Dixon's Chili Parlor located in Independence at 9106 U.S. 40.

9-24-11 Westside Local

2011-09-28T19:45:00.002-05:00

We drove around the westside looking for a locally owned deli only to find it was closed on the weekends. As we drove around, we came upon the Westside Local.

It's a good thing we found this place, because this place will make you want to slap your ancestors and Ancient Aliens -- for real!

We started out with the deviled eggs - and they're not your mom or grandma's deviled eggs that make your tongue dry up like a slug. They showed up with a sauce drizzled on them of orange vinaigrette, basil aioli, and microgreens (some which looked like 4 leaf clovers).

They were really good. My mom usually puts way too much vinegar and paprika on hers but these were very mild and the sauce and microgreens made them even better. We wanted to wipe all the sauces off of the plate with every bite.

JE ordered the Summit burger with fries. This burger is a ½ pound ground rib-eye, with arugula, tomato, swiss, and a dijon vinaigrette, on a toasted brioche bun.

JE said it was perfectly cooked and had the reddest tomato he's ever seen. The burger was very tasty. The fries were glorious and seemed as if they were double boiled due to their crispness. JE asked for a side of the homemade mayo which was a garlic aioli which make for a really good dipping sauce for the fries. The ketchup that came with the fries tasted like fresh tomato paste. I say paste because that's what it reminded me of.

I ordered the pesto chicken sandwich. Now, I don't know if the deviled eggs we had as an appetizer came from the chicken I ate, but I don't care. It would have made for a good story. My sandwich had grilled chicken, basil pesto, goat cheese, tomato, and arugula, on kalamata olive bread.

This sandwich was pretty big or maybe the eggs had already filled me up, but I had trouble eating the whole thing. I wasn't sure if it would warm up well later so I forced myself to eat the entire thing. The chicken was perfect and the pesto, goat cheese and the bread really made it even better. You can't tell very well from the picture but I almost had to unhinge my jaw to bite into this thing. JE wanted to slap me because it was so good. My sandwich came with fries as well and they were a welcome addition.

Everything here is local, they probably even make their own water. Art hangs on the walls with price tags but some of it you could probably make at home with a cheap canvas and some paint. It makes the dining room into a museum of sorts.

JE has been hearing about this place for awhile, but he wouldn't go there because he thought it was snooty and precocious. It really isn't. The staff is great, the food is better, the price may be a little more than you expect (but hey it's fresh food) and the insides shine. I sat on the bench and felt like I was on a throne it was so high...and the tables look like they could have been parts of old floors back in the day, but it all adds up to a great dining experience.

We ate off their spring and summer menu, but we want to return when the fall/winter menu comes out. There is a grilled cheese sandwich that comes with tomato fennel soup that sounds really good as well as baked mac and cheese.

Check out Westside Local at 1663 Summit Street in KCMO.

9-17-11 Johnny's BBQ

2011-09-27T21:02:00.001-05:00

On a rainy September morning, we drove to Mission, Kansas to a BBQ restaurant that was completely on our radar. Apparently this place was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives but we must have missed that episode. Here's....Johnny's BBQ!

When we got there, JE remarked, "this feels like a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere."

We ordered the combo plate, 2 iced teas and 2 small chilis. All of it was satisfying for $27.

The combo plate came with beef, pork, ribs, sausage, fries, bread, pickles and topped off with an onion ring. What's a better way to try just about everything in a BBQ restaurant than this?

This was definitely enough food for two people where you wouldn't feel like you overate at all. The meats were good, solid, smoked meats. The fries were ok (Ore-ida possibly? DYK Ore-ida stands for Oregon and Idaho, like where the potatoes come from?), but probably not hand cut. The ribs had the meat falling off them and were finger licking messy and delicious. And the pickles, you can't go wrong with dill pickles. Who ever decided that dill pickles go good with BBQ?

The BBQ sauce seemed to be ketchup based with a small kick which was ok.

The chili was homemade and was delicious on a cold, wet day. You could tell it wasn't from a can.

Service was really quick. You order at the counter, seat yourself and wait for the food to be delivered to your table.

The dining room filled up very quickly, but people don't seem to linger so you probably won't have issues finding somewhere to sit. Here is your kid warning -- people bring them, they're loud and usually underfoot.

The decor is simple and displays BBQ sauces from around the country.

We'll add this to our BBQ to go list. And as an added bonus, you didn't have someone screaming, "Hi, may I help you?"

Check out Johnny's BBQ located on 5959 Broadmoor in Mission, KS.

9-6-11 Chez Elle

2011-09-27T20:46:00.001-05:00

My work spouse, Kim, had a $20 coupon to use before it expired so she suggested we go over lunch and use it up. That dropped us at Chez Elle at 17th and Summit.

Chez Elle is a coffeehouse and creperie. Crepes are a French food. Think of a French IHOP that has thin pancakes stuffed with your toppings (sweet or savory). It was my first experience with crepes and I dare say, I liked it. I didn't have anything to compare it to as I've never been to France, but Kim, the world traveler that she is, had some food experiences in Paris with this stuff.

We both selected the Chez Elle which had chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella, pesto and marinara.

It was pretty big, as you can tell, but the lightness of the crepe helps you eat the whole thing and sometimes want more. The fillings were good and tasty.

I also tried their French onion soup. I like French onion dip with chips so I thought I'd like this too. And I was hoping it would come with the traditional cheese melted over the top. Alas, my hopes were crushed as there wasn't melted cheese over the small bowl of soup.

Outside of the no melted cheese on top, I really didn't know what to expect of the soup except for the onions. The beef broth was good, the onions were good and the melted cheese inside the soup was good too. I can say now that I'm probably not a fan of French onion soup so I'll stick with the dip that I like.

If you're not in the mood for a savory crepe, you can get a sweet crepe. Kim decided on the Paris which was Nutella (oh hell yes!), bananas and whipped cream. Just picture the crepe above with these ingredients in it. It was pretty rich and it was a little struggle getting through this sweet crepe, but it was definitely bueno (sorry, I only know a little Spanish!). For a sweet treat, definitely try the Paris.

And finally, don't forget, this is a coffeehouse. Kim and I have this thing where we've tried chai tea lattes in about any place that serves them and we rank our favorites. We even took a Communiversity class together about chai tea. With that in mind, we both had chai tea lattes at Chez Elle and we were impressed. They came in the traditional big coffee cup with a foamy head and was really really good. It complimented the Nutella and banana crepe perfectly.

The staff at Chez Elle was helpful and patient with us as we tried to decide on everything to order. We had questions and they answered them. Thanks staff!

Check out Chez Elle. It's very easy to get to from downtown and you may broaden your horizons with a French food and a great coffeehouse. Chez Elle is located at 1713 Summit Street in KCMO.

8-19-11 Anna's Oven

2011-08-21T21:07:00.001-05:00

Get to this new restaurant on 39th Street before everyone else discovers it or you will be waiting in a long line.

Anna's Oven recently opened seven weeks ago on 39th Street across from Saigon 39.

They serve hearty, delicious and freshly made comfort food at low prices. JE said, "this place will be packed in the fall and winter."

JE had the meatloaf dinner. Two slices of meatloaf made with ground beef and Mendolia's Italian sausage that came with mashed potatoes and gravy, some steamed veggies and some bread for $8; a stunning value. He also ordered a side of mac and cheese and it nearly reduced him to tears it was so creamy and delicious. They have a blanco mac and cheese on the menu that looks just as good.

I decided to try the traditional lasagna, but earlier that morning, the place was discussed on the Walt Bodine show and was slammed with people. So on this Friday afternoon, they were out of the traditional lasagna. That was ok so I subbed the spicy lasagna (Italian sausage, pork and red pepper flakes) which really wasn't that spicy, but it was oh so good. It also came with some steamed veggies and bread. I also got a side of dipping bread with oil. The garlic and fresh basil in the dipping oil was delicious.

I'm a sucker for different desserts. I mean, I like the traditional stuff, but if you mix different things together, chances are I'm going to try it. Not that I wasn't stuff enough from what we had, but I was coaxed into trying their blueberry pineapple cobbler with roasted pecans and vanilla ice cream. If I could have licked the plate and had some dignity left, I would have. It was that good!

There are other items on the menu we still want to try so we'll definitely be back to Anna's Oven. Check it out at 1809 W 39th Street in KCMO.

8-13-11 Big Bam's Burgers

2011-08-21T20:53:00.001-05:00

Every summer, we take JE's niece and nephew to lunch and a movie - they wanted to see Transformers 3 - and we could only find it playing at the Cinemark 20 off Johnson Drive. Yeah, we were a couple of months late and almost missed it.

JE went on Urbanspoon to find something close to the theater. His niece wanted a burger and that is how we ended up at Big Bam's Burgers.

The small dining room quickly filled up after we arrived. You order at the counter after looking at the posted menu behind the cashier and they bring your food out to you when it is ready.

The cashier told us they grind their own meat, bread their own chicken strips and deep fried pickles and make their own sauces.

JE and I both ordered the Ladder 49 with tater tots. This is a hamburger with bacon, pepper jack, Cancun dressing, lettuce, tomato and onion. It was very good, fresh and fast. We asked for additional Cancun sauce to dip the tater tots and it was really good with a very little kick to it. I also ordered some deep fried pickles (not pictured) which were good but I didn't really care for the breading. It tasted a little odd to me.

JE's nephew had chicken strips and onion rings. They were truly strip shaped of the long variety. He enjoyed all of his order.

JE's niece tried the bacon and blue burger. It was bacon, bleu cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomato.

We all enjoyed our choices and were able to see the movie right afterward.

The place did fill up. We got there just in time as there were maybe 4 others there. By the time we left, the entire place was full of screaming children, some of whom locked themselves in the restroom and couldn't get back out. How entertaining. If you don't like to eat in a daycare, get there early or after the lunch service.

Check out Big Bam's Burgers located on 5930 Nieman Road in Shawnee, KS.

7-30-11 New York Dawg Pound

2011-08-21T20:36:00.003-05:00

Blog after blog have been raving about New York Dawg Pound and we were excited to try it -- well as excited as you can get when you're talking about hot dogs. KC has never been a big hot dog joint town, but it probably will be within a year, just like cupcake stores have popped up like dandelions all across the metro.

JE grew up on 4 Sons Texas Hot Lunch in Kane, PA and that is his golden standard for anything hot dog related. There is nothing similar to the dogs served at that small diner in PA here, but he may be a little biased. He did the Clint Eastwood "Grand Torino" growl after his first bite.

The ordering process is much like Oklahoma Joe's. Order and look desperately for somewhere to sit in the small dining room. This is quite a change from most of the other places we've reviewed as we were usually the only ones in there. People seem to linger here. We observed two women at a four top leisurely drinking their drinks while other customers hovered for a seat. Who lingers over a hot dog? Eat and get out!

NYDP made JE nervous (it's not hard to do) because children were everywhere with the sticky floors and cavernous loud dining room. Yeah, it really can't be small and cavernous can it? We'll just say it was loud and little children were running rampant.

We saw several people walk and walk back out because they knew they would never get anywhere to sit on a busy Saturday afternoon - with the heat outside a hot 103 degrees.

JE tried the Bulldawg, a typical chili dog and he said it was just like a chili dog should be. There wasn't anything special about it or bad so it was a good experience. He added sweet potato waffle fries which were really good.

I tried two different hot dogs. The first was the Yankee Poodle, a dog with bacon, egg and melted cheese on it. Hot dog breakfast, if you will. It was good but it took a little longer to make due to the egg involved.

The second was the Buttercup, their version of the Chicago style hot dog with mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, sport pepper (none for me please), celery salt on a poppy seed bun. It was delicious. And the sweet potato waffle fries were, as JE said, really good.

Try the new craze of signature hot dogs at New York Dawg Pound located at 7702 Shawnee Mission Parkway. And listen for the east coast accent from the cashier.

7-30-11 Sully's Pub & Grille

2011-08-21T19:51:00.001-05:00

We shook the Urbanspoon app on our new phones and headed south to our old stomping ground when we checked out Sully's Pub & Grille. Sully's is the location of the former Creekside Bar in a sad strip mall at 99th and Holmes.

As is the norm, no one was there at 11:30 on a Saturday except a day drinker and a bartender. It makes the experience that much more when it's not crowded.

We read reviews about this place and looked at the menu before we headed there and we were not disappointed.

As is the trend, they have some specialty burgers like you can get at BRGR, Swagger or Blanc.

JE ordered the Black and Blue and added mushrooms with waffle fries. This is a blackened burger with blue cheese and the normal hamburger compliments. Guess what he took off? The burger was hand formed, well seasoned and grilled to a perfect medium well. We're not sure if the cook was used to adding mushrooms onto a burger because he came out later, asking how it was and if he put the mushrooms on correctly. JE said he did a good job.

I ordered the Idaho burger. This is a grilled burger topped with homemade mashed potatoes, onion rings, cheddar and A1 Steak sauce. I had waffle fries as well. I was secretly hoping it would come on a pretzel roll, but since I forgot to ask for that, it came out on a kaiser roll. The burger was good, as were the mashed potatoes, but either it could have used more A1 or maybe even put gravy or something on the potatoes because they were a bit dry and dried out the rest of the burger. I was happy with my choice though.

