Kansas City Lunch Spots

Cascone’s Grill: 20 E. 5th

Posted by Dave at 7:13 pm

Jun 222007

I have been to Cascone’s Grill for breakfast before while visiting the farmer’s market on Saturday. I was moderately impressed, not necessarily because the food was good, but because it seemed somehow to escape the onslaught of dog and baby-toting yuppies and clueless crowd-navigators that populate the area across the street. So anyway I decided to pay a visit for lunch the other day.

As usual, I was on my own so I was really pleased to see a lunch counter that I had not remembered from my first visit. A lunch counter is a great thing: designed for the lone diner because there is plenty to watch in the kitchen, often there is a tv or at least some random newspapers to occupy your time. I decided to conduct the ultimate test of a lunch spot: the classic American Lunch. What would that be? Why of course a cheeseburger, fries and a coke. I’m happy to report that Cascone’s passed the test on all three counts.

There are two different genres of restaurant burgers. You have the “diner-burger” typified by places like Max’s, and Town Topic which are small, thin patties, fried on a flat grill. These are often served, preloaded with lettuce, tomato and condiments inside a cheap wonderbread type bun. Even more often, they are served without vegetable accompaniment at all, simply meat and cheese (and maybe onion). The other type of burger is what we typically call the “restaurant burger.” This is a fancier and more substantial beast, available at most mid-ranged bar and grill places like McCoy’s et al. They are thick, seasoned, and come with a substantial bun, and feature any number of add-ons. I think both of these can be things of beauty, but they are different animals. The fancy restaurant burger runs the risk of being boring and overpriced, while the diner burger runs the risk of being just plain gross.

Fortunately, Cascone’s serves a perfectly good diner burger: smallish, cheap and hot. American cheese is standard, and lettuce and tomato will cost you a quarter extra (it’s worth it for the McDLT effect). The fries are average but fine. And best of all the Coca-Cola comes from a fountain. I look forward to a future rant about the virtues of Fountain Soda versus cans/bottles.

Anyhow, Casone’s has all the earmarks of afamily-run joint and is worth a visit. i should note that the server was excellent and extremely fast. I was out of there in 20 minutes without even trying.

Yelp

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Jason’s Deli: 11th & Main

Posted by Dave at 10:05 pm

Jun 212007

I know I know, it’s a chain. But it’s just where I happened to eat lunch today. I’ve actually never eaten at Jason’s because I;ve never lived in a place where one existed. I think it’s a southern chain mostly, and you can see traces of this in the menu. Well, you can actually see traces of every type of cuisine on the menu. They have muffalettas, po’ boys, pasta dishes, deli classics like the reuben, and tex-mex inflected sandwiches. So i guess they cop from everybody.

When i started working downtown and expressed my dismay at the lack of quality eateries, everyone told me to go to Jason’s. So about 6 months ago i walked over there, saw what it looked like, and immediately left for some food court pizza (ick). You see, this place just reeks of carefully crafted, corporate chaos (how ’bout that alliteration) as a kind of pathetic homage to ‘real’ delis in places like NYC or wherever. You order at a long counter while people wait impatiently behind you. By the time you wait in line to pay, your food is pretty much ready at the end of the counter. Fairly efficient, but also kind of weird. There’s about 600 people who work there, running around like crazy, a bunch of jazzy signs everywhere, and a sea of boring people in the dining area.

Because it was fairly crowded I ordered the first thing that looked good: a grilled chicken salad. Sounds fine right? I should have read more carefully. This veritable gem of a salad comes with a mound of shredded yellow cheddar cheese, black olives, half-ripe cherry tomatoes, and a scoop of guacamole on top. Who comes up with this crap? Was he drunk? Now I realize I’m a bit of a snob sometimes, but this is just uncool. Seriously folks, the chicken salads are better at Subway.

Once i sat down i realized why Jason’s is so popular, apart from the relative comfort it gives to white suburbans who work in the big city: Free soft serve ice cream. I never saw so many people eating ice cream in one place. My favorite was a rather large woman wearing a totally kick ass pink seersucker suit. Pink! Hope she was careful with the ice cream.

