Restaurant: Seasons 52 Location: 340 Ward Pkwy, Plaza Food: American, healthy bent Service: Traditional Waitstff Atmosphere: Biz Casual Dining Price: Apps Rating: two napkins
The kind folks at O'Neill Events and Seasons 52 invited me back recently to try their winter menu (*free food alert! My whole meal was comped). I apreciated the offer and gladly accepted, wanting to experience the restaurant on a normal night with other patrons filling the place.
When we arrived for our 7:00 Friday night reservation, the restaurant was packed. The bar/lounge on the West end of the space was filled with a crowd of well-to-do looking people, warm and smiling, enjoying a glass of wine before their food. A woman played piano and sang... pleasantly, for the most part.
We were quickly seated in a booth in the main dining room which was almost entirely full, buzzing with conversation, clinking of glasses and forks on plates... the kind of commotion in which I like to be enveloped when eating out.
The invite explained the highlights to of the new menu:
"From hearty root vegetables such as butternut squash and golden beets, to delectable fruits such as grapefruit and pear, Seasons 52’s winter menu is full of refined flavors. By utilizing natural cooking techniques, such as wood-fire grilling, brick-oven cooking and roasting, winter’s freshest produce shines on the new menu in memorable dishes that enable diners to celebrate living well."
Because this was a free meal, we felt like the restaurant would probably want to feature the bright points so we started the affair by asking for our server's recommendation, which was the best thing we could have done.
She started us with the Spicy Chipotle Shrimp Flatbread. They specialize in these things at S52 but, admittedly, I'm always skeptical of flatbread. It usually comes off like wannabe pizza. Filler. What you normally get is a piece of flat, dry, stale toast with some Parmesan and herbs. Maybe a veggie or two, but that's it.
Not the case here. What struck me was that this one had such a fun combination of flavors! Flatbread usually makes me want pizza. This basically was a pizza. Studded with pineapple, roasted poblano pepper, feta cheese and succulent, plump shrimp, then drizzled with chipotle sauce and garnished with cilantro, it almost had the flavor of tacos al pastor sub seafood for pork. It had me thinking and feeling Baja, which is a good thing.
Our other appetizer selection was the Ahi tuna. And whereas the flatbread was so well-engineered, the tuna was appropriately simple. They set before us a rectangular plate of five beautiful, deeply colored, rare slices of tuna, barely seared on the outside and garnished with typical sushi accoutrements (plus wildly unnecessary multi-grain crackers which I ignored). It was exactly what I'd wanted. Cold, fresh, delicious.
For entrees, we honed in on the Specials and kept the seafood theme alive. First, I had the swordfish. It's a pretty solid bet, swordfish is. Probably won't knock your socks off, but it's a predictable, meaty steak of a fish that won't leave you hungry. Seasons 52's preparation is a grilled steak resting atop a tiny bed of shrimp risotto. Keeping all menu items under 475 calories, the risotto was less than plentiful, as I expected. But it added just enough starch to serve its purpose. I would've liked more, but certainly didn't need it.
To call the rice risotto was a bit of a stretch, though. I'm not even sure it was made with arborio rice. Seemed more like regular short grain rice with a lot of creamy substance in it. But, again, it was nothing to complain about.
Around the outside of my dish were steamed veggies which caused me to think: I could have made these at home. But that simple fact notwithstanding, they were steamed nicely which is to say al dente. Not overdone.
The fruity sauce atop the fish served its purpose of lubricating that thick piece of grilled fish. I have misgivings about the sauces at Seasons 52... no butter, no cream... what's in them? But I can't say there was anything bad or wrong with it. It was just suspiciously healthy tasting, I suppose. And that's what the whole plate can be characterized as. Adequate, but suspiciously healthy.
On the side, we got a small plate of the shrimp, lump crab and spinach-stuffed mushrooms. After eating one, let's just say they were ambitiously entitled. They were spinach and Parmesan mushrooms with a light contribution of shellfish. Hardly enough to bare mentioning, in reality. And a stuffed mushroom is a fatally flawed food-item in my opinion anyway as the mushrooms are almost always overly watery in the mouth. Pretty mediocre.