It's not the pretties place but it is clean and spacious. We suspect the after dinner crowd would be something we would be happy to avoid. The jukebox did have a sign that said no rap or heavy metal before 9 pm and that management had the right to skip songs without refund.

One other thing that caught our eye, outside of the food, was a game they had there. It was a big bulls eye with a ring on a string and you had to swing the ring to get it to hook--on a hook. I don't know if you need lots of beer to even attempt to hook the ring, but after several failures, we gave up.

Check out Sully's Pub for lunch or dinner and check out their vast menu and burgers.

7-9-11 Avelluto's Italian Delights

2011-08-21T19:34:00.001-05:00

After driving in circles and back tracking (as well as arguing with GPS), we finally found our destination. The aroma of goodness hits you when you open the door.

The menu is on the wall behind the counter and tempting food is showcased right up in your face. Almost everything is under $10 except maybe the large pizzas.

They have just about any kind of Italian food you would want to eat.

When you walk in, you order, pay, get your self serve drinks and your food is promptly delivered.

JE ordered a full order of spaghetti and meatballs and a prosciutto ball.

I ordered a full order of spaghetti and sausage, also with a prosciutto ball. They also give you a basket of Italian bread and butter delivered to your table as well.

**due to issues with the camera, the photos did not come out**

The food was outstanding. The spaghetti was cooked just right and the meatballs and sausage were delicious. The prosciutto ball was like something JE makes at home with ham, cream cheese and crescent rolls and it didn't disappoint either.

JE said, "this is a place where divorced dads take their children on their every-other weekend." as evidenced by the tables full of a man and some children.

A place like this should open in Brookside or in the recently closed Carly Sue's location in Waldo. If it were there, we would be there often.

Avelluto's Italian Delights is located on 6522 Martway Street in Shawnee Mission, KS.

7-9-11 Bears Smoke Shack

2011-08-21T19:22:00.000-05:00

We'll forgive the bad grammar on the menu -- "to" should be "too" -- but who cares about a minor annoyance when the food is so good?

This shack, in the middle of a strip mall north of the river, is relatively new so there are other things to forgive, like the young waitress who didn't come back to refill drinks until JE made the empty glass of ice tea sucking sound. No big deal.

This place is located next to Leo's Pizza off Englewood. It is run by former semi-truck drivers.

We met up with JE's parents and nephew on a recent Saturday afternoon. When you walk in, smells of smoked meats quickly hit you and get your mouth watering. The dining room should be full as well as a line out the door, but alas, it wasn't. We stood in the front dining room waiting for the family and we were greeted by Bear himself. He told us of new offerings coming up on the menu and how the smoked chicken wings would be available in 45 minutes. He is a gregarious and lovely man.

There are signs all over the place with beary words like "feed the bears", "let the bear in you come out", and just about any other bear cliche you can think of.

JE ordered a #11 which was a combo sandwich of brisked and pulled pork with beans.

I got a #9, the Old Smokey Bear sandwich (which is brisket) with beans.

JE's nephew ordered a #2 Little Bears Toothpicks, which is a 1/2 slab of ribs with beans and fries. The waitress told him it would take 15 minutes for this dish.

JE's mom also got the #11 with beans and his dad got the #11 with fries.

They had three kinds of sauces on the table: bear's (mild), raging (medium) and man killer (hot). We all tried the sauces (a few dips on a fry or finger) and they were all good. The raging tasted more vinegary than all others.

We all enjoyed the food. The rolls that the sandwiches came on were a little cold. They would have rocked if they were toasted. The beans were different and had an after kick to them. They were a little spicy.

The prices were very good and affordable as well.

If you're feeling really adventurous, they do have a food challenge for $60.
10 inch flat bread
2 lb smoked brisket
2 lb pulled pork
1/2 smoked chicken
Big bowl of beans
Big bowl of either Cole slaw or potato salad
1 lb of fries

If you can eat all of this in a hour, then it is free and you get your picture on the wall. Come hungry and try to conquer their challenge.

Take the short drive north of the river and check out Bear's Smoke Shack. It is located at 412 NW Englewood Road in KCMO.

6-18-11 Bucks

2011-08-21T19:01:00.000-05:00

JE's brother Jason always says, "you take me to the nicest places." He would have probably said the same thing about Bucks, in what used to be an old Ponderosa off North Oak Trafficway.

Buck's, from the sign in front, has both Italian and BBQ, which was a quandary in itself on how the food would be. The menu is an odd mix of both types of food which was interesting in the least.

When we walked in, it was as if all of their light bulbs were burned out. I don't think we saw one light bulb on while we were there. They have several big screen TVs throughout the place, dart boards, Golden Tee and Deer Hunter and other games to play.

The food is good -- if you have the time and patience to wait for it.

JE ordered The Mob which is a meatball, pressed into a patty, then grilled with onions and provolone and placed on a bun. It came with a side of marinara sauce. It came with fries.

I ordered the Trophy Buck which was a 1/2 pound of brisket and pork on a hoagie roll. This sandwich also came with fries. Each sandwich was $8.29.

We ordered and we waited. The nice waitress disappeared and only showed up on occasion and it wasn't because they were busy (they weren't). It took some time to even get our order taken and took longer to get the food. It was about 40 minutes for the entire process. I have no idea where she would disappear to but she wasn't very attentive about empty drink glasses. The glass of ice tea was gone quickly in those 40 minutes.

Outside of the long wait, the food was good. I was hoping for more BBQ sauce on the Trophy Buck and got more after a slight delay. I used JE's marinara sauce to dip my fries in and that was good. Again, we both liked the food, but couldn't stand the wait.

Buck's is located on 5708 North Oak Trafficway in Gladstone, MO.

6-4-11 Quicks 7th Street BBQ

2011-08-21T17:52:00.000-05:00

A million years ago, JE used to frequent this KCK joint with his dear friend Anita. In a recent email exchange, she wrote, "best damn BBQ ever." Well, memories are strange things -- it's not the best but it will do in a pinch.

The smell of a promise of great meat greets you as you open the door. True to the memory, this place hasn't changed, probably since it opened all those years ago.

Mia once again joined us for this food adventure and that's always a good time. As usual, we were the only people in there.

JE ordered a beef and sausage combo sandwich with spicy fries. Mia ordered a pulled pork sandwich with spicy fries and I had a beef and turkey combo sandwich with spicy fries.

JE immediately commented that they have gotten skimpy on the meat and it seemed true. There was way too much bun and not enough meat on the sandwiches. He and Mia removed the top of the bun. Also, the buns they use do not hold up well with the soggy sauce. They need to either change the bun or add more meat or something.

We liked the BBQ sauce and used the entire bottle at our table. It was clearly ketchup based with an added spiciness that give it an after kick. It was a thin sauce which was hard to get it to stick to anything -- meat, bun or fry.

The service was fast and friendly and while we were there, a long line formed for to-go orders in the music-free dining room.

There is something to be said for nostalgia -- we all had a pleasant experience. But "best damn BBQ ever" it definitely isn't in Kansas City or anywhere else. It is decent, but we think Anita would be disappointed so many years later.

Although Quick's was ok, while I waited for JE and Mia to arrive, I checked out Bichelmeyer Meats across the street and I was glad I did. It's an old time butchery, but on Saturdays, they serve street tacos for $2 each and they are delicious. The meats for the tacos include ground beef, shredded beef, pork stomach, pork, pork stomach with chorizo and shredded pork. They are very generous on the meat and you can add your own onions, cilantro, lime juice and choice of three different salsas -- green tomatillo, avocado and a red sauce. I tried a ground beef and pork and they were really cheap and delicious appetizers. I would definitely hit this place again on a Saturday and recommended JE and Mia try it sometime if they're not eating BBQ first.

Quick's is located at 709 Cheyenne Avenue in KCK.

5-20-11 Burrito Joe's

2011-06-02T21:39:00.000-05:00

JE had a Friday off and I had a 1/2 day so we decided to check out a new place when normal people go out to lunch. It was a toss up between a new place in South KC or Burrito Joe's off 39th Street. We probably should have headed south.

It was a rainy Friday in May...but we thought a restaurant off 39th Street would be packed. We prepared ourselves for a wait, but when we got there we were greeted to a nearly empty (and pretty big) dining room.

A place called Burrito Joe's should be a vibrant and happy place like something called Hamburger Mary's, but it's not. I don't think even if it was sunny outside it would have helped this experience. The big, and silent (i.e. no music) dining room had pictures of scary men in Mexican hats. A bad dining room can be forgiven by good food. It just had to stay a bad dining room.

As is typical, we got some baskets of chips and salsa. They were good. The mild salsa reminded me of Chelly's.

I was a little disappointed that they didn't do lunch combos, however they do serve Mexican breakfast until 11:30 daily.

JE had a carnitas burrito with queso fresco spread. I had a ground beef burrito with queso fresco spread. We got rice on the side.

When we ordered, we asked what a spread was because you could add it for $1. The server told us a spread is where they melt the cheese over the top of your burrito. I know my Spanish is rusty but I never knew spread meant melted cheese. Or maybe spread meant microwave because you could hear the microwave in the kitchen with the familiar beeps when you enter the time and the sound when the timer goes off.

While we waited (10 minutes later), the people behind us started asking the waitress where their food was. I don't know how long they waited, but that's not usually a good sign.

We got our food and we ate it. It was a very underwhelming experience. The tortilla didn't taste homemade. The beef and carnitas tasted like beef and carnitas. The rice had a burnt or smoky flavor to them which reminded us of Ninfa's rice. We tried to spruce it up with salsa but it didn't help. Nothing to write home about. This definitely wasn't Chipotle and I think I would have had a better experience going there.

We love to support locally owned places, but if this place wants to compete with a Chipotle or other Mexican restaurants, it needs to deliver more.

I guess the best part of the adventure was the place mat.

We would not make this a destination place. Should it be called Burrito No's?

Experience it for yourself. Burrito Joe's is located at 1403 West 39th Street in KC MO.

5-14-11 Anthony's

2011-06-02T20:07:00.000-05:00

I've always been a fan of history and most recently, of Kansas City mob/Mafia history. Maybe it's because of the soap opera like stories of this person crossing that person, blood is shed, bombs go off, people die, and you find out so much about the city's seedy underbelly.

Anthony's is a throw back to those times and has been around over 31 years. I'm not saying it was a mob hangout, but it certainly could have been even if the River Quay area was defunct by the time they opened. The decor inside just makes you think you could have been sitting next to a Civella, Bonadonna or a Cammisano overhearing their secret society conversations. And if you like your Frank Sinatra music during lunch or dinner, this is your place.

We had a Groupon needing to be used so we made a bee-line to this wonderful place off Grand. It was 11:15 on a Saturday and it was pretty empty as we're used to. We got a cool sassy waitress who we told about the Groupon which was for $30. She said, "you're going to have to eat a lot on that Groupon - use it or lose it!"... so we did.

We first ordered our appetizer which was toasted ravioli. We immediately loved the red sauce that was included. Our mouths made a mob hit on them so quickly that they didn't even stand a chance of getting cold. The red sauce was warm which made it even better.

Luckily, we didn't use all the red sauce as we got a basket of Italian bread (maybe from Roma Bakery?) and those little packets of butter. There was no red sauce left over from the ravioli.

JE had lasagna and meat balls which was perfect on a chilly autumn day like that day in May. His order also came with an iceberg salad with house made Italian dressing.

I had the chicken spedini with red sauce and an iceberg salad with ranch dressing. My order came with a small side of spaghetti.

The portions were big and it was definitely happy comfort food. Probably too much food for lunch but we did have to use the Groupon. JE said that the food made him so happy.

It's everything you like about Italian food that your Italian grandmother would make. She would make you big portions and expect you to clean your plate so we made sure we did. It might be a little pricey but you'll leave satisfied.

We rolled out of there stuffed with the old world delights. We made sure to pay homage to the Saint (not sure who it is) in the parking lot. We had been blessed with delicious food in a great atmosphere. And for an hour, we were back to those days when the mob ruled Kansas City.

Experience it for yourself at Anthony's 701 Grand Blvd in KCMO.

4-2-11 El Camino Real

2011-06-02T19:13:00.000-05:00

This was the place that started our food adventures -- where JE took me to get me out of the house after a knee operation -- and little did we know that the experience would have us blogging about the places we went to eat.

We didn't review the place at the time, but after a year and a half, we decided to go back and make it official. Mia joined us for this adventure in KCK.

The authenticity of Mexican food and easily be summed up by one thing: making homemade tortillas in the dining room of the restaurant. El Camino Real is not a big place by any means but when you walk in, you'll see where they make the tortillas and cook your food in the front of the building.

Like most Mexican restaurants in town, you'll get baskets of chips and some salsas - usually one mild and one hot. The chips were good and the smoky flavored hot salsa was a great dipping sauce. But don't fill up on just the chips and salsa or you'll miss out on some good food. The server also brings an assortment of condiments, typically for your tacos, but you could always put it on your burrito or whatever you order if you want. There were limes, cilantro, onions, salsa, and some pickled veggies.

Mia ordered a chicken taco, pablano taco and a pastor (pork and pineapple) taco.

JE ordered a carnitas burrito and an asada taco with some horchata (as Mia says, it's like the remaining milk from your bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch). His burrito came with a good portion of rice and refried beans. You can see how eager he was to eat while I took the picture.

I ordered a pollo burrito and an asana taco with some horchata on the side as well. My order also came with rice and refried beans.