So Jason’s is out of my system but I was not overly impressed. My irrepressible desire to avoid people puts jason’s pretty low on my list. But I’ll go back someday when I’m in a better mood and try something else, like a sandwich for chrissakes. You see I don’t always make good choices, in food or in life.

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Tarantino’s: 601 McGee – CLOSED

Posted by Dave at 6:32 pm

Jun 202007

This is what I’m talking about. I’ve passed Tarantino’s a time or two but never gave it much thought. Thanks to the suggestions by a couple readers of this blog I decided to check it out. Tarantino’s is situated on 6th and McGee, basically overlooking the highway to the north and the buildings down by the river. It’s a classically urban setting in which to enjoy a bit of lunch. Not too slick, not too gritty. It’s basically across McGee from Gland Slam Liquors, in case you want to pick up a pint of Popov vodka on your way back to work. It’s like a vestige of what KC looked like before 6th street was an actual city road and not a glorified highway feeder.

I arrived shortly after the lunch rush proper, and as a result the staff failed to bring a menu or wipe the table for 5 minutes or so. Uh oh, I thought, we have another John’s situation on our hands. But two waitresses noticed me eventually, and made up for the small wait with excessive quantities of friendliness. The primary waitress didn’t make me wait to place my order. For that, I’ll also forgive the short-shorts with “Team Pink” written across the butt.

The restaurant is quite small, maybe seats 40-50 people andthey seem to do a nice business. The patrons were mostly a middle-aged, white bunch of people, though i saw a couple teenagers as well. This is the kind of place where you will find well-heeled businessmen, secretaries, construction workers, and housewives all having lunch together. At least half the people in the place were regulars whom the waitresses called by name. The bearded gentleman next to me wearing overalls and carrying a 64oz plastic coffee mug was one of them. They brought him an iced tea without him needing to ask.

And jesus, the food came out in a hurry. The menu offered all sorts of Italian favorites–sandwiches, pizza, calzones, pasta, spiedini, sausages–and a number of daily specials as well. Except for pizza, I don’t think anything on the menu was over $7. They also serve several kinds of beer. At least one lady was smoking. No one cared. I opted for a meatball sub. After all, any self-respecting italian joint worth its salt will know how to dish out a decent meatball. And decent it was.For 6 bucks I got a nice sized (but not outrageous) sandwich, a bag of chips, and a pile of dill pickles. Sodas were only a dollar, so I got out of there without spending more than $10. And the meatballs had all the hallmarks of being homemade. That’s all I ask.

Moreover, my check was brought promptly, and I was out of there about 15 minutes after I walked in! This is incredible for table service. Depending on where you are, it shouldn’t take folks more than 10 minutes to walk there from Main Street, so a 1/2 lunch is a distinct possibility. Best of all, a friendly gent walked by everyone’s table to make sure the food was ok. I assume he is the owner. This is a nice touch, though I have definitely seen it done badly. Sometimes overly attentive service can seem disingenuous.

This place knows how to do it right: Good food, fast, friendly service, interesting clientele, good prices…I don’t know what else to say. Tarantino’s is going on the regular rotation.

Yelp

Suggestions?

Posted by Dave at 5:15 pm

Jun 192007

I keep a spreadsheet of the restaurants I want to write about on this blog. Have a look. Is there something I’m missing? If I have already posted about a restaurant, it will not be on the list.

Feel free to let me know about the joints with the best food, scary places you would never go, restaurants with novelty specials, lunch spots in interesting locations or places staffed by really cool people. Please try to keep it locally owned.

And thank you all for your help!

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Hien Vuong Vietnamese Restaurant

Posted by Dave at 2:34 pm

Jun 192007

I came here once a couple years ago before I moved to Kansas City. Let me tell you, having a decent Vietnamese restaurant is a big selling point as far as I’m concerned. KC has at least three that I can think of: Hien Vuong, Saigon 39 and the underrated Sung Son in Westport.