Elizabeth ordered the Grilled Cobia Curry for her entree. It was plated very similarly to my dish, the grilled fish sitting atop and surrounded by veg, all covered in sauce. She truly enjoyed it. I found it pretty mediocre, the curry being my biggest hang up. It didn't really taste of curry. It was a mixture of spices and, again, some kind of fruitiness (I think maybe they use some kind of pureed fruit to build their sauces and keep them healthy), but wasn't taking me anywhere in Asia, we'll just say.
Her side was a plate of crescent-shaped roasted golden beets with a wasabi dipping sauce. It was an interesting thought, the fibrous, earthy beets offset by the burn of the wasabi cream. But it was a little too extreme, the beets being too plain and dry and the wasabi sauce too one-note and spicy to slather the hunks of beet adequately. Definitely wouldn't recommend or get them again.
Seasons 52 keeps on going with their shot glass desserts, 275 calories or less. And they should. They taste great and so many diners want an inexpensive, small dessert option like this. I applaud the idea and think every restaurant ought to have small, affordable desserts like this available. We tried four and I feel no embarrassment in saying so. All were good. Not mind blowing, but just what we wanted. For the record, they were mocha macchiato, pecan pie, key lime and German chocolate. Try them out.
In the end, my impression of Seasons 52 is unchanged. On the one hand, I appreciate the healthier options and preparations. Nothing really sucks on the menu. On the other hand, is there really any incentive to go to a restaurant with twenty dollar fish entrees that are pretty darn forgettable?
Here's what I say: there are plenty of diners out there who eat out a lot and get tired of menus full of nothing but rich, indulgent options. Business travelers flood the plaza every week and many of them are forced to eat out and want something tasty but reasonably healthy. Seasons 52 gives them that option. You can find better food at a better price in this city but you can't find any restaurant with the upscale atmosphere and balance of healthier/good-tasting food they have.
So I must applaud Seasons 52 on filling a void many of us recognized but for which we didn't have a good resolution. I'd love to see a local place open up, serve the same niche and gain favor with Kansas Citians, but until then, Seasons 52 will stay on my radar each time I have clients in town for my nine-to-five job.
Restaurant: Gram & Dun Location: 600 Ward Parkway, Country Club Plaza, KC MO Food: Upscale Gastropub Service: Traditional Waitstaff Atmosphere: GastroChic Price: Starters/Salads $6-$15, Entrees $15-$30 Rating: Two napkins
There's plenty of hubbub about this new restaurant in the former Baja 600 location on the south end of the Plaza, Gram & Dun. And with good reason.
Admittedly, I was as pumped up as anyone about it for a couple distinct reasons: A) it's not a chain and B) its ownership, Bread & Butter Concepts, is responsible for two other respectable places in town, BRGR and Urban Table, both in the PV/Corinth area.
Glass-lighting effect added by me - not part of the table.
Bread & Butter has attached the term "gastropub" to Gram & Dun, essentially meaning it's loosely derived on a traditional pub concept (featuring libations) but is consciously dialing up the emphasis on its food (ergo "gastro"). After perusing the menu, I'd say it's a super-gastro gastropub as the food menu was much larger than I expected and the beers and wines, though also numerous, perhaps a hair less impressive in comparison.
Don't get me wrong, there's lots of booze to choose from--50ish beers and even more wines--but if you rule out the stuff you can find at your local grocery store, it's not jaw-dropping. So my first impression, after parking ourselves at a small two-top in the appropriately noisy bar area some 90 minutes earlier than our projected seating time, was to be slightly underwhelmed at the pub element.
I was in a wintery state of mind on this brisk night on the plaza, having just giggled at the tourists freezing in their carriage rides, and for some reason, to me, that means whiskey (as I write I'm enjoying a bourbon slush). So I picked up the cocktail menu and decided to try their sazerac. Man, did that hit the spot. Elizabeth opted for a Ginger Rogers with mint leaves, ginger syrup, gin, lime juice, ginger ale and lime wedge garnish. It was a nice crisp counter to my warmer, darker drink. And in the classy, dark, swank and positively buzzing surroundings, we were happy.