Mia said "oh my good lord" when she bit into her chicken taco. It was that good. She also complemented the rice saying it reminded her of an ex-boyfriend's mother or grandmother (I think) who made rice which was the same flavor. She wasn't too fond of the pablano taco, but she did like the pastor taco.

JE and I both enjoyed the burritos. They melt queso fresco or some other delicious cheese over it which makes it even better. Big chunks of meat await you when you get to the gooey insides.

The asada tacos were also popular with us. They're like street tacos and we put cilantro and squeeze lime juice in them which is a good combination.

We could have probably eaten everything off the menu. We think the table next to us might have as they kept getting more and more food and there were only 4 of them.

Service was great for the small room and it was and always is crowded when we eat there.

Mia said that anytime she goes with us to a Mexican restaurant, she thinks it's the best one she's been to.

This is our #1 pick for authentic Mexican in the area. They have any type of Mexican food you'd want. See what you think at El Camino Real 903 N 7th St in downtown KCK.

4-1-11 Sutera's

2011-06-02T18:52:00.002-05:00

It was the day of my cousin's wedding and both of us had the day off so we traveled over to Sutera's on Rainbow Blvd to try some tasty Italian foods.

We had a Muncharoo coupon for this place burning a hole in our pockets so we had to go back and try something new. We've been here several times with JE's family so we knew everything was good.

They serve standard Italian favorites on their menu and pizza which we've had in the past. Their pizza is good too.

JE had spaghetti and meatballs and a Cesar salad. At the table, we also were presented with a loaf of bread to sop up the sauce.

I ordered pasta with Italian sausage and a cup of chicken noodle soup as a side.

You might think that lunch portions would be small, but as you can tell with the pictures, that was an understatement. Their red sauce is delicious and you'll want to use the bread to get every last drop. The meatballs and Italian sausage were cooked well and tasty and the pasta was cooked as you would expect it to be. The chicken noodle soup was good but it could have had more chicken and less noodles in it.

It is great food for lunch and it was very fast. You could easily be in and out within a half-hour.

Service was a bit questionable. We've had better on previous visits. Most of the servers really seemed pressed to be friendly as they were busy standing at a nearby table gossiping. It wasn't even good gossip. And you must have to have blonde hair (natural or otherwise) to be a server there because that's all we saw.

The total experience was pleasant, the food was great and after the coupon, our bill came out to $5 before the tip on the full price.

Check out Sutera's for yourself. They're located at 4730 Rainbow Boulevard in Westwood, KS.

3-12-11 Messy's

2011-06-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

We knew this place was opening and we kept waiting and waiting to see if it actually did since it always looked closed. Fortunately, during Snake Saturday, there was a sign stating: "Come In, We're Open" so we decided to take a shot at Messy's off 63rd Street near Brookside.

The quirky building, located next to the defunct Alanz Theater, once housed a bank, a salon, Phil's Diner, Max's Diner and who knows what else. It's like a building's blast from the past with it's unique architecture. The space could use some sprucing up though like replacing the water stained tile in the ceiling.

But we weren't here for the building. We were here for the food. This is the second location of Messy's, with the first being near Out a Bounds at 36th and Broadway.

As we looked over the menu at the counter, the sassy (pregnant?) counter girl was great and guided us to what we should order from the short menu.

JE ordered a six piece traditional bone in, 1/2 breaded 1/2 half naked medium buffalo wings with waffle fries and a soda.

I ordered a six piece boneless Jamaican jerk wings with waffle fries and a soda.

As you can tell, we got steak fries instead of waffle fries, but it wasn't that big of a deal. The $7 combo with drink was enough to fill each of us up and enough to destroy a landfill full of napkins. When they say Messy's, they mean it. It got to the point that I started using a knife and fork because I was tired of wiping my hands.

The food was really good and both sets of wings definitely had a kick. I must have forgotten how spicy the Jamaican jerk spice was because my eyes were watering. Maybe I'm just sensitive to it.

They have other food on the menu too like cheeseburgers, gyros, tenderloins, Philly cheese steak, chicken sandwiches, BLTs, bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, chicken wraps, chicken tenders, jalapeno poppers, fried mushrooms, mozzarella sticks, salads, potato salads and desserts.

A nice surprise is that they will deliver to our neighborhood, which is east of Troost. They're in good company with Waldo Pizza and Friendship Chinese restaurant. Delivery is a $10 minimum and a $3 delivery charge.

We will caution that this is not a fast food joint. It might take a little while for you to get your food (longer than 5 minutes), so if you're in a hurry, you might want to go elsewhere.

Check out Messy's and prepare to get messy. Messy's is located at 634 E 63rd Street in KCMO.

3-5-11 Danny Edward's BBQ

2011-06-01T20:25:00.000-05:00

We were inspired to try this place by another food blogger, kclunchspots.com, although I've been there several times in their past and now their present.

Back before the P&L District was created, there used to be a small building called Lil Jake's Eat It & Beat It on the corner of 13th and Grand. This small building had a lot of history being downtown with it's big pink pig outside, limited seating inside and delicious BBQ. When discussions to have the P&L District started, the building was bought out by the city and torn down, to be a parking lot for the Sprint Center. I would visit that corner building for lunch until it was torn down. One of my favorites was the low carb special. You chose three meats and you get cottage cheese as a side.

Danny Edwards BBQ, as it is now called, is still a great BBQ place, with new and bigger digs at 2900 Southwest Blvd. Now you can sit down and don't need to eat it and beat it because they have a lot of room and still have that great BBQ they've always been known for.

When we walked in, that great smell of BBQ immediately hit us and our mouths began to salivate. Pavlov's dog, indeed --just add the smell of cooked meat! We were seated and they have table service to take your orders, refill drinks and make sure you are taken care of.

JE ordered a burnt end sandwich with seasoned fries (the old location didn't do fries or deep fry anything) and a cup of Mexican chili (why not, we're on the Blvd!) which is served only in season.

I ordered a large beef and turkey sandwich with a cup of the Mexican chili as well.The chili came with tortillas.

The chili was divine. Big chucks of pork with spices and a little kick to make you want to eat more and more of it.

The sandwiches were a nice big portion of meats which were even better with their house sauce. We love a good BBQ sauce on good BBQ meat and together, they were great.

I was happy to see that the old standby, the low carb special was still on the menu. I'll have to get that for nostalgia's sake the next time I visit.

As noted, they have table service now and they are excellent. If you took a sip of your drink, they instantly refilled it. They were very attentive and friendly and even changed the TV channel so we could watch the MU-KU basketball game.

Do yourself and your stomach a favor by eating here soon.

JE said his BBQ list shifted after eating at Danny Edward's.
1. Big T's BBQ
2. Danny Edward's BBQ
3. Oklahoma Joe's (previously #2)

If his list could change, yours might too. Experience another side of KC BBQ and say hello to the pink concrete pig that sits outside.

Danny Edward's BBQ is located at 2900 Southwest Blvd in KC MO.

2-26 to 2-28-11 Dixie Quicks, Vietnam Restaurant, Leo's Diner and Trail's End

2011-04-14T12:13:00.002-05:00

As we do every year, we attended the Ice Bowl bowling tournament in Omaha. If you haven't visited, put it on your bucket list as it is a gem of a town. Here are a few of the places we visited while we were there and on the way home.

Dixie Quicks

We've been trying to go to this place every time we are in Omaha and this year, we finally made it! We found out that they opened at 9 am on Saturday and Sunday so we were there at 9 am. It was already getting busy and they suggest RSVPs for this reason but we still got in.

This place was featured on an episode of Drivers, Dine-Ins and Dives awhile back. And it's the only gay owned and operated restaurant in Omaha.

The place has a homey/artsy feeling with fresh food that has a southwestern flair to it. The menu is on chalk board and it is varied.

While we waited for our food, jazz music played. They have crayons on the table for you to draw. JE made a photo of Gypsy.

JE got the eggs benedict that came with potatoes. He loved it.

I got a Dixie Scramble which is a toasted english muffin, with grilled tomato, sausage, egg and tomato butter on top. It also came with the potatoes. Mine was spicier than I expected, but it was still really good. I would have licked the plate if I could. Sausage, eggs, and english muffin were delish and the sauce was good too.

As mentioned, they have some different items on the menu as well. They have something called Sexual Chocolate and if you think it's like hot chocolate, you would be incorrect. I still don't know what that was on the menu.

Dixie Quicks pulls in a very eclectic crowd. People stand up to read the menu. One lady was talking about the apple and brie omelet but got the red beans and rice omelet instead. She told us while looking at the menu that she made something with all these fruits, honey mustard, and tuna for her husband. We didn't think that sounded very appetizing. Her dad who is like 85 makes ratatouille every Sunday. Amazing what you can learn while someone is looking at the wall menu.

We have to say that the owner/manager is a very energetic guy especially at 9am! He makes the Dixie Quicks experience one you won't forget.

We heard that DQ is moving to Council Bluffs if they haven't already which is just across the river from Omaha. We wish them well in their new location.

Vietnamese Asian Restaurant

We love pho and found this little restaurant near the original Nebraska Furniture Mart.

We both ordered the same thing. Combo pho beef with two kinds of meat -- beef and meatballs.

The pho was delicious and very filling. When you get a big bowl of ramen (I'm over simplifying here) with broth, meat, and added condiments like basil, it's going to be filling. It's not like you go to have a half bowl of pho anyway. You want it all.

We also ordered spring rolls. I got mine with tofu and JE got his with shrimp.

These were the biggest spring rolls we've ever had. One order had two spring rolls for $4 or something ridiculous like that. I think maybe the spring rolls filled us up first and didn't allow for all the pho-ness that we wanted.

We do have to ding the place on one thing though. The ice tea sucked. It came out warm with little ice in it. I know ice tea isn't a selling point at a Vietnamese restaurant, but it was a disappointment. I had to ask if it was a different kind of tea, but it was normal ice tea.

Leo's Diner

This is one of our destination places every time we're in Omaha and it gets better every year. We got here at 9:55 am and waited 10 minutes for a booth. There is always a wait time for this place, but you'll be glad you waited.

JE ordered the tamale platter that had 2 tamales, eggs, choice of chili, hash browns and toast.

I tried an edible fiesta bowl that came with hash browns, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, red chili, tomato, onion, black olives, sour cream, salsa and taco meat. I also got a pancake on the side and on second thought, due to the size of it, I really should have reconsidered.

As usual, the food was delicious. We love Leo's and stop by any chance we get. Check it out for yourself and get ready to wait for some great food.

Trail's End Restaurant (Rockport, MO)

On the way home, we needed to stop and get gas. We happened upon this truck stop cafe.

The decor was like the inside of a barn. It had a homey atmosphere, bargain prices and fantastic food. You'll think you went home to the farm.

JE ordered chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and a house salad. It came with a big buttery dinner roll. JE was happy with his choice except for the lettuce leaf under the chicken fried steak which he thought was an unnecessary garnish.

I ordered the country meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a house salad too. Mine also came with a big buttery dinner roll.

I enjoyed my selection as well. It tasted homemade and was great comfort food after a weekend of mass drinking.

One other item on their menu I wanted to try was their signature Grandma's sour cream apple pie. I was too stuffed from everything else and the waitress didn't even ask if we wanted anything else. I guess I'll have to wait for another trip to Omaha to try it out.

2-25-11 Milbourn's Family Restaurant (Faucett, MO)

2011-04-14T10:59:00.000-05:00

Every year that we go to Omaha, we have to check out a few places on the way. Here is the first of many late reports.

You know you're out of town when the hostess asks you if you want smoking or non-smoking. 18 miles south of St. Joseph, you'll find this haven of goodness. Everything is made from scratch. And it is a truck stop.

JE ordered a handmade pork tenderloin that dwarfed the bun to much that it could have been two or three sandwiches combined. It came with a small piece of cheese and some fries - not like you'd need them as sides, but more like condiments for this monster.

JE couldn't finish his sandwich and left some for the angels as he says. I tried a piece of it and it was tasty and you could see the flour used to roll the tenderloin on some parts of the sandwich.

I decided on handbreaded chicken strip basket with a cup of homemade chili.

The chili was delicious and gone before I could get a picture of it. It looked like chili so use those memories as the picture. The chicken strips were good and very filling over a scoop of fries. There was at least one piece that was the size of a half chicken breast. The white meat chicken was good and tender and again, you could taste and see the floor on the strips when they were coated. I could barely make it through all of the chicken strips.

If the food wasn't good enough, the people watching really took this place to another level. I was distracted by a lady facing me in another booth who was crying to someone on her cellphone about a guy treating someone bad. I don't think it was her, but who knows. Her mascara kept running down her face and it was all I could do to not stare at her and her roots which were showing.

There was the old couple who you know visits the place regularly and orders the same thing. I think they shared some chili (I heard them ordering it so I wanted to try it too), and a sandwich and they reminded me of my grandparents if they would have had a place like this to visit.

There were the sh*t-kicker cowboys, truckers, people with too many damn children and of course, like us, visitors who stuck out like a sore thumb.

This is one of those places where everyone is called "honey" or "sweetie" by the staff. Our waitress was on her way to Oklahoma after her shift ended.

For a nice place to stop that is full of home cooked goodness, try Milbourn's Family Restaurant in Faucett.