Hien Vuong–I always refer to it as “the Vietnamese place in the city market”–does a very nice mid-week lunch trade in spite of its somewhat drab atmosphere. Basically it feels like you are eating in someone’s garage. Which, face it, you kind of are. The most interesting aspect of eating here is the possibility that the restaurant will be crowded enough for the “hostess” to seat you with complete strangers. Like many old school lunch spots, they have a couple big tables that are meant to be shared. That being said, it’s really no big deal, it’s not like anyone talks to me. In general the Hien Vuong is small enough that you may have to wait for a table to open up if you pop in at noon.

And be advised, the woman who runs the show here has an off-putting demeanor and is not necessarily welcoming in the manner most of us are accustomed. I do not think that she is a grumpy person at heart, but perhaps comes across that way more than she should. She generally does the seating and clearing of tables while another person waits tables. You generally won’t a get a check delivered to your table, just go pay at the counter and the server will handle it.

The food here is humble in appearance but very tasty. The staples of Vietnamese cuisine such as Pho, Bun and the ubiquitous Vietnamese spring rolls are represented and they do not disappoint.

Certainly a classier joint like Sung Son takes full advantage of the visual potential of these foods, but Hien Vuoung simply throws the stuff in a bowl and turns you loose.

The menu is enormous and often includes a list of seasonal specials. During the winter you can get interesting dishes like dumpling soup, which I don’t normally associate with Vietnamese cuisine.

Like most sit-down places, this lunch spot is not geared to the lone diner. For reasons that I will deftly avoid, I find myself eating solo much of the time. If I forget to bring a book or don’t want to bother, hate feeling self-conscious. Basically, I am content just staring into space but some restaurants make me feel uneasy when eating alone, and I’m not sure I can explain why. After all the real genius of the coffee shop is not its role as a social center, but its ability to cater to people on their own. In other words, it’s fine to go get a cup of coffee and read the paper by yourself, but lunch is a different matter. By the way, why do I see no one reading in this town? Other places I’ve lived, a lot of folks read on their lunch hours. Well, I’ll conduct a more thorough investigation before denouncing Kansas City for yet another shortcoming.

KC needs more spots like Hien Vuoung: a place where you get your silverware from a cup on the table, a place where you feel comfortable sitting inside on outdoor furniture, a place where remnants of the previous diner’s meal may be evident when you sit down, a place where you may be seated next to a total stranger. This is the essence of lunch, because the food is good and it’s no bullshit. Actually, I’ve had better Vietnamese cuisine, but you can’t ask for any more from a lunch place.

Yelp

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Delaware Cafe: 300 Delaware St – CLOSED

Posted by Dave at 2:17 pm

Jun 182007

Alas, this great little lunch place turned semi-swanky dinner place has gone under. Let’s hope these guys make another go at it.

I didn’t know this place existed for a long time, probably because it is a block or two away from the city market proper. However this is exactly the kind of restaurant that the neighborhood needs: table service, good food, decent prices, and great service. Located at the intersection of 3rd and Delaware just up the road a piece from the market, this is great alternative to the glorified fast food available down there.

The menu is a nice mix of high brow and low brow food. There are a few great salads, including my personal favorite, the Cobb. Whoever invented the glorious combination (Mr. Cobb?) of avocado, blue cheese and bacon is a culinary God. That’s like something I would invent if I came home drunk and hungry and happened to have such delicacies readily available. Anyhow, the Cobb is good at Delaware, with the notable exception of the vinaigrette — it was disturbingly thick and may have come from a gallon-sized plastic container. This makes me reluctant to try another kind. They need a simple but delicious homemade dressing, especially if you are paying ten bucks for a freaking salad.