Soon, some busty, blonde, ditzy ladies grabbed the table next to us... either dressed up strippers or KC socialite/scenesters... the type who perpetually date Chiefs players and will only be seen at the city's current hot spot. Their hundred-dollar-Nordstrom-shirted male counterparts never joined them at the table--they stayed nearer the bar engaging in real man conversation and, generally, to be seen in the epicenter of the newest and arguably most popular restaurants in the city. I mention this only in an attempt to convey a little about what it feels like to be in the bar at G&D right now. This is the frequent clientele. Not a bad thing but humorously predictable and, over time, when they migrate to the next new hot spot, I expect Gram & Dun will take on a slightly more, shall we say, approachable tonality.
Service was very slow but not so bad as to draw ire. Here's what we ordered for food:
Shishito peppers to start. We'd had these mild, skinny peppers at Ra and Girl & The Goat (Chicago) and thoroughly enjoyed them. Here, they were battered and flash-fried, which was great for one or two, but the bowl of peppers at Gram & Dun is humongous and they were thoroughly salted (thoroughly). Given our porcine-like refusal to limit our gastro-intake, we ploughed through the whole bowl, I'm ashamed to say, and were over greased and over salted immediately thereafter.
See what I mean about the size of the chips?
Bad timing, then, to start in on a bowl of homemade potato chips, each the size of my face. Thankfully the chips weren't mercilessly salty like the shishitos, but they didn't help the cause either. With the chips were three very inspired dipping concoctions: smooth guacamole, vanilla bean-enhanced tomato ketchup and spicy blood orange and habanero ketchup. They all worked despite my skepticism of the vanilla ketchup. Wouldn't want a lot of the stuff but as a counterpoint to the others, I really liked it.
The next item was supposed to be a green reprieve from Saltyfriedville - Brussels sprouts salad - but it failed to play the palette cleansing role we needed. The salad was yet another big bowl, this one full of shaved/shredded Brussels sprouts leaves, Manchego, celery, cranberries, walnuts and arugula, supposedly covered in a lemon vinaigrette though we failed to notice it much. After eating the few bites of the salad I had, I'm convinced Brussels sprouts shouldn't ever be the sole green used in a leafy salad. A mouthful of the stuff was unpleasantly textured, almost like a mixture of softened fingernails, raw kale and hair (this coming from a guy who LOVES Brussels sprouts done well). Okay, maybe that's a little over-the-top. But with each bite the salad seemed less and less edible. I think we each stopped after about three and plopped a napkin on top of the bowl to signal we were done with it. Yes, more vinaigrette may have been in order but wouldn't have cleansed the textural sins in that bowl. Bummer.
Fried, fried fried!
So, we dragged ourselves, parched and withered, toward an entirely unnecessary and abysmally selected (on our part as meal-assemblers) shrimp po' boy. Had we known the Brussels sprouts salad would've come up so short, we would have changed this order or nixed it altogether. Not only did the plate plunked down in front of us contain super salty friend shrimp, it was piled high with deep fried potato wedges. (Listen to me, complaining over my own poorly chosen indulgences and their calories which could sustain 10 human lives for a month when there are so many hungry people in the world.) We wrestled down a few bites and called it a nigh, not really noticing the jalapeno aioli or apple slaw that should've balanced the breadiness of the sandwich and friend shrimp.
Main dining area
Reading the preceding, you'd think my impression of Gram & Dun was not great. And while I admit I think they skew a little too heavy/salty on the food selections, I bear the brunt of the responsibility for ordering items that were too similarly prepared. Were I to do it over again, I'd still have the peppers to start (eating only 50% of the bowl with my companion) and then go into a different salad (Sangria?), perhaps indulging again on an entree that was not deep fried.