1-29-11 Olive Cafe

2011-02-01T23:14:00.000-06:00

When JE was in high school a thousand years ago, Middle Eastern food was hard to find in Kansas City. Today, they seem to be everywhere and that's a good thing (if you like that kind of food).

We loved the Olive Cafe on James A. Reed Road (visited before we started this blog), although it's in a scary area near the old Bannister Mall. It had great food in a well stocked Middle Eastern grocery store.

On a somewhat mild winter Saturday, we went to their newest location in Westport, also called Olive Cafe.

The dining room was large and handsomely outfitted in their new location, although somewhat dark with the lighting. There were a few shelves with items you could purchase if you were cooking up a dish.

The menu, like another Middle Eastern restaurant, Sahara, is a board of 15 numbered pictures showing the food, price and name of the dish. It's typical fare for Middle Eastern restaurants - hummus, gyros, chicken, kofta, kabobs, salads and falafel. If you want something to drink, they have two coolers full of various sodas, teas, and such.

JE ordered a kofta sandwich with a side salad, although he hates salad. Most of the sandwiches come with fries but you can substitute. He selected a root beer as his drink.

I ordered a gyro sandwich with a side salad and had a cherry 7 up.

First up, the salads. They were good. They had a big piece of feta cheese on top, some pitted olives, various greens, cucumbers and something purple that was pickled. I'm not sure if it was ginger or something else, but it was a little spicy. The salad had some kind of dressing on it and the farther you down you ate, the stronger the dressing became.

JE's kofta was good, but once again, it was drowning in shredded lettuce - so much so that you can't even see the rest of the ingredients in the sandwich. The lettuce hid how skimpy the portion of meat was. When I tried it, I got all lettuce and no beef. As you have read, JE doesn't understand the fascination in this town of putting shredded lettuce on everything. It adds no taste, he says, and is only filler with limited, if any, nutritional value to the food.

My gyro, on the other hand, was huge with lots of meat and less lettuce. It was so big that it fell apart and I ended up eating it with a fork. The meat was flavorful and really quenched my craving for Middle Eastern food. I think I would have liked it even better with some hummus, but as it stood, it was a great sandwich.

One small item, not food related, were the chairs at the table. I don't know if it was just the chairs at our table, but they felt very wobbly like they would fall apart if we moved too much. After feeling this, I didn't dare sit back against the chair for fear that I would be on the ground.

The food was good as well as the service, but if we want falafel, shwarma, or gyros, we'll probably stick closer to home and go to Sahara at 51st and Oak.

Olive Cafe is located in Westport at 3927 Broadway.

1-22-11 Mike's Tavern

2011-02-01T22:48:00.000-06:00

We were pressed for time but hungry so after reading that Mike's Tavern served lunch on Saturday, we thought we'd give it a try. The owners of The Gaf and Cantina Del Ray in Waldo, bought this iconic bar and cleaned it up.

As a student at UMKC, I frequented this place quite a bit with my fraternity brothers. It was an easy block and 1/2 walk from the fraternity house to the bar. The gross smell that used to linger is no longer there, thank god. What used to be the pool room is now seating and the stage where live bands once played is also filled with tables and chairs.

We were the only ones in the bar, aside from the bartender/waiter and the cook. Large screen TVs showed tennis matches. There was a skee ball machine in the back (that's kinda cool), typical beer company signs, Rockhurst and UMKC memorabilia adorned the walls, the menu was on one chalk board while a list of all their beers was on another. Big Deer Hunter and Golden Tee games are also present and they have at least 12 beers on tap from what I could tell.

The menu isn't extensive, but they do have daily specials.

JE ordered a philly cheese steak sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries ($8.99).

Since JE is from Pennsylvania, he has been to Philly (the rudest city in the world according to him) and has had both Geno's and Pat's cheesesteaks. Mike's puts a different twist on this classic. Instead of finely chopped steak, the cook rough cuts steak, grills it and serves it up on a toasted bun with caramelized onions, peppers, aoili and house made cheese sauce. He said it was good and gooey on a cold afternoon.

I ordered the special which was a pulled pork sandwich with fries ($6.99).

My sandwich really didn't taste much different than Uncle Lloyd's BBQ pulled pork you can get in a tub at the local grocery store. I like Uncle Lloyd's so I liked the sandwich but it wasn't more than than. The toasted bun gave it an extra touch and since I was starving, it went down fast. The fries were good.

I don't know why but the tables in there smelled like Lincoln Logs from my childhood with that odd smell of painted wood. Not that it was a bad thing, I just kept thinking about childhood while I ate.

The service was great. The server, as mentioned, was the bartender, who between stocking PBR, Schlitz and other yard beers, refilled our drinks and brought out our food. The cook came out to welcome us and asked if we had enjoyed our food. You could tell we did as there was nothing left in the basket. The server/bartender was very attentive and personable. We hope he got more than a sit down break between his two shifts he was working that day.

The "bang for the buck" was a little higher than average considering what we ate. I wouldn't have paid $8.99 for my sandwich so I was happy it was the daily special price. They do have a punch card system where your 6th punch gets you a free lunch.

See for yourself how Mike's Tavern has transformed. It's not your local neighborhood dive bar anymore.

Mike's Tavern is located at 5424 Troost Avenue in KCMO.

1-15-11 Courthouse Exchange

2011-02-01T22:18:00.001-06:00

After returning a borrowed Amish space heater in Independence, we thought we might as well do a food adventure since we were "out East". Of course we were looking for non-chain restaurants and when Mia called us and said she was starving so decided to meet at the Courthouse Exchange on Independence Square.

I grew up in this town and I'd always heard about this place, but I'd never been there. It has been around since 1899 and it was about time I tried it. If Harry Truman could eat here, I could too.

The top entrance is off Lexington, but the actual restaurant is in a basement so be prepared to walk down some steps. While you're walking, you'll see an old picture of the building and of Courthouse Exchange back from the early 1900s (I don't know the exact date of the picture, but it looked old).

When you are seated, it will make you think you're in someones old stone basement or maybe a bomb shelter. They bring out the menu which looks like it's going to be a photo album and in some aspects I guess you could say it is. They definitely can pack a lot of people into the space down there and they have a long salad bar.

As you peruse the menu, you'll find out that all the sandwiches and burgers are served with fries or homemade applesauce. I don't remember, if ever, there was a place that serves applesauce with a meal, but again, it's one of the traits of this place.

Mia ordered a California burger that had cheddar cheese, avocado, grilled onions, lettuce and tomato on a kaiser bun. She opted for fries.

JE had a hand breaded pork tenderloin with cheese that had mayonnaise, horseradish, onion, tomato and lettuce. He also had fries.

And I ordered a sliced brisket sandwich that had a bourbon molasses type of barbecue sauce on it. I also had fries.

We all thought the food was ok, but nothing to necessarily write home about. The people watching was more interesting than the food, JE said. The servers were friendly, but easily distracted with the big tables of people. We were missed several times for drink refills because of a large group of "Red Hat" women. They tended to slow the service down considerably. Also, the menu mentioned homemade pies for desert which sounded good. Unfortunately, another big group came in the day before and ate all of them - they didn't leave one piece untouched. Sigh.

For all its history and location, the place was just ok. I could be persuaded to try it again, only if they promise to have some pie left because homemade pies just aren't as common in restaurants anymore.

Courthouse Exchange is located at 113 West Lexington in Independence, MO.

12-31-10 Accurso's

2011-02-01T21:49:00.000-06:00

New Year's Eve 2010. We had a 1/2 off coupon for a place in Westwood which would not honor their coupon on New Year's Eve so we had to find another spot for this food adventure. We drove a few blocks from home, hoping this place was open. And luckily, Accurso's was open.

I will confess that this was not a new place to eat for me. When I worked as a consultant for Sprint and we were located in the Board of Trade building, I visited Accurso's several times when their location was just a 1/2 block north of where the Club Cabaret was located on Main Street. I always remembered huge lunch portions of pasta, meatballs and Italian sausage at very affordable lunch prices.

As the times have changed, buildings have moved and now Accurso's is in a strip of buildings that house Glace, Spin Neapolitan Pizza and other businesses.

We tried the new location for this adventure and we were glad we did - and it made us happy that this place is in the neighborhood. When we entered, we were cheerfully greeted, seated, presented menus and were assigned a very personable server.

I ordered a chicken Parmesan sandwich which came with homemade potato chips. The sandwich was the breaded chicken breast, with mozzarella cheese and a red sauce.

JE ordered an Italian sausage sandwich that came with their homemade Italian sausage, mozzarella and red sauce. He also had the homemade potato chips.

JE's sandwich was enough for two people. The huge homemade sausage rocked inside a bun with the gooey cheese and sweet marinara sauce. "Perfect, this is exactly what I wanted today," he said.

My sandwich was equally good. The breaded chicken was tender and the mozzarella and marinara made it even better. I don't know if you can mess up a chicken parm sandwich unless I made it. I think what stood out even more to both of us were the homemade potato chips. They had like sea salt and basil (or some other green herb) on them that was really good. They were even better dipped into more of the marinara sauce that was provided. We could have easily gone through another serving of the chips (and I helped JE finish his).

With new locations, you usually think their prices will also increase. That's not the case here. Both sandwiches were approximately $6 each. You could also get soup, half salad, or steak fries for a few bucks more. We would recommend you stick with the homemade chips.

The place is beautifully decorated and you'll probably hear songs by the Rat Pack playing while you eat. On this day, they seemed overstaffed for lunch with a greeter, bartender, and 3 or 4 waiters. It was many more than were needed while we were there but they could have been preparing for the evening's activities.

Our waiter was very attentive and split the check for us, which came with ice teas to $17.17. The waiter told us they make their own sausage and meatballs there and you can get a 50/50 sandwich of half Italian sausage and half meatball by request (it's not on the menu). We definitely want to try one of those with the homemade chips again.

Accurso's has some competition with Il Centro (and I guess Minsky's too) up the street, but it can hold its own for lunch with their prices, staff, and delicious food.

Accurso's is located at 4980 Main in Kansas City, MO.

12-18-10 Pizza Oven

2011-02-01T20:43:00.004-06:00

JE's first childhood memory was having pizza and playing "Hey Jude" on the jukebox at a pizza parlour in Warren, PA. When JE's family moved to Kansas City, Leo's Pizza in the Northland was their go-to place for pizza.

These days, we mainly order delivery from Waldo Pizza, or if we want to save a few dollars, Papa John's (forget Pizza Hut since they don't deliver to our hood anymore). But sometimes, it is good to take a break from the pizza box.

Tucked in a strip mall off 75th and State Line in the old Chartroose Caboose location is this food adventure: Pizza Oven.

As usual, at 11am on a Saturday, we were the only ones in there. The location has two big screen TVs, some art, a video game, a pinball machine, a crane game (Mommas, don't let your kids crawl up in it), mustard colored walls, red floors and about 10 tables that can hold four people each.

We had a KC Perks $20 gift card that we bought for $10 so it was an added incentive to check this place out. Also, we saw a clip about this place on Bistro 113 which is a segment on Time Warner Cable's KC on Demand channel. I asked the owners how they got in the TWC spot and why they went with KC Perks instead of Groupon or Muncharoo or the tons of other coupon stores that continue to pop up. The owners said that TWC employees came in and ordered their pizza several times and offered to do the spot for free. She said they get 6-8 people a week that have viewed the Bistro 113 spot and are curious to check it out. They went with KC Perks instead of Groupon because Groupon takes a bigger cut of money and was too large for them.

On a chalkboard, they advertised a spicy buffalo chicken pizza, handmade cannoli and to try their Alfredo sauce. We decided to go with a medium Italian pizza that had Italian sausage, salami, pepperoni, green peppers, onions and garlic on it with a red sauce. In order to use all of the gift card we had, we also ordered a meatball sandwich, which had pasta sauce and melted mozzarella cheese, and two sodas. After the coupon, we still paid about $4.75.

We split the sandwich and it was delicious. They make their own meatballs fresh and you could tell. The sauce, cheese and meat combined into a delicious mixture.

The pizza was very good as well. The sauce, other ingredients and the crust worked really well together to make it very enjoyable. We had some slices left over afterward which we took home and ate for dinner.

Kansas City has some great pizza joints: Waldo Pizza, Minsky's, Pizza 51, Leo's, Kelso's, and Sutera's. Pizza Oven is a very welcome addition to this list.

One suggestion: if provel cheese was offered on the Italian pizza, it would be the best example of St. Louis style pizza south of the Missouri River.

They have free delivery in specific areas. The owner even said she would deliver to our neighborhood if she knew it was us. Sold!

Check out Pizza Oven and let us know what you think. Pizza Oven is located at 8017 State Line Road, in Kansas City, MO.

12-11-10 Vietnam Cafe

2010-12-19T21:40:00.000-06:00

When we went to Pandolfi's Cafe in Columbus Park, we walked past this place and the aroma wafting through the front door was incredible. We almost forgot about the deli that day and turned around (glad we didn't though). A few weeks later, Vietnam Cafe was on Check Please, Kansas City and that confirmed that we would have to try it.

A word of warning...do not park on Campbell just north of the restaurant. There is a ginko tree that has nasty smelling berries/nuts that will fall from it. If you step on said berries, it smells like a combination of dog crap and vomit. If you get it on your shoes, your car will smell like it and it's not pleasant especially with the heater on in your car. Vietnam Cafe has a lot to park in or you park a block south on Campbell near Muse so you can shop there after you're done eating.