The Fries are surprisingly good here–very lightly battered potato wedges. I know what you are thinking and let me assure you that these fries bear no similarity to battered fries you may have experienced elsewhere, delicious though they may be. Arby’s curly fries they are not. (remember that stupid idiotic oven mitt character?). Anyhow they have good soup as well and the sandwiches I’ve had were well above average. Speaking of which, this is not fast food and you will likely end up paying $15 bucks for lunch if you get a drink and leave a tip like the goodhearted person you are.

The Delaware takes up two storefronts, so they have plenty of space, even when it is hopping in the throes of lunch hour. There is also a nice patio on the north side of the building, but there was way too much sun out there last time I went. Like Harry’s, they need an umbrella at nearly every table.

In general, the Delaware is a good lunch spot, but you can’t get there late, since I think they close at 2pm. That’s actually a shame because they really should serve cocktails and stay open for dinner. They have a perfect set up for lounge-on-one side, dining-on-the other-side thing. Anyway, the real reason I like this place is because real cities have restaurants like this. It’s a locally owned, professionally run establishment that manages to avoid completely screwing things up and has a little bit of neighborhood character. That puts them pretty well ahead of the pack.

Tikka House: City Market

Posted by Dave at 8:58 pm

Jun 122007

It’s amazing how similar this place is to the Habashi House a few doors down. While ostensibly an “Indian” restaurant, Tikka House pays homage to the Mediterranean region in its humble offerings. It’s mostly lunch-type fare as you can imagine, with several types of Shawarma and curry sandwiches, sides like cucumber salad, rice, tahini salad. The food is about comparable to Habashi too, in terms of price, taste and speed.

The staff is incredibly friendly–and it’s amazing how much of a difference this makes. I’ll eat swill if they don’t treat me like a jerk. With the notable exception of Arthur Bryants. They could spit on my food right in front of me and I’d still eat it and like it.

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Harry’s Country Club: 112 E. Missouri

Posted by Dave at 7:09 pm

May 292007

Summer time is here, and so is people’s seemingly undying lust for outdoor seating. Enter Harry’s Country Club, an apparently beloved River Market area institution that features a large patio in addition to a decent sized dining/bar area. Because of this I was happy to see that Harry’s is indeed open for lunch. I’m not sure that this has always been the case, since I have a vague memory of standing outside looking forlorn last summer. But that happens a lot, and could have been elsewhere.

Anyway, the menu at Harry’s features all sorts of glorified bar food, and pretty darn good food at that. Really my only complaint is that there is virtually nothing healthy on the menu, except for salads. Let’s see Reuben, Burgers, Fish & chips, Fried Bologna, Patty Melt, Nachos–you see what I mean. That being said, you should just suck it up and get the glorious Reuben, because they do justice to this classic sandwich like few other establishments, in KC or anywhere. I’ve eaten a hell of a lot of Reubens (and have the LDL to prove it), and this, while not implemented in the uber-traditional fashion, is very taste-a-riffic. Their menu is online at http://www.kansascitymenus.com/harryscountryclub/menu.pdf

Harry’s does a nice lunch trade too, though most people, as expected, clamor for the outdoor seating. This is only problematic on sunny days, since there are far fewer umbrellas than tables. You can’t always count on being in the shade, which is pretty important for the fair skinned, the bald, and the generally weak-natured. The patio manages to be a nice place to eat, for it could easily feel like you’re eating in a parking lot. Or a monkey cage.

The food will take a bit longer than a 1/2 hour lunch break allows for so keep that in mind–or at least prepare a decent excuse for your lateness before you leave. Prices are about what you would expect from a place like this: A drink and a sandwich will set you back about $10-12 with tip. For the wildly irresponsible among us, Harry’s also offers a full bar and permits smoking. But even inside the place never struck me as particularly smoky during the lunch hour.

And best of all, Baby Cakes is right next door so after lunch you can grab some dessert to enjoy on the walk back to work.