Taken in bar area looking toward south wing
There are lots of things on the menu I'd like to go back and try including the wild boar sloppy joe, shrimp and grits, loaded baked potato gnocchi and pork belly. But when I do, I'll be sure not to order and eat them all in one sitting.
A friend recently summed up the Bread & Butter Concepts restaurants well to me in saying that "none of their food is all that great but they do an impressive job of creating an atmosphere people want to be in. And the food's good enough to make for an enjoyable time." In the case of Gram & Dun this seems mostly true. I owe it the due diligence of a restaurant reviewer and to go try some more of the food before passing my full judgment. But based on what I've seen so far, I'm mostly impressed and employing a little more strategy in the ordering process, expect to like this place plenty.
Restaurant:Seasons 52 Location:340 Ward Pkwy (Plaza) Food: Traditional American cuisine Service: Traditional waitstaff Atmosphere: Traditional upscale chain Price: Apps $6-$12, Entrees $15-$26, Desserts $2.50 Rating: TBD
Seasons 52, the new restaurant opening in the old Eddie Bauer space on the Plaza, started off on the wrong foot with the people of Kansas City, electing, at first, to remodel some of the exterior of the building to something more contemporary and less Spanish-inspired than the rest of the Plaza’s iconic architecture. Understanding it to be a chain restaurant with several other locations across the country, I was surprised they actually heeded the cry of the annoyed plaza patrons and nixed the alterations.
Then in another surprising move, I got an invitation to a bloggers’ preview lunch of sorts, to come try the menu, meet the chef, their on-staff Master Sommelier and see the remodeled space. Yes, it was complimentary, so I must disclose that up-front. But let me share with you my opinions. After all, that was the point of the whole thing.
The event took place at 11:30 last Saturday. We walked in and were immediately greeted by name (impressive), introduced to the managerial staff and handed champagne. I had my camera in tow and they advised that first we would be taken on a champagne tour and picture-taking was, indeed encouraged. Immediate impressions of the space were A) warm and comfortable, B) wholly unsurprising for a chain restaurant serving seasonally-inspired American fare. Reddish-hued wood, typically uninspired fabrics (and particularly tacky animal print-ish bar stool seat covers), but pleasant overall. And I did appreciate the "Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired" touches visible in their use of horizontal wood slats that created modern-looking walls between rooms. Gave the place a little character and needed freshness. The kitchen was moderately exposed, with gleaming stainless steel, white dishes and the lovely scent of a wood-burning grill wafting through the air. A nice touch.
There’s a big bar area to the left upon entering, plenty of seats around it (think Houston’s bar area but with much more space). Then a big dining room to the south of the east of the entrance and a big private room for business meetings (projector and screen built-in for those unlucky enough to get roped into a serious lunch meeting). Seasons 52 is definitely (and smartly) working hard to appeal to the business crowd and for a chain, that makes all the sense in the world. Straight back, behind the entrance and just outside the kitchen is the chef’s table, a private dining area for special reservations.
After our tour, my fellow bloggers and I were herded into the bar area, introduced to and toasted by the staff, and then ushered into the main dining room and seated together at a big table in the middle. I grinned as the waiter helped me with my chair and I looked across the table, covered in no fewer than six wine glasses per place-setting for our upcoming wine samplings. Wine is a major focus for Seasons 52, employing the services of Master Sommelier George Miliotes. Mr. Miliotes was present throughout the meal, effectively serving as our wine tour guide, explaining each of the pairings, what was to like about it, where it came from including specifically relevant tidbits about the vineyards and vintners themselves. His presences was a treat and I appreciated his straight-forward answer to my question for further information about biodynamic wine-making and its quizzical standards.
As I segue into my descriptions of the meal, I have to start out with what was, to me, a shocking and lovely revelation about the menu at Seasons 52: nothing is over 475 calories! I didn’t know that about their menu going into it and learning this blew my preconceived notions about their food out of the water. Standard chain-restaurant practice has conditioned me to anticipate massive portions of abominably fatty foods. Only 475 calories? This was impressive in principle alone. Would the food be able to stand up to our expectations of good taste, though?