Another word of advice: come hungry.

Mia joined us and when we got there, it was full of Vietnamese people and we were the only non-Vietnamese in the place. We barely got a table. This was quite the change from any other food adventure we've been on when usually we're the only ones there. And just like that walk we did a few weeks ago, the smells in the joint were incredible.

The menu is in Vietnamese with English subtitles. You order at the table and then before the food gets to the table, a good amount of sauces and a platter of cilantro, jalepenos, limes, basil, and bean sprouts find their way to your table.

JE ordered the spring rolls and pho with meatballs because he knew the meatballs wouldn't be served raw like the beef pho promised. Pho is like a beef broth soup served with whatever meat you want. You can put the side platter stuff (cilantro, jalepenos, limes, basil, and bean sprouts) in it to make it even better. The spring rolls came out promptly but instead of the pork, shrimp was in them. No problem for him, but for me, it would have meant a trip to the emergency room. I did have my Epi-pen in the car just in case.

I ordered veggie spring rolls and the pho with chicken.

Mia tried sweet potato fries with shrimp and the combo bun. Bun is like a noodle salad bowl that has rice vermicelli noodles, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, cilantro, fish sauce, diakon root and whatever meats you want in it. Unlike the pho, it's not a soupy dish.

The portions here are big if you can't tell from the photos. The spring rolls were light and bursting full of ingredients. The peanut sauce to dip them in was good. The phos and buns were outright amazing with fresh flavors and mouth-watering aromas. The meats were cooked well in the our entrees. None of us could honestly finish all of it though. It was just too much food.

With the amount we did eat, we strangely didn't feel overstuffed. The prices are cheap for the amount of food you get and the turnover rate, while fast and furious, doesn't make you feel rushed. This place is really popular and the food makes it a destination.

After we ate, we walked up the street to get a chocolate chip amaretto brownie from Pandolfi's and shop around Muse. It was a great adventure all around.

Get your pho and bun on at Vietnam Cafe in Columbus Park. They're located at 522 Campbell Street in Kansas City, MO.

12-4-10 Jim's Diner

2010-12-19T20:17:00.000-06:00

Last summer, the Kansas City Star ran an article about the best burgers in the KC area. It focused primarily on chain restaurants and you know how we feel about those places.

Thanksgiving week, a client of JE's came into his office and told him she was having her turkey fried at Jim's Diner on Prospect. He said, "I have heard about that place - how is the food?" She started to cry and fan herself saying, "I need to sit down honey." Once she composed herself, she said the food was sent from heaven child. Well, we knew we had to give it a try.

If you drove down Prospect, you would never see this secret diner. It's in a squat grey concrete building with very little signage, next to a car wash. We knew we were in for something special when we saw a big construction worker in over-alls enter before us.

Don't be fooled by the "diner" part of the name - there are no tables and nowhere to sit to eat. There are just a couple of benches to seat those waiting for their food. Upon entering, you'll be hit with the smell of food cooked with lots of love.

The menu is posted everywhere behind burglar bars and it is extensive. Order at the counter, sit back on the bench if there is room and wait for about 10 minutes. You can also call in an order and pick it up as many people did while we were there.

A woman from behind the counter asked, "Have you gentlemen been here before?" We said, "no" and she told us that we would love it. She even gave us a sample of spaghetti in a shot glass sized plastic container. JE thought he was going to slap someone it was so good.

This place is also known as "Jim's Fatburger" so I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and a side of cheese fries.

My burger was thick and delicious. It had a unique flavor to it and the bacon and cheese made it even better. The cheese fries were good too - nacho cheese on fries is never a bad thing, unless your doctor has told you not to eat them.

JE had a single chili cheeseburger with spaghetti as a side. The homemade burgers are among the best JE has ever had.

The chili was mild and delightful and the spaghetti reminded JE of when he would go to Niecie's for all you can eat catfish and spaghetti. I don't know what they do to make the pasta and sauce but you really have to try it and then go to any church you find and shout "hallelujah!"

So if you want a good burger and some sketti with soul, check out Jim's Diner at 6901 Prospect in Kansas City, MO. Call it in ahead and pick it up. You'll be glad you did.

11-13-10 Pandolfi's Deli

2010-12-19T19:34:00.000-06:00

Here come the holidays so it's time to save money for your galas, benefits and gift giving. Throughout the season we're going to try and take our food adventures with coupons...like Groupon, Mucharoo and the Entertainment Book so we hope you will enjoy these trips as much as we do.

Our first coupon adventure took us to Pandolfi's Deli in Columbus Park. As with most of our Saturday dining destinations, the place was almost empty when we arrived. This is more of a comment on when we dine (in this case, 11 am on a Saturday morning) than the deli itself. We had a $20 Mucharoo.com coupon that we purchased for $10 and were eager to enjoy this fairly recently opened place.

We parked a block or two away because the area was having some sort of event. We followed the signs in the gusty winds and found ourselves face to face with a harried bride from the wedding taking place across the street. We also noticed during our block walk that when the door opened at Vietnam Cafe, the smell wafting out was glorious and we made a mental note to check it out on another adventure.

The place was nicely decorated with cool painted shutters, nice light sconces, several tables, and nice color hues (sunny yellow) throughout.

Jake, the owner, greeted us as we came in and helped us through the menu which was posted above the deli counter where you order. We were told that they recently added pastas, breakfast and a smoky tuna sandwich to the menu.

We ordered a meatball sub, an Italian meat sandwich, chocolate chip amaretto brownie and two ice teas. After the coupon, we spent about $4 which was mostly tax. When your food is ready, they deliver it to your table in butcher paper. We asked for the sandwiches to be split in half so we could sample each of them.

The sandwiches rocked. You can tell the meatballs in the meatball sub are handmade - you can taste the love put into them. The sauce was delicious on it. The olive tapenade that came on the Italian meat sandwich was a great compliment to the Boarshead meats and cheese on that sandwich. And the brownie was so rich and delicious, we could only eat half of it. You can definitely taste the amaretto in it and it is sinfully delightful. If you can get one when they come out of the oven, it's even better. Get some milk (not sure if they carry milk) to wash it down with.

As we finished up, Jake asked how everything was and gave us the history of the building. He said the building was 115 years old and most recently was a funeral home. The front part, where we ate, was a flower shop and the original tiles from the shop were still in the floor. He also mentioned that a doorway led to two chapels, one on each side. It was nice to hear the history behind this place.

We loved the sandwiches and will go back to try the pastas (and get another brownie). We read that they have a cheesy mayo type dressing they use in their potato salad and some sandwiches on request so we'll check those out as well. The food was great and so was the service. Pandolfi's Deli is located at 536 Campbell Street in Kansas City, MO.

11-6-10 El Huarache

2010-11-18T21:33:00.000-06:00

Urban Mining is the first weekend of the every month and has become a new tradition for us. After spending some time searching for must have dust collectors with Mia and JE's mother, we texted Colette to meet us at El Huarache for lunch.

Prompted by positive reviews on Facebook and lthforumkc.com, we were more than excited to eat at this little orange colored restaurant on Southwest Boulevard. When we arrived, we were the only cars in the parking lot. JE thought this was once the home of Cafe Barcelona, Carmen's Cafe and most recently, a Cricket store.

Once Colette arrived, we went inside and were greeted by a cheery hostess/waitress telling us to sit anywhere we wanted in the dining room. We pulled a couple tables together, were presented with chips and salsa and ordered our drinks. The salsa with the chips had a little kick to it. It wasn't deep red like another sauce we got later but it was still good. In the picture below, it's the sauce in the top right. Two other sauces were delivered before our main meals which were a green tomatillo and a red chipotle tomato sauce (which had a roasted flavor).

The menu has what you might expect on it. We were there for the huaraches - a dish none of us had ever heard of (aside from the websites already mentioned) or tried. You can also order tacos, tortas, quesadillas and on the weekends carnitas for two for $13.00 which comes with tortillas, cilantro, salsa and lime.

The best way to describe a huarache is almost like a Mexican pizza. You choose your meat topping (steak, chorizo, or chicken) that comes on top of a fried, flat, oval shaped, homemade tortilla. It has refried beans on it, onion, lettuce, mozzarella cheese and their special huarache sauce. On the weekends, you can get macisa, buche, or special pork Michoachan for your huarache. I think they put sour cream on it too.

I ordered a chicken huarache without lettuce and a steak street tacos. If you love the street tacos at a certain Westport place, you'll love these too.

JE ordered a macisa (shredded pork) and buche (shoulder) huarache and a steak street taco. Bert got a chicken huarache and a taco al pastor (beef, pineapple, cilantro, red sauce).

Colette ordered a chicken huarache and Mia had a steak huarache.

JE and I both had horchatas to drink. Mia thought it was like the leftover milk from eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.

We all liked the food and it was very filling. The huarache was both crispy and chewy. Most of the sauces had a little kick to them and everyone enjoyed their selection of meat.

Mia said the huarache was her favorite new thing to find/try. Collette liked the chipotle sauce as it added a roasted flavor to her huarache. The food was fresh and made with a lot of pride and love.

The waitress told us the owner used to have a place on St. John called Carnitas Michoachan so he has some experience running a restaurant which is good. The owner came out to greet us and thank us for coming in which was nice.

We were not rushed by the staff and lingered a little bit telling college stories and catching up on family drama. They split the bill for us 5 different ways and gave each of us a 10% off coupon on our next visit.

We'd love to see a well deserved line around the block for this place, but it's nice to have a secret place where we can have divine food without having to wait.

You can find them on Facebook and they announce daily specials there as well as discounts for the day. Every Monday and Tuesday night is $1 street taco night and we will definitely need to go back to try those out. We love the street tacos.

On a personal note, JE would love to have one of these in Brookside.

Check out El Huarache and try a huarache. It's a new food to the U.S. and it's nice to have a place that rivals the deliciousness of El Camino Real without having to travel to KCK.

El Huarache is located at 520 Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City - right before the I-35 bridge.

10-31-10 Colton's Steakhouse (Sedalia)

2010-11-18T19:57:00.000-06:00

We try to hit all the local restaurants that we can, but sometimes you have a craving and the first place you see is a chain and well...you stop, eat and have a delicious story to tell.

Yes, Colton's Steakhouse is a chain but it's so good!

Colton's Steakhouse is in Sedalia and is like an Applebee's with a cowboy steakhouse feel. It's very similar to Logan's Roadhouse that we reviewed before. They play country music, have TVs to watch football games, and other cowboy-centric things. There are moose heads on the walls, deer heads and a stuffed coyote inside the barn/cowboy motif. And there are cow-boyish sayings all over the place like "no spittin on the floor", "sweat never drowned no one", "always treat the ladies better than your horse" and "don't never ask a man the size of his spread." I'm not sure what happens if you ask a man the size of his spread (single, twin, queen, king?) but I'm sure it is serious.

We got a seat right under a television which was showing the Chiefs vs Buffalo game. Maybe that's another reason I wanted to stop in - so I could catch part of the game live instead of listening to it on the radio. Regardless, a pail of peanuts greeted us at the table. Being hungry, they were the first things I went for.

The peanuts were a good quick fix, but they also give you hot, buttery rolls as well and some honey to put on them if you want. They were melt-in-your-mouth delicious and we had two baskets of them.

Trying not to fill up on peanuts and rolls alone, we both ordered Montana burgers. These are 1/2 pound seasoned burgers topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce, onion straws, tomatoes and lettuce. It is served with steak fries.

The burger was big with the meat and toppings on it. The seasonings and toppings were delicious and definitely filling. The seasoned meat had a unique taste to it and any time you can combine onion straws and bacon, you definitely have a winner in my book. The burgers were so big that we cut them in half and took the rest of it (with rolls) home for dinner. Bang for the buck, it was reasonably priced with the portions that you get.

Our waitress told us that Colton's is a a chain in the southern states but this is the farthest north it has been. There are other locations in Missouri, but nothing is past Sedalia. Next time, we might try a steak.

Check out Colton's and see for yourself. Colton's Steakhouse is located 4101 W Broadway Blvd in Sedalia, MO.

10-30-10 Cafe Natasha (St. Louis)

2010-11-18T19:29:00.000-06:00

Destination number three in St. Louis was a place we have visited before. We've visited this Persian restaurant several times before and have never been disappointed. Our next destination was Cafe Natasha on Grand.

Cafe Natasha is a Persian place specializing in kabobs of all types. Their sign even says kabob international. It's a pretty straight forward place. The host will sit you down, give you a menu and bring your drinks - a far cry from the place the night before (Blackthorn leftovers were eaten for breakfast). The also have Turkish coffees and vegetarian dishes.

We decided on the hummus appetizer which was really good. It had a couple of chickpeas in the middle (to remind you what you're eating) and a few radish slices. It came with some pita triangles which were a little over baked and crispy while I'm used to soft pita bread. Save some hummus to dredge your wrap in.

You can decide how you want your entree. You can make it a sandwich with the pita or have it over rice. If you do the sandwich, they typically come with lettuce, Mayo, mild pepperoncini, red onion, tomato, cucumber and their homemade yogurt dressing. You can also get it with feta cheese and hummus for an additional charge (that's why we saved some hummus from the appetizer).

JE had the Koubideh kabob wrap which was ground beef and lamb with Persian spices wrapped in a pita (sans the shredded lettuce). It was hearty and deliciously spiced. It went perfectly on the cool winter day.