Yelp

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Winslow’s BBQ: City Market

Posted by Dave at 10:38 pm

May 252007

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this place was actually good. See, that’s the nice thing about KC, a place like the City Market can have some crusty gems, even though it’s basically a tourist trap. No, not the best bbq is the city, but a hell of a lot better than you would expect. Winslows offers a nice selection of the usual fare, chicken, ribs, and sandwiches of the usual varieties. The have a number of good sides as well. Their sauce is pretty boring, sweetish and thick, quite unlike the incredibly outrageous, overly spiced and utterly delicious Arthur Bryant’s classic sauce or the balanced smokiness of Gates’ noble condiment. But they do a nice job on sandwiches at least, and they also offer them in large, medium and smalls.

Typical of bbq, the prices are higher than average grab and go lunch fare, but right in line with every other place in town. They also have a moderately seedy bar on one side where you can order a cold pale ale with your beef sandwich, an absolute necessity, particularly when a weekly staff meeting awaits your return to work.

Most people know Winslow’s as the place with all the outdoor seating. This is a really nice feature in the summer of course. Those of us consigned to cubicles in windowless nether regions of office buildings definitely need a daily injection of vitamin D whenever we can get it.

This place isn;t crowded at lunch time either, which is starting to become a theme for City market establishments. They must make all their money on Saturdays. It also raises the appeal quite a bit for me, because I don;t like people very much. Especially not when they are waiting in front of me taking a long time to order a freakin sandwich.

I’m also finding that the quickest way to eat lunch out is to go to a place with counter service, not waitstaff. When i am late getting back, it is without fail because I was waiting for some clueless server to bring my check, rather than waiting in line or actually waiting for my food.

Yelp

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Carollo’s Italian Deli: City Market

Posted by Dave at 2:30 pm

May 252007

I visited this place a few times on Saturdays, just to pick up some tasty Italian meats or a loaf of bread or whatever. Anyone who has been to a real Italian deli in a place like Boston or Philly or even Chicago will be a little disappointed in Carollo’s, but it’s a very nice, basic little store and deli counter that seems to fit KC’s status perfectly. Not great, but good. Not too big, but hey, at least we have one!

Recently I have been making an effort to patronize City market establishments in order to broaden my horizons. Basically I was getting so depressed eating subs, overpriced hamburgers and astonishingly mediocre Chinese food that I started eating healthy choice frozen dinners, food court sushi, and other unrecommended items to add a little variety. So off to the Market I go.

It’s really not that far either. Kansas City has a way of making places seem farther away than they really are. In this case, the giant interstate highway bisecting City market from downtown doesn’t hurt. But another factor (here comes the speech) is the fact that people drive everywhere. 39th street and Westport? That’s basically the same neighborhood people, you can walk from one to the other. Plaza and UMKC? Same deal. Certainly some questionable urban planning makes it difficult to navigate the walk sometimes. On my way back from City Market across the highway bridge at Main street, i discovered that the sidewalk basically ends, dumping you off in the middle of an intersection. Since I survived, I’ll take the other side of the bridge next time. All this is just to say that it’s crazy how this city compartmentalizes its development initiatives. The City market is a modest success-why not make the relatively simple effort to facilitate moving from downtown to that area? Widen and pretty up the bridge walkways for starters.

Looks like I need to start an urban development blog. Ugh, I’ll leave that to everyone else in town. I’m here to talk about Carollo’s. So as I was saying 3 paragraphs ago, I had been here, but not really realized that they served sandwiches. i just thought it was a place where you bought sliced meat and cheese. But I noticed that their sign advertised sandwiches and went in. There is no real established protocol for ordering, you just sort of catch someone’s attention. They seem basically confined to the brief list of sandwiches they have on the board. The guy who prepared my lunch was a 20 year old who spent half the time making my food and half chatting up some girl who wasn’t even buying anything. That’s the way the world works I guess. Anyhow, the whole thing took forever, but the guy was pleasant enough.

I think they have some little tables in there, but it’s really a to-go affair at Carollo’s. If the weather is nice you can sit outside at one of the tables, or toss the little torpedo in your bag and head back to work. Really quite civilized. The sandwich was damned good too, but loverboy went a bit overboard on the olive oil.

Yelp

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