We started with an amuse bouche (which diners at the Chef’s table will also be served) that I loved: an Asian-style soup spoon filled with a very simple but crafty pop of flavors: pico de gallo with a small flaked piece of trout that smelled of the smoky wood from the wood-burning grill, and a dollop of avocado mousse which our decidedly un-pretentious chef Cliff Pleau admitted to be “guacamole.” The ingredients and combination didn’t surprise me or knock my socks off, but it tasted great.
Following the amuse we jumped right into my favorite thing of the day, seafood. A cedar plank dressed with sprigs of thyme was topped with a glossy piece of organic salmon, a perfectly cooked scallop and a mixture of veggies including golden beets, carrot, asparagus, green beans, peppers and a ring of caramelized red onion. The entire plate was divine… sweet seafood and well-cooked veg all working together with light essences of cedar and thyme to accent each bite. This is the kind of food I wish I could eat a lot more often.
Somewhat oddly, we took a step back after the seafood course for salad. But it was an unctuous, hearty salad. A huge pile of baby arugula came perched in the middle of a white plate, contained by a transparent cylinder tower. After the plates were set before us, the servers removed the tower allowing the greens to relax and spread out, exposing the other ingredients including pistachios, mushrooms, shaved parmesan and wafting through the air was the luxurious scent of truffle oil, mixed into the dressing. I'm a total sucker for arugula and parmesan and, when applied appropriately, truffle. All worked together perfectly in this "meaty" tasting salad. I loved its substance and savory, earthy flavors and would most definitely order this upon return or recommend it to friends and (hah!) readers.
Next was a pasta course, two big goat cheese-filled ravioli in a pool of tomato broth, topped with lots of fresh basil and with fresh tomato on the side. The pasta was nice. Personally, I didn't feel goat cheese made the best of fillings, only because it's low in moisture and, to me, less-satisfying to devour than a more gooey cheese filling would have been. But I loved the simple, well-done tomato broth and overall clean presentation. (It would have been nice if my server hadn't sloppily laid this plate down, splashing the broth up onto the rim of the plate, though. Ruined the photo op.)
Then came the heartiest of the lunch plates, one item from their lunch "meat" menu and one from the dinner menu: Piedmontese sirloin steak and quail, respectively. Chef Pleau spent a good amount of time describing his relationship with the farmers in Nebraska who raise the Piedmontese steak for him. It was a good sell and the meat was truly delicious, as well as healthier and leaner than a lot of corn-fed beef. The quail, as quail tends to be, was miniscule. Cute, tiny little legs with about one good bite on each. Again, I liked it but was left exceedingly curious as to what the portion of meat would be if I ordered just that as my main meal.
The rest of the meat plate, though, left a little something to be desired. Each meat came with its own sauce. The sauce on the beef tasted like any plain old brown gravy I'd ever had, masking the flavor of the meat too much and reminding me of cafeteria food. And the bourbon chili glaze on the quail had little discernible flavor. It was somewhat sweet but I detected no bourbon or chili.
The sides on this plate ware brussels sprouts – one of my favorite vegetables – and a sweet potato mash. Again, they were lacking as compared to the rest of the food we'd eaten that day. The mash had a little sour cream in it and nothing else. Chef Pleau explained he doesn't believe in making them overly-sweet with things like marshmallows or a sugary topping like so many families do with their sweet potatoes at the holidays – great, me neither – but it was a bit of a cop out to just add some sour cream to smooth them out and then drop 'em on the plate. I'd like to see a chef challenge himself a little more to do something else with them aside from just not doing what everyone else does. They were bland and still a little too sweet. The roasted brussels weren't bad but they, too, were so simply prepared that unfortunately even my own home-cooked version outshone them. What really makes brussels sprouts special is when they get charred and have that extra depth of flavor added to their naturally earthy, peppery taste. Chef's comment was that everyone's mother overcooked brussels sprouts and ruined them for us when we were young. I don't think he did much better with them. They weren't overcooked, but left a lot to be desired. Overall, the food on this particular plate just wasn't of a high enough restaurant quality to make me want to order it on a return trip.