I got the chicken shawarma kabob which is chicken thigh with Persian spices wrapped in a pita (sans the shredded lettuce as well).

The combo of spices, cucumber, onion, Tahiti, feta, tomatoes, red onion in the wrap was divine. I have chicken shawarma quite a bit and this one was up there near the top.

We absolutely love Cafe Natasha and make it a stop every time we're in St. Louis. If you like Persian food, check out Cafe Natasha at 3200 South Grand in St. Louis, MO.

10-29-10 Blackthorn Pub and Pizza (St. Louis)

2010-11-18T19:07:00.000-06:00

Another place we stopped while in St. Louis was Blackthorn Pub and Pizza in St. Louis.

We arrived after happy hour and there was nowhere to sit so we had to stalk tables that might be leaving. After finding a table after 20 or 30 minutes in this dingy bar, we ordered from the bar. About the only things they have on the menu are pizza, salads and beer/alcohol.

We decided on a 12 inch Chicago deep dish style pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and sausage. Our first sign of the Apocalypse was that when we ordered we were told it would take at least 1 1/2 hours for the pizza to be done. WTF? All I could think is this pizza better be damn good if I have to wait that long. To bide the time we were going to have wait for the pizza and with some beers already in our system, I thought it best to get some small salads so I ordered a Caesar plate and a house plate. This time, there wasn't a time given on how long it would take to get the salads. It would turn out to be almost as long as the pizza. It explained why it took a while to find somewhere to sit. Just hope you're lucky enough to be on a good schedule with someone who is leaving.

The entire place reminded me of Kelly's in Westport with all the writing on the walls, in the bathrooms, wherever they could write, there it would be. I guess it could give it some kind of charm and honestly I know that it makes me sound snobbish, but I'm not in college anymore so it was lost on me.

To kill time, they have a jukebox, a dart board, some video games, a few TVs, and shuffleboard. Maybe they had something else but I don't remember.

When your orders are ready, they yell your name over a speaker. This was the second sign of the night. When you order, tell them some nickname (so your orders are not confused with other orders. Unfortunately since I told them Jon, there was another Jo(h)n who I swear took at least one of our salads and almost our pizza. So he was Jo(h)n A and I was Jon J and over a speaker they do sound the same.

I got my house salad probably within 30 minutes, but the Caesar was nowhere to be found. I went back up to the bar and asked about it and they said they gave it to us - but I think Jo(h)n A took it. They had to make another one which took another 20 minutes. Honestly, how long does it take to make a salad? And another observation...just because you order before someone else does not mean you'll get your food before them. It definitely wasn't the case with the salads or the pizza as others were getting served way before we were.

Finally after an eternity, the pizza arrived. It had a spicy sauce and was what we ordered but after an hour and 45 minutes waiting for it, it wasn't anything special and definitely not worth the wait. We had a few pieces and boxed up the rest of it for a late night snack.

After we told some friends where we went, they told us they have another location called something else which gets the pizzas out in 20-30 minutes. I don't know why it takes so long here but it must be their claim to fame. I was so over it, I didn't even care to take pictures. It just wasn't our cup of tea, beer or pizza. And it's not the cheapest pizza either.

If you're in St. Louis and have time to spare (or if it's late at night and you're drunk and have all the time in the world), check out Blackthorn Pub and Pizza. But since we told you about the wait, you can't complain. Blackthorn is located 3735 Wyoming Street in St. Louis, MO.

10-29-10 Zesto Drive In (Jefferson City)

2010-11-18T18:40:00.000-06:00

We recently went to St. Louis for a friend's wedding, but it didn't stop us from checking out some places to eat during our trip. Here's a J&JE's Adventures in Food - Mobile edition.

JE can't handle the big rigs on I-70 so we took the scenic route to St. Louis, via Highway 50. It's a beautiful and stress free drive even if it adds an hour to the trip.

Just off Highway 50 in Jefferson City is a little place called Zesto Drive In. While we drove down the highway, I saw a sign that said "Back by popular demand - Dad's Hobo Stew" and I just knew we had to check that out.

Most of the menu is sandwiches and soups - no hamburgers or fries which was a little surprising but not a deal breaker. We're not sure and don't remember on the menu, but it is possible that nothing is deep fried here. If you're been there, you can tell us.

JE ordered a foot long coney topped with homemade chili and a side of potato salad. JE's coney was good and the chili was delicious. The potato salad was creamy with paprika on top, but the serving was a little small making you want a little more of it.

I ordered a small pumpkin shake (the sign said it was back in season), a BBQ beef sandwich, and of course, Dad's Hobo Stew.

The sandwich was good. It had chunks of beef in it, not shredded beef. It was so good I devoured it in just minutes and could have gone back for another one. The stew was like a beef stew with beef, carrots, celery, tomatoes, corn, green beans and was spiced with pepper and maybe something else like Tabasco sauce. The pumpkin shake was really good. I've never had one to compare it to but it was great and pumpkin-y.

The view of the Capitol building was an added bonus since neither of us had viewed it before. Along the walls were pictures of cops, St. Louis sport legends athletes like Cardinals and Rams players, St. Louis itself, newspaper clippings about the drive-in and the owners, family pictures and several pictures of police officers. We found out by reading the wall that the drive-in was bought in 2008 by two cops from St. Louis who own it today.

And in the restroom, I saw a sign of the times - well, at least from the past - where you could get ice cream for 5 and 10 cents. If only they had a throw back day because the shake I had was really good.

If you're ever down that way, check out Zesto Drive In at 1730 Jefferson Street (and Highway 50) in Jefferson City. We'll make a return trip the next time we go to St. Louis. Please note there are two Zesto Drive Ins in Jefferson City - this one is considered "south".

Thanks

2010-11-04T10:50:00.000-05:00

Just a quick thanks to everyone who reads our blog and all the comments we've received. We do read them all even if we don't respond to all of them.

We have been doing this for a year now. Cheers to more Adventures in Food!

Jon & John Eric

10-23-10 Paparico's

2010-11-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

Our next October visit was to a location where restaurants go to die. I don't think anything has survived for long at this location in Waldo. Located in the old Murphy's, Torres Pizza and many other restaurant incantations is now Paparico's at Wornall and 83rd Street.

We were expecting a long wait when we pulled into the parking lot judging by the number of cars there, but we were only two out of four people in the dining room. It quickly dawned on us that the cars were for Dottie May's just north which is/was closing.

After waiting a few minutes to be noticed, we were seated, handed menus, which was followed by water, chips and salsa being delivered. The salsa tasted fresh, the chips were warm and the menu was pretty straight forward. If you don't like your salsas heavy on onion and cilantro, you might not like theirs, but it was light and tasty.

From an ambiance perspective, it was warm in the place and my feet kinda stuck to the linoleum floor which I wasn't fond of. The decor consisted of pink colored walls with multi-colored gauchos or ponchos or whatever you call them on the walls along with hats. Bottle of real Coke and other sodas adorned the counters. It had your typical Mexican styled music playing and a soccer game was showing on the tv.

JE ordered the pork tamales served with refried beans and rice along with sour cream and (gasp!) shredded lettuce. It arrived promptly, after we devoured at least two bowls of chips and salsa, and was nicely presented. There was more masa than meat, but JE enjoyed them anyway.

I decided on sour cream enchiladas. It consisted of flour tortillas with spicy chicken chunks along with sour cream, jack cheese, rice and beans.

The food was filling. I got a box for the other enchilada because I couldn't eat anymore of it. JE finished his plate. The beans and rice were typical of any Mexican restaurant, but were still good. JE's tamales were a little dry or at least the masa breading seemed to be. JE thought the rice was spicy but it didn't appear that way to me. The chicken in the enchiladas were really good white meat and the jack cheese and sour cream were very saucy and almost too rich.

We're pretty sure the waitress knew very limited English. She simply repeated the same phrases again and again and again. She was really quiet. I asked her to split the bills into two separate bills but she didn't know what I was talking about. After a few more prompts, she said ok but sure enough the check wasn't split out. That's fine but if you don't know, don't say ok. A small but easily overlooked behavior.

It wasn't the best Mexican you will ever have, but it is far from the worst. The charm here is that it is obvious this is a family run establishment and they are working their tails off to please you. They want to make this restaurant successful - doesn't everyone? We wish them the best.

Paparico's is located at 8314 Wornall Road in Kansas City, Missouri. Look for the Murphy's Irish sign outside.

10-16-10 Jack Gage American Tavern

2010-11-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

In keeping with our October scary them, we tried Jack Gage which is another place which is supposed to be haunted. And if it is haunted, the food wouldn't make you scared of no ghost.

Main Street just south of the Country Club Plaza has become a mecca for food in recent years. Among Accurso's Planet Sub, Glace, The Peanut, Minsky's, Spin, Il Centro and Eggtc is Jack Gage, an American Tavern. Most recently, this building housed Double Dragon chinese buffet, some nail salons and way before then, a gay bar called The Rio (or something like that).

Most of the streets this day were closed for marathon so we kept checking Facebook for street re-openings. At noon, we found the opportunity to venture out of the house finally free of runners, walkers and spectators. I didn't tell JE where we were going but he guessed it when I turned north on Main.

The chalkboard out front said they were serving breakfast until 2 pm so I made JE go in and check if they were also serving lunch, which they were. The pleasant hostess welcomed us in. Luckily, it did not resemble the Chinese buffet, nail salons or gay bars of years past - and definitely didn't smell like any of those either thankfully.

The decor is a throwback to old boxers and American-English times. There is hard wood everywhere, old English signs over the bar with more old boxers and plenty of tvs for you to catch a football game or other sporting event. We were seated near the vault so maybe in another life, this place was a bank too.

JE waffled back and forth between the pimento cheeseburger and the bison burger before getting the bison. His burger came with onion straws, Vermont white cheddar cheese, BBQ mayo and served with Yukon gold french fries.

I ordered a flat iron steak sandwich that had white cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper mayo on hoagie roll with the Yukon gold french fries. I also ordered the chicken and spatzle soup.

I have to say the soup absolutely rocked. It had chicken, spatzle (noodles), celery, and spices in what tasted like a beef broth (not chicken to my surprise). They use their rotisserie chicken that they make in house for all their chicken menu items. It was like a spicy chicken noodle soup and was very good. I would go back just for the soup.

JE's burger was good too. It was served medium and had a good flavor to it complimenting the onion straws and BBQ mayo. My sandwich was equally good. The steak was tender and the cheese was melted. If I would have thought of this, I would have dipped in in the chicken spatzle soup and it would have made it even better.

And while we're not ones to extol the virtues of french fries, the Yukon gold fries were excellent. More please!! JE didn't finish all his fries so I helped him out - they were that good.

They have a huge beer menu selection and serve breakfast (at least on Saturday) from 9 am to 2 pm with lunch from 11 am to 2 pm. I don't know what happens after that. They also have a brunch on Sundays. And look for the area on the menu where they advertise 10 for under $10 and you won't go wrong.

Our server was Carrie the Bartender and she could dish it out and take it. We enjoyed our playful banter and she said as we were paying, "Will you be back?" JE said, "Of course!". Carrie replied, "Despite my service?". It gained her a bigger tip.

We definitely will be returning to Jack Gage to try out even more items on their menu. Jack Gage is located at 5031 Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri.

10-2-10 Logan's Roadhouse

2010-11-04T06:47:00.001-05:00

Continuing on our scary places tour, our next stop was scary because it was a chain restaurant.

My parents wanted to take us out to dinner at Logan's Roadhouse in Independence, just east of the Independence Center. Who are we to pass up a free meal? This place was huge and packed at 5 pm (normal time my parents to eat dinner) on a Saturday evening. After eating there, we know why. Great service, large portions and decent prices.

Rarely do we eat at chain establishments because we'd rather go to locally owned but this was a nice treat courtesy of the parents. And really - at a chain/corporate place, it's all about the consistency.

Before the food arrived, a basket of hot rolls came out which were unlimited and really good. My parents wanted an appetizer platter for 4 which came with cheese sticks, chicken wings and potato skins -- fried goodness which was a happy starter.

JE ordered a combo - steak and monterey chicken breast that came with two sides of caeser salad and macaroni and cheese. Everything was perfect - even though the waitress didn't ask how he wanted the steak done.

JE's 6oz steak was presented medium and was perfectly seasoned but a little chewy. The chicken breast over rice was nearly divine.

I also had a combo as well with steak and chicken but chose mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese with mine. Both my steak and chicken were really good and the sides were delicious as well.

And my parents - well, their big thing and topic of conversation that night was how they like to order a 16 oz prime rib and split it with 2 baked potatoes. It's just a good deal they told us and if you think about it, it really is a good deal where two people can eat and have leftovers for less than $20.

So if the Plaza is totally full of national restaurants, albeit upscale, why not have a Logan's Roadhouse to cater to the more pedestrian crowd? We'd certainly go there and the corporation would make a mint. The four of us escaped there paying $61 plus tip - a great value considering how close it would be to the house. If it wasn't so far away, we'd go back -- and maybe split a dinner.

Logan's Roadhouse is located at 19401 E. 39th St. in Independence, Missouri.

10-2-10 Succotash

2010-11-03T20:45:00.003-05:00

We haven't posted for a bit, but that doesn't mean we haven't been working for the blog. The entire month of October was dedicated to scary places to eat due to Halloween. We start our journey at Succotash because as JE puts it, it is a scary name and it is haunted...plus you might see this disturbing picture on the wall. It reminds us of our friend Angie.

JE's mother had been telling us to go to Succotash for a long time and we never did. We later found out that she had only been to the original location in the City Market. JE can't stand the name of this place but to be good sports we went the first Saturday of October after going to Urban Mining with Mia.

JE must have had his blinders on because we ended up at You Say Tomato by accident thinking it was Succotash. After realizing our mistake plus the fact there was nowhere to sit, we headed north a few blocks to the correct restaurant and were seated right away by the pregnant host. For 11:30 am, this place was hopping with college kids, old people, families and the occasional goth looking kid or people wearing stuff that only People of Walmart are shown in. It was quite the eclectic group.

Despite very cramped quarters and a limited menu, we enjoyed the decor (well outside of the picture above) and wondered why other old-time bars haven't taken the same approach. The decor was 50s kitsch and a mix of chairs from the 80s while various chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Speaking of the cramped quarters, I had to sit in the aisle for a bit because there was no room between the chairs and tables if there was someone sitting behind you especially if you're seated in the middle row of tables.

The menu was basically breakfast food or brunch type stuff. There was one sandwich type thing so brunch may be stretching it a bit.

Mia ordered a BLT with eggs, cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, arrugula, and pesto mayo which came on an oatmeal wheat bread. It, as well as most of the items, come with their home fries (cottage potatoes?). Mia liked the bread, pesto mayo and the sandwich overall.

JE ordered one of the specials of the day, which the waitress never told the price - crab Benedict. It had crab and eggs over some type of bread with some green leaves, was doused in Hollandaise sauce and topped with capers. It too came with home fries.

I opted for a kitchen sink scramble. It was basically like an omelet with cheeses, and breakfast meats like sausage and bacon and whatever else they threw in there -- all covered with gravy. There were also the home fries in it as well. It was really filling but I managed to eat the entire thing.

We liked our food except the home fries that came with it. They were either burnt or not done and they weren't very tasty. They needed salt or gravy to get through them. Mia ordered a side of gravy for hers and JE used some of it too. Maybe the grease wasn't hot enough or something but the gravy helped Mia and JE finish them.

While the food was good, this won't be a destination spot for us. You can get breakfast/brunch like this anywhere. Maybe this is what the owner wants - a comfortable place to enjoy affordable average food, but we bet she's capable of far more.

A few high points:

Service is prompt - we had our food delivered within 10 minutes of ordering
Parking is a challenge since it's all off-street parking
Be careful of the bathroom faucets especially the bird bowl one. Mia and I both got drenched.
Apparently it is ok to eat here in a t-shirt and underwear
Prices are good

Finally, according to The Pitch, this place is haunted but there was far more ghostly activity at Urban Mining. At least three loud crashes of glass items happened while we were there. At the time of the shattering, no shoppers were around. People at Urban Mining said, "there goes the ghost again".

Whether it's after a trip to Urban Mining or if you want to check it out, see what gets your ghost at Succotash, located at 2601 Holmes Street in Kansas City, Missouri.

9-25-10 Sahara

2010-09-27T22:20:00.000-05:00

This happy Mediteranean restaurant is located in a former Russel Stover store in the shopping strip of Kin Lin, Subway, Muddy's and other places across from the UMKC campus at 51st and Oak.

We're no strangers to eating Mediterranean, Indian or Greek food so hearing that this place had recently opened and being that it's really close to home, we had to check it out.

I will preface that I'm thoroughly enjoying Zaina downtown for lunch which is the same type of restaurant as Sahara and Papu's in Waldo.

Since it has just opened and it was around noon on a Saturday, there weren't many people in the place. The restaurant is clean and bright with lots of tables and bright colors of yellows and reds.

They have a large almost unreadable menu hanging above the register but also have smaller menus on the counter. Typical Mediterranean food - gyros, hummus, kifta, swarma and the like. They serve Coke products and have hot tea or did when we were there. Most items are under $10.

JE ordered a kifta sandwich combo which came with a huge basket of fries.

JE thought his kifta was a little dry and could have benefited from more yogurt sauce and less shredded lettuce. If you've read previous posts, he despises shredded lettuce on everything. Also, you'll want to add a little salt to your fries as they basically did not have seasoning on them, just plain fries.

I wanted to try their chicken swarma so that's what I ordered and the combo again came with a basket of fries.

I was so hungry that I already started eating before I remembered to take some pictures. I can say that this is likely the best chicken swarma I've had in town so far. The chicken was spiced perfectly and the pickles (I think they were pickles or peppers) along with the onions and red peppers were really good.

As they're in the midst of their grand opening, there were a few things to nitpick. The condiment bar had some ill-fitting lids for some of the sauces. When we tried to put some in a small cup, it ran out onto the counter and on us because someone didn't screw the lids on. Then when we did screw the lids on, nothing would come out of the bottles.

Another mishap was at the soda fountain. JE didn't see there was clear plastic under the rootbeer so when he tried to get the rootbeer, it went everywhere, including on the lady waiting behind him. Oops. Maybe a sign saying out of order would have been more appropriate.

All minor issues aside, the food is good and reasonable and we'll be back for sure. Now if they will only deliver past Troost...

9-18-10 Fritz's Smoked Meats

2010-09-27T21:48:00.000-05:00

It seems like every food adventure we go on costs more and more so we were happy when the bill at Fritz's came in at under $12 for the two of us.

This place has been around at 103rd and State Line for a long time. Why we never went here when we lived in the area is a mystery - had we known, we probably would have taken advantage of the daily specials often (11-3pm Mon-Sat).

They have all kinds of meats and serve delicious sandwiches, BBQ beef, and grilled items like hot dogs and sausages.

I ordered a grilled italian sausage, an order of fries and their special of the day, a pint of smoked ends.

The italian sausage was good and relatively cheap, but the special of the day stole the show. For $3, I got a pint of the ends of all the different sausages they smoke there. There were spicy sausage ends, italian sausage and all kinds of others that I didn't recognize in BBQ sauce and it was filling. It was so filling in fact, that we took the rest of home and made sandwiches out of it the next day. For just $3, the pint of ends was a good deal.

JE ordered a polish sausage and shared the fries.

The meats on the sausages were really good and a testament to why this place is still open after all these years. The counter staff is friendly, you can buy a EAT MY MEAT t-shirt there, and they really know what they're doing.

This may be one of the best lunch values in South KC. They've been in business for a long time and they do it right. Check out Fritz's for some good meat.

9-4-10 Woodswether Cafe

2010-09-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

'The road is long, from which there is no return' should be playing as you try to find this place in the West Bottoms. We were told the 12th Street bridge was open but it wasn't when we tried to get to this destination spot. Combine that with road closures and construction and it might take you a bit to get there. We finally figured out how to there via the GPS on our phones, which seemed to take us to an industrial wasteland district where Armageddon had happened, until we saw the mural at Woodswether Cafe (and it's not on Woodswether Road).

As we entered, we saw a note on the door stating the restaurant would close at 2 pm that Saturday for the Labor Day weekend so we had plenty of time. The dining room was staffed with two waitresses that were performing many duties - bartender/waitress/cashier and we were told to sit anywhere we wanted so we took booth 12.

JE ordered the meatloaf sandwich platter which was homemade meatloaf on white bread with mashed potatoes smothered in brown gravy.

I ordered a french dip sandwich that had swiss cheese and au jus dipping sauce with a side of onion rings.

The food here was really good, cheap and filling. The french dip was one of the best I've had and JE's meatloaf and mashed potatoes had a very homemade taste to them.

We overheard from the waitress that everything there is made from scratch except the catfish, shrimp and frog legs on Fridays and the potatoes are real potatoes - and you can really tell.

Our waitress was a little odd. She was wearing what looked to be tight grey sweat pants and a black top. And I saw her bend over once and thought I saw the outline of something not on the menu. I quickly learned not to watch where she was going or I was going to lose my appetite.

Some of the most fun and sometimes annoying things at these places are the people there. I will say the people behind us had more demands than someone in hell wanting ice water as my mom would say.

"I want no marbeled fat on my roast beef"

"Is that made this way or that?"

"I'm not sharing my mushrooms if they're good."

It's like the cafe was invaded by some snobbish Country Club people who I can't believe would come down by the river. If they asked anymore questions or complained they had to go outside to smoke one more time, there could have been an issue. They monopolized our waitress with their inane questions and demands while our food was waiting to be served. I wanted to throw them in the river they were so annoying.
Patrons aside, they have a huge bar showcasing their spirits and beers and some TVs to watch college football.

Check out Woodswether Cafe. It might take a few extra minutes to find and to get your food, but it's well worth the wait.

8-28-10 Dagwood's Cafe

2010-09-04T16:11:00.000-05:00

We were all set to go out to NFM until we read the small print that the sale had expired. We asked for suggestions on Facebook for locally owned places near the Legends but most of the responses were for corporate entities...so we slept in, changed our plans and ventured down to Dagwood's. We tried to go to the diner once before, only to find it closed for a holiday weekend. This time, we were lucky and it was open.

"Boys, I'm gonna clear off that booth right there," said a woman as walked in. JE knew this was going to be good. I don't know if this woman was the waitress or owner but she totally transformed us to Smalltown, USA - and to a place where we could all talk about our knee problems, compare injuries and eat up because you know the food, albeit greasy, was going to be good. And it is good!

There was a great varied crowd when we arrived. It was full of people getting their breakfast on and since it only stays open until 2 pm on Saturdays, you have to get there early to get some grub. I had visited Dagwood's years ago and since that visit, they have expanded (or I never knew they had another seating area).

Looking around, the decor had a Breakfast at Tiffany's poster, a dry erase board with that day's specials and not much else. On the counter, there were huge cinnamon rolls and carrot cake.

I was hungry for breakfast so I ordered the Dagwood breakfast sandwich which had eggs, cheese, hash browns, and sausage. And I just had to try their 1/2 order of biscuits and gravy...and their sweet tea. The sandwich was greasy, but really good and hit the spot. The b&g were exactly what I hoped for and the sweet tea was as southern as you could get.

JE was more in a brunch mood. He ordered a Texas burger which had cheese, bacon, onion and jalapeños on Texas toast. He also got a 1/2 order of biscuits and gravy and sweet tea. JE was really happy with his burger, b&g and tea.

The waitress was a hoot. She was verify animated and nice, just like in a small town. "Drink your sunshine" (orange juice), "What happened, did y'all sleep in?" she asked of a couple that came in around noon, and regarding our devouring of the biscuits and gravy, "doesn't look like you boys have had biscuits and gravy in a while - want some more? I won't tell your mommas!" She also had some french tipped fingers, but I think they were construction orange and JE thought they were red.

Dagwood's is an island of true joy, in the same vein as Leo's in Omaha, where the staff and workers are proud of their food. You're not a stranger here, you are a friend who has been waited for, a long lost family member, or a rock star...and it feels like home. Check out Dagwood's on Southwest Boulevard.

8-15-10 to 8-22-10 Columbus, Ohio

2010-09-04T16:09:00.000-05:00

I was out of town for a softball tournament and if you're like me, when you're out of town for more than a few days, you try to find some of the most unique places to eat that you don't have at home. It's a whole "learning about the city" thing I love to do. While I didn't really set out to document the places I went for the blog, I guess old habits die hard. So this entry focuses on some places I visited while in Columbus, Ohio that you should check out if you're there.

The first distant food adventure was to Tip Top in downtown Columbus. While it was full of softball players that night, it had a very cozy pub feel with a varied menu and very friendly and flirty staff. The diners I was with liked the varied beers they had in stock. And the food was pretty good too.

I ordered the meatloaf which came with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and a piece of whole wheat toast. The most noticeable part of the meatloaf was that it seemed liked it was baked and then possibly seared on a grill because the hubcap shaped piece of meatloaf had a nice char to it. Typically, any meatloaf I've ever had has never been charred, but it was really good. One of the other diners had mac and cheese with chicken which was good and another had some kind of steak sandwich. We all enjoyed the food and the various beers.

Another adventure was next door to Tip Top which served Cuban food called Plantain Cafe. They have indoor and outdoor seating and being a nice day, we opted for lunch al fresca. I will admit, the only Cuban food I've ever had was a Cuban sandwich and that wasn't even in a Cuban restaurant.

I decided to forgo the Cuban sandwich this time, and tried a frita, which is a Cuban hamburger with ground beef, Spanish chorizo, topped with shoestring potatoes and served with fried plantain chips. The burger was delicious and had a good flavor. I was a little more skeptical about the plantain chips since I have never had them before, but I was a fool because they were really good. I really didn't know what to expect out of them, but they had a sauce on them that made them even more delightful.

A guy who dined with me had the Cuban sandwich and it looked good too. If we were there longer, I would have been back for this sandwich in a heartbeat.

Trip number three was for a team dinner. We decided on comfort food and a varied menu so we went to Cap City Fine Diner in the Grandview area. To put it loosely, it's comfort food that has been kicked up a notch. An appetizer of Maytag Blue Cheese chips was gone about as soon as it was placed in front of us as well as the complimentary hot rolls with butter.

Someone ordered the meatloaf and it was a towering piece of meat with mashed potatoes and onion strings on top of it with brown gravy.