So then dessert. And here things got back on the right track. Seasons 52's desserts are a delectable assortment of little square shot glasses filled with all sorts of classic flavors like Key Lime Pie and Rocky Road. They were the perfect size (meaning reasonable) and at only $2.50 each, a truly smart idea. I'd contend that everyone wants a little dessert after their meal but so often we don't buy them at restaurants because they're too big to be eaten with a clear conscience or too pricey to be worth it. More places ought to rethink their dessert menus this way.
I don't have time and you don’t have the desire to read about all of the wine pairings. There was one for each course. The whites were decent, the reds were sublime. No doubt the wine menu has perfectly adequate options for whatever you're eating.
Overall, lasting impressions: Seasons 52 is a chain restaurant that doesn't run from being one. It capitalizes on accepting that fact. I think they know they're catering a little more to a business and out-of-town crowd than the locals. I appreciate the healthy menu selections and found a lot of what I ate to be quite good. It's not the type of place I look forward to visiting, personally, but I can't knock it for doing what it does. It'll probably do just fine. And I appreciated the free meal. Thanks for the preview, Seasons 52.
Rating: TBD (I don't rate special events like this as I feel it's not a true representation of the typical diner's experience. Perhaps sometime in the future on my own dime.)
In late October, I wrote that Dog Nuvo might turn out to be the shortest-lived restaurant I’d ever reviewed. Five months later, thankfully, that has turned out not to be the case.
A legal battle over ownership of the Dog Nuvo concept ensued, then, between chefs/restaurateurs Marshall Roth and Harry Blasco and their former employer in Independence, Ken McClain, but quickly thereafter dissipated, becoming removed from public view.
With that speed bump behind it, Dog Nuvo has since moved forward expanding into the rest of its space at 1724 Main St, becoming a full service dining room with a wait staff serving the dogs and sides, as well as booze and coffee. I returned to Dog Nuvo recently to follow up on my initial review and check out the finished product.
Dog Nuvo is now basically split in two, with a walk up counter for takeout orders to the south, and the sit-down restaurant to the North. An open door connects the two, so they’re not completely independent. The servers walk between the two sides in order to pickup orders from the kitchen and deliver them to their tables.
Maintaining the quick service counter was smart, in my opinion. A hot dog place should have a speed component to it and Dog Nuvo has that covered. But the sit-down restaurant is what delivers on the “haute dog” concept that Dog Nuvo was about from the beginning, so we parked ourselves there, next to the floor-to-ceiling windows just inside the front door. It was a tastefully decorated joint, and comfortable, as well, with modern-styled chairs and tables, a west wall made of large planks of reclaimed wood, with splashes of electric blue light from two wide, upward turned fixtures. It’s vibrant and fun; a great fit for a trendy, progressive hot dog spot downtown.
The bar seems like a little bit of a stretch to me. I wouldn’t mind an ice-cold Boulevard beer with my dog, but I don’t see myself coming in for a Jack and Coke anytime soon. But maybe that’s just me.
Given the small dining room, our server had no trouble keeping up with us. She was attentive but not bothersome. The staff seemed to get it; they’re serving hot dogs, not eight course tasting menus, so the task is simply to keep folks comfortable and give them an experience that’s a clear cut above fast food.
We started our lunch with a selection from the Starters menu: the Pierogies. For $3.75 we got a little foil pouch with two potato and mozzarella pierogies, pan fried and steaming hot, with a large dollop of sweet tomato jam resting atop a pretty basil leaf on the side. Delicious cheesiness oozed out of each savory bite, which was nicely livened up by the tart tomato jam. I could’ve eaten a dozen of these things or more, but at $1.75 for each additional, I decided to hold back. Worth $3.75? Tough call. But they were, indeed, tasty so I didn’t regret having them.
Elizabeth and I wolfed down two dogs. I had the Mac ‘n Cheese Dog, which was a traditional hot dog in a pretzel bun topped with a pile of tantalizingly gooey cheese and pillowy macaroni. For texture and saltiness there were bacon crumbles on top, and an added bite came from chopped scallions. It was a beautiful looking plateful, cleanly presented and immediately inducing a strong salivary reaction.
Tasted decent, too. The smooth texture of the mac ‘n cheese on top was sinful and the garnishes were just the right touch. But both the mac and the hot dog lacked, for me, a little flavor. For some reason the cheese involved with the mac was a little muted as far as taste goes, and my initial gripe about cooking the hot dogs sous vide was reinforced with this dog. Some flattop or actual charcoal grill flavor would do the DN franks a world of good.
Moreover, this, and I think most dogs at Dog Nuvo, actually seemed like it was more about the topping than it was about the hot dog, both due its lack of grilled flavor in the context of each bite, as well as its diminutive stature. …What I’m trying to say is that the wieners are too small, okay?! Still, the Mac ‘n Cheese dog was delicious and I do recommend it despite these remaining points of contention.
Contrasting the smooth texture of each massive bite of pasta, cheese, beef and bun were crunchy bites of truffle and asiago potato chips. These slightly thick, hugely crunchy chips were dressed with just the right amount of unctuous truffle oil to give them a rich, earthy odor and taste. The asiago cheese, too, added a tangy, luxe component to the chips that made them some of the best fried spud wafers I’d ever had.
Elizabeth surprised me and went for the Blue Pig, a regular hot dog smothered in buffalo sauce and maytag blue cheese mustard with big melted crumbles of blue cheese and garnished with a sprinkle of finely sliced celery. Cute, right? Everything one likes in a basket of buffalo wings, all perched atop a hot dog. Love it. (Note, the recipe appears to have been altered since the online menu was created. Looks like, originally, it was topped with crispy fried shallots instead of celery. We both liked the green component, too, for the same reason I like knowing on one or two of the sticks of celery in a basket of wings. Palette cleanser.)
This guy suited me more than Elizabeth. I’m a blue cheese fiend but she finds it overpowering if heavily applied. And it was. The crumbles were generously large and flavorful enough themselves, but the mustard sauce, too, had that earthy blue cheese twang that doubled up the crumbles. So the cheese blew her out of the water. Would’ve been better with more buffalo sauce, less mustard. Here again, though, if someone walked up and handed me this hot dog while I was walking down Main Street, no matter the time of day or the current state of my appetite, without hesitating to think, I’d demolish the thing happily. I liked it.
Around us, the tables were all full. It was a random Saturday afternoon and the dining room was keeping busy. A good sign for Dog Nuvo.
I find myself rooting for this place to survive. It’s in a tough spot, but I think the concept makes just enough sense to pull through if costs aren’t too terribly high. Not only do they cater to leisurely diners as well as take-and-go business lunchers, they also now offer delivery in the crossroads and city market areas. While folks with whom I work are big fans of Clay’s Curbside Grill, myself included, I can see factions from the south side of I-35 getting into a Dog Nuvo habit pretty easily. So I’m happy in believing that this wiener workshop will win out.
Walking into The Westside Local at 9:00 Saturday night, I had no idea what to expect. I’d seen the dining room before, but only passing through from the beer garden to the front door as we were leaving. Never as a diner. What I was eager to know was whether anyone would be there?
I don’t hear a lot of chatter about the place, though what I do typically hear is generally good. Had it gained a reputation good enough to lure diners from the crossroads and hold its own just caddy-corner from Blue Bird Bistro at 17th and Summit?
The buzz and bustle of the dining room that flooded our senses as soon as we cracked the front door and peered through the front curtains was our definitive answer. It was dark, warm, the music was loud and every table appeared to be filled. The bar area to the left, too, held several drinkers. Good thing we’d made a reservation.
The host showed us to a small four top, slightly hidden by an old vertical wood beam near the middle of the dining room. I sat with a view of the west side of the room, looking all the way back to the partially open kitchen. There were couples of all kinds: young, old, straight, gay, hipster and homely. Back by the restrooms there was a large group laughing boisterously. The music blared loudly, yet Elizabeth and I could hold a conversation without feeling strained. It was fun and we were instantly glad to be there.