I decided on the romano crusted chicken served over a bed of garlic butter noodles and a tomato cream sauce and I opted to try the mashed potatoes as an extra side. The three pieces of chicken were pounded thin and were tender. The tomato cream sauce was divine. And the mashed potatoes...well I could have slapped someone they were so good. The waiter mistakenly thought we were replacing the garlic butter noodles with the mashed potatoes so they were delivered later and they really took the flavors of all the food to the next level. I have the recipe and might try to make this at home it was so good.

Definitely check this place out if you're in town. It was very popular and there were lines on a Thursday night.

Some other quick mentions...in the Short North district, we found quite a few delights. Sorry no pictures are available - at that point of the week, I was exhausted.

Level was one place we visited twice - once for dinner and once for lunch and both were great experiences. For dinner, I tried their flat iron steak and I wasn't disappointed. It was an 8 oz. flat iron steak dusted with spices and it came with creamy garlic potatoes and skillet green beans. Simply put, I was wanting a good steak and I got it. The green beans were good and the garlic potatoes were so good I had to keep people out of them. They were so garlicy though that I was burping up garlic the rest of the night. Not so fun when you're going out to the bars. The combo of beer and garlic burps were a little offsetting and warded off any AA vampires in a 20 mile radius.

When we returned for lunch, I tried the Sweet and Sinful burger which was topped with a sweet barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, bacon, crispy onion straws and an egg over hard. The egg was extra but it really made the burger even better. I also chose the sweet potato fries which came with an interesting dipping sauce. The sauce was a marshmellow and cinammon cream sauce which took me by surprise since I thought it was ranch. It was a little too sweet for my tastes so I used the ranch sauce for dipping. The burger was delicious and as mentioned, the egg gave it an extra little umph.

The staff was fun and friendly and when they called me by the wrong name, I decided to do the same for the rest of the dining experience. The name is on the credit card, just read it Mary. Hehe.

Mikey's Late Night Slice had one of their mobile trucks at the street party and although I had been drinking, it was a really good piece of pepperoni pizza. I liked the size of the slice, the sauce and the cheese and really liked the extra sauces you could put on it yourself like ranch, garlic and others. It took a regular piece of pizza and made it extra special.

And finally, to end off this tour of out-of-town eating spots, I leave you with one of the best ice cream places which is right up there with Glace in KC -- Jeni's Ice Cream. They are a gourmet ice cream place, like Glace, and have many different and unusual flavors of ice cream like salty caramel, pistachio and honey, burbon buttered pecan, brown butter almond brittle and many others - those are just the ones I tasted. Every time we passed by there was a line out the door for this ice cream and it is well deserved. I tried a combination of the salty caramel and brown butter almond brittle. It was very rich and very filling and melted quickly while I was talking - so get it in a cup if you tend to socialize when you have ice cream. They have seasonal flavors as well. Definitely stop by if you like ice cream and want to try something a little different. We had the ice cream before we ate lunch at Level.

I hope this gives you some places to go while you're in town. The locals may not agree with the places I visited but being out of town, they were unique and a good representation of the local food in Columbus. Cheers.

8-14-10 Chai Shai

2010-09-04T14:44:00.004-05:00

Just a couple blocks away from home (59th and Holmes) is the recently opened Chai Shai featuring the specialty foods of India and Pakistan. JE had an Indian (dot not feather) nanny while he was a baby and this is comfort food for him. While parking is a challenge, the food is a dream, regardless of the walk you may need to make.

The restaurant is in a retail area in the midst of a residential neighborhood and has hosted a long list of failed endevors such as Tin Cup and Sarah's. All the dining establishments that didn't make it were surely victims of the "blink and miss" location. This strip of shops also hosts a yoga studio, a real estate office and a nail salon.

Chai Shai is part cafe and part grocery. JE noted that he would shop here for the inexpensive, hard to find spices and he was tempted to buy a 12 lb bag of basmati rice just to get the burlap bag with handles. They also have sauces and drinks. If you need cheap Indian spices you need to stop here. Some were $1.69 or a little more.

You walk in and it smells great. They have 5 tables and a loveseat with extra chairs available. We sat in the back by a big birdcage, the loveseats and the restroom.

You order at the front counter, then find a table to wait for your food. They give you a picture of a Bollywood star to take to your table so they know where to deliver your food. I'm not sure why this is necessary since there are only about 5 tables in the place, but it was interesting. Our Bollywood star was Shahrukh Khan - you can read on the back who it is and why they're famous.

While we waited, Indian music quickly filled the room. Songs about 'Gina lick your knee', 'goody goody' and others we tried to Americanize. Somewhat like the 'will you poop on my knee' song.

First we decided on pakoras for an appetizer since we didn't know we would get pakoras with our meal. Pakoras are chickpea flour, spinich leaves, spices, onions and potatoes which are deep fried. They came in a group of 8 pieces with a spicy green chutney sauce (green chilis and spices). Our server said people like that sauce or their red tamarind sauce which is sweeter. They kinda taste like falafel a little and they were good; really good enough for a meal for only $4.

I ordered a chicken wrap that came with pakoras and an iced marsala chai. It was like eating tandoori chicken with more spices in a tortilla like wrap.

JE ordered a beef kabob wrap, which also came with appetizers and an iced marsala chai. The marsala chai is unsweetened, but they have sugar cubes and other sweeteners available. Both our items came with green chutney sauce and a yogurt sauce. After one bite, JE said he was going to punch me in the face it was so good. I will add to his horror, they had shredded ice burg lettuce on this wrap. He ate it anyway, happy because the meat was so good even if it was a little skimpy.

I also had to try their version of a mango shake, which tasted like a mango lasse, but with less sugar. It definitely calmed the fire from the spicy food.

Overall, the food was really good. The pakoras, as mentioned, were delicious and could have been our whole meal they were so filling. The meat was a little skimpy on both items and both had shredded lettuce in them, but it was very tasty. The marsala chais were nothing out of the ordinary but they were satisfying and the mango shake was just as smooth and flavorful as expected.

Our bill came to about $25.

The staff wants you to come back, and we will, for this treasure in the 49/63 district.

8-7-10 China Tom's

2010-08-10T20:40:00.001-05:00

Today, we flipped a coin to determine our dining destination and it came up tails (somewhat fitting) so China Tom's won. This Chinese buffet if located in a sad strip mall off 47th and Mission, just down the street from Oklahoma Joe's BBQ. Talk about a wormhole to another country...we were the only non-Asians in the place at 11:30 on a Saturday morning.

We chose a booth in one of the two dining rooms, ordered ice tea and were directed to the buffet tables. We noticed there was no music playing at all, but you could hear the conversations of the group in the other dining area. We didn't know the language so for all we know, they could have been saying, "crazy white boys come to eat here." Your first warning here is that nothing on the buffet is labeled. Unless you can figure it out by size, shape and color, your guess is as good as anyone else's as to what you are going to eat.

The buffet, from what I could tell, had seaweed, shrimp, squid, fish, clams, lobster or crab, lots of pork dishes, beef dishes (I think) and chicken dishes. I had to stick to what I could recognize since I have a food allergy to shellfish and the Epipen was at home - and they're definitely not fun at a non-labeled buffet. Almost nothing looked as it seemed. It was to the point that I started calling them UFOs (unidentified food offerings). I've never been to San Francisco, but I can imagine China Town being like this. I could recognize some crab Rangoon, sweet and sour chicken, spring rolls and some General Zho's chicken, so I put that on the plate and went back to the booth.

After that first pass through, I honestly had to get the waitress over to walk me through everything. Even after she went over it twice, my mind still couldn't grasp some of the things on there. I continued to play it safe, getting some beef and broccoli, and some "meat around bone" (which I guess was pork). So I started on the beef and broccoli and after eating a piece, it didn't taste right. I thought it was liver and when I turned another piece over, I about threw up. It was squid or baby octopus or something nasty - I've never had it before, but I can tell you this, I'll never have it again. I had to push my plate away. I refilled a new plate with what I previously had while adding fried rice and rice noodles (which I found out was pickled seaweed with lots of garlic in it). I really was not having a good time at this place.

JE didn't mind all the strange offerings at all. He enjoys seafood so since there were many different dishes with seafood, he was happy and liked the pickled seaweed, squid, octopus, crab and other non-Americanized stuff to eat. He even said it was like being in China Town in San Fran. My thoughts confirmed.

Warning number two, this place isn't cheap. With both of us having the buffet and ice tea, the total was over $24.00. Since I was really limited by what I could identify and eat, I definitely wouldn't go back. When it was time to pay and go, I asked, "is it too late to get in line at Oklahoma Joe's?". Alas, it was too late for my stomach. The damage had been done. I felt sick the rest of the day. I don't know if it was the squid or something else, but it wasn't a good time later.

We can honestly say this really was a true food adventure. Let's see what we can eat before I die of a food allergy. This is one adventure we will not repeat. We'll stick to the Americanized fare from Friendship Chinese Restaurant near our house. They're much cheaper and they deliver fresh, familiar food quickly without having to leave the house.

JE was happy about his fortune cookie talking about "self love" but you might hate yourself for eating here.

7-31-10 Teocali

2010-08-06T20:12:00.000-05:00

Today, we attended the funeral of a dear friend and we needed some cheering up afterwards. We drove around listlessly and ended up on Hospital Hill/Hag Hill/Dutch Hill and just down the street from Succotash, we found this Mexican gem, Teocali at 2512 Holmes.

JE had been told by his friends there was a Mexican place we should try so we parked the car (after figuring out the one-way streets) and went inside.

We were greeted by the happiest person working in KC on a sticky-hot Saturday afternoon. The delightful dining room was filled with six people, four of them at the bar. Our server brought out a bowl of chips and individual salsas. The salsa had a bit of a kick to it and another surprise later.

JE noticed that the items on the menu were authentic Mexican family recipes that were Americanized for expanded tastes. Undaunted, we ordered.

I wanted to try a bit of everything so I got the Los Three Amigos which was a tamale, beef burrito, and a chicken soft taco served with beans and rice plus a horchata which I absolutely love. If you like milk and cinnamon, you'll like a horchata.

I thought it was funny that the soft taco came with a little plastic sword in it to keep it together.

JE ordered the carnitas which surprised me because he had a Cuban sandwich at Swagger the day before. But it was the special of the day so he went with it and had a horchata as well. His plate also came with rice and beans, but again, he was happy they didn't put shredded lettuce on his carnitas platter.

The food was really good, although probably too big of a portion for a normal lunch. All three of my items were delicious and JE's carnitas were really good. The sauces were just right. It just goes to prove that good pork can be eaten all the time. It was a nice touch that they also gave you free refills of the horchata, which most Mexican places will make you pay for each refill of it.

While I wouldn't say it distanced itself from all the other Mexican places in town, it was a nice find. One gripe I will have is with the chips and salsa. When we got the bill, we were charged $2 for the chips and salsa which was given to us without us asking when we walked in. Granted it was only $2 and I didn't fight it, but I definitely could have. I was already drained from the funeral so I let it go. You've been warned! You might ask them if you're going to get charged for them. I would hope this was a mistake.

If you're in the mood for some decent Mexican food down the street from Succotash, check out Teocali...and watch your bill for the chips and salsa!

7-29-10 Swagger

2010-08-06T19:51:00.000-05:00

This wasn't our first trip to this bar and grill at Poultry Corner in Waldo. We were there once before back in February on a snowy winter morning for breakfast. Back then, only breakfast was served until 2 pm on Saturdays. We remember at the time we were disappointed because we wanted to try the sandwiches everyone had been raving about - even if we dined on rattlesnake eggs.

Fast forward some months later and breakfast is non-existent currently but it may be making a comeback.

This place was also showcased on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food network and they got us hungry to try their sandwiches, or burgers or just about anything on the menu. When we first arrived, there were about 9 people there which was a mix of tattooed guys, bikers, a few professionals on lunch break and us. And with the heat wave going on in the city, it was very cool, almost a little chilly in the bar.

Two of the sandwiches featured on the show were the Dead Texan which was Two Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches with a 1/3 lb. burger, 1 egg, 3 slices of bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapenos, and peppercorn mayo in between; and the Suribachi Burger which is a deep fried burger with all kinds of hotness on it like hot chili sauce, asian mustard, and wasabi coleslaw. We passed this time because we thought it would be too much for lunch and too hot with jalapenos and wasabi coleslaw.

I ordered a Steve Martin which is a grilled jerk chicken breast with swiss cheese and wasabi coleslaw served with home fries.

JE ordered a Fidel Castro sandwich which was a cuban sandwich with home fries.

Both sandwiches were very good. The Steve Martin had those great jerk spices which is always a plus in my book. I really didn't get much heat from the wasabi coleslaw so that was another bonus. JE loved the pulled pork on his Castro. He asked for a side of mayo for his fries and it was wasabi mayo which you could tell had a little kick to it. The fries were good, but the seemed like they weren't done. They were a little hard from a raw potato perspective and they could have been left in the hot oil a little bit longer.

As we ate, the place started to really fill up. Some guys tried to pull some tables together and got shot down and told they could go into the adjoining room where there was more seating. Stick it to the man!

Two visits - two great experiences. Check out Swagger at 85th and Wornall in Poultry Corner (we call it that because there is a KFC, Rooster's Liquors and used to be Hen House where Price Chopper is now) - who knows, you may see us there trying the sandwiches we passed on because we will definitely be back there!