It was quite dark at WL so I had to use my
blaringly bright flash on some of these
photos. My apologies for the low quality.
The menu at Westside Local is quite small, an understandable consequence of their dedication to using local products. I’m a big fan of the $2 Localities menu that features cheeses, charcuterie, beers and other small bites, but on this trip we were investigating the dinner menu, so we leap-frogged down to the real starters.
Ironically, we couldn’t say no to the deviled eggs for $6, thought they’re one of the items on the Localities list, and we’d already had them. Funny how it’s hard not to go back for a good thing. This time around, the deviled eggs were surprisingly plain. Dressed up with parsley vinaigrette, smoked paprika aioli and local microgreen we expected some flavors to pop, but these almost seemed pretty normal. Still, they were tasty little devils and I have a strong suspicion I’ll be ordering them again.
The salad we had next was exceptional. I love arugula and my only gripe about arugula salads at restaurants is that they can sometimes be too stemmy. Too grassy. This arugula was super tender and had a subtle bite to it. Mixed in were crunchy pieces of apple, deliciously pungent maytag blue cheese and roasted grapes. Everything was dressed with a sour cherry vinaigrette that cut through the blue cheese nicely, and on the side was a small piece of sticky, sweet and salty pumpkin seed brittle. Nice but unnecessary. A little too much geared toward dessert in my opinion.
Westside Local is a beer and wine joint, which sounds lame at first when one considers the high caliber cocktails coming out of so many other good restaurants in town these days, but their lists are superb. Fans of obscure, highly regarded beers, in particular, will have a field day with these selections. Upon Elizabeth’s recommendation, I ordered that night’s special beer, the Lagunita’s Hairy Eyeball ale, a 9.0% abv dark brown, sweet beer that reminded me of Boulevard’s Sixth Glass. It was a little strong with the eggs and salad, but a fantastic pair with my entrée, the Westside Roast Beef.
My French dip was almost everything one hopes for in a classic roast beef sandwich. The huge roll was soft and crusty, covered with gooey Emmentaler cheese. The thinly shaved beef was the star, though. Incredibly tender, it absolutely melted in the mouth. And just to guarantee the ideal, soft, salty bite, I plunged each deep into my pool of au jus.
The only thing lacking in this roast beef sandwich was the bite of horseradish. The au jus was listed as "molasses-horseradish au jus," but I couldn’t detect either of those two decidedly recognizable flavors in it. Still, I was supremely satisfied with this sandwich, and utterly stuffed. Somewhere throughout the process of devouring the sandwich and forkfuls of tiny-diced potato salad (with hints of mustard coarse grain mustard) I ordered a glass of the house red to combat the salt, which turned out to be a good choice, as well.
All the while, Elizabeth, too, enjoyed the red with her huge plateful of quinoa. If quinoa sounds too boring of an order for a fun restaurant like Westside Local, fear not. For added textures and flavors, the super grain was loaded up with roasted butternut squash, tart dried cherries, green beans, funky little Brussels sprouts, Parmesan cheese and arugula. I liked it all but the cherries, which made sense theoretically – acidic and sweet to cut the other starchy, savory ingredients – but another dried fruit, less intense and sweet, could’ve paired better.
Did we need dessert? Yeah, we needed dessert. Specifically, we needed bread pudding. So we got some. Truth be told, I don’t even remember what was in it. But it was sweet, smooth, a little eggy, a little chewy, topped with delicious ice cream with a bright red line of raspberry coulis running beneath on the pretty rectangular plate. It was the ending for which we hoped.
So chalk The Westside Local up as another in Kansas City’s growing list of truly cool places. Not only does it have the absolute best beer garden experience during happy hour, it also boasts a chic, energetic dining room in the night hours. With the lights low and the music up, it vibrates with the energy of a restaurant that’s hit its sweet spot.
