Michael Smith

Have you all been to the Crossroads District lately? Granted we went on a First Friday, but it was busy!! There were people around! In downtown Kansas City. After dark! I haven't seen that in a long time. It really gives me hope for revitalizing downtown.

Anyway, I digress. We went to Michael Smith after hearing great things about it. One person I know said that when she and her husband went they cut their food into tiny bites so that it would last as long as possible. Now THAT'S a review.

I was however, slightly tentative on going. I've been to the restaurants he used to be at - American and 40 Sardines - and wasn't all that impressed. The American had pretty good food, but WAY overpriced for what it was. And it's in major need of a remodel, although the 80s are back in style again, so maybe mauve and brass will work for them. 40 Sardines was ... you know I can't remember the food. I just remember wanting to get out of there because it was so loud Scott and I couldn't hear each other. So, we walked in curious and not expecting to be blown away.

I love pleasant surprises.

First let me tell you that the feel of the place is perfect. It's definitely modern - exposed pipes and ducts, cement walls - but they softened the starkness that can come from such a contemporary place. The floors are carpeted, which helped the sound issue out a ton, and the cement walls were painted a warm blue/green/grey color (I'm sure the color has a name, but I'm a foodie not a decorator.) It's much more softened than 40 Sardines, but still no where near as stuffy as The American.

The menu isn't huge. It's darn right small in fact. But the food is interesting! In a good way. Not there's-no-way-I'm-going-to-eat-that interesting. Interesting in that it's food not seen on most menus. Not that I've seen anyway.

I chose to get 2 starters instead of an entree. I got a salad with cauliflower, arugula, and beets in a mustard vinaigrette and braised rabbit with homemade gnocchi. The salad is something I wouldn't have ever come up with in my own home. The flavors all complimented themselves so well. Very well composed. And the rabbit. Yum!! It reminded me of something from my childhood but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I think it was just a very well done comfort food that made me remember my childhood in general.

Scott got the 8-hour pork roast with risotto and fried zucchini. Every morsel on his plate was so tasty! And again, every element of the dish was complimentary. It would not have been the same meal if you would swap out a side.

All of this to say that Michael Smith is a talented man and I will follow him to any restaurant he opens.

Chaz

Going out for a great dinner is made even better when we get to do it with good friends! Although it does make it harder for me to remember to check out the place so I can write about it! Let's see what I can remember...
We went to Chaz - in the Raphael hotel on the plaza - during the Plaza Art Festival. Nutty time to go down to the plaza!
The inside is a little dated, but hey - it's an old hotel! The dining area is not one big room. It's set up very compartmentalized so it felt a bit more private. I liked that. (Although lesson learned - don't knock on the dividers to figure out what it's made of. The people on the other side will think you're knocking at them.
Dinner was so yummy! I ordered Osso Buco, because I try to order things you can't get just anywhere. It was yummy, of course. It's one of those great comfort foods!
Scott ordered my favorite foods - seared scallops with smoked tomato polenta (SO good) and asparagus. He even ordered my favorite dessert, creme brulee. I don't know why I didn't order these things. I think it's because I've been burned so many times thinking that if I order my favorite foods I'll love it. And then someone manages to botch them up and it's not good at all!
I'm becoming so cynical in my old age.

801 Chophouse

I gotta say, I have not been much of a fan of the food I've had at the Power and Light District so far. When we got a great deal on a gift certificate to 801 Chophouse, I figured it would just be overpriced, under-tasty steak. As a matter of fact I was so sure of this that I didn't even order a steak! I ordered a duck pasta dish, which was fine... but boy did I make a mistake!
Scott ordered a steak (rib eye of course), green beans, and mashed potatoes. Oh. My.
The steak could not have been cooked better. Makes my mouth water just thinking of it.
Often the sides are an afterthought at restaurants. Mushy. Nasty. Not here! The green beans were phenomenal!! They had 1/2-inch cubes of bacon in them!!! And the mashed potatoes were just as memorable with probably just as much heavy cream in them as potatoes. Not diet food for sure. But super tasty!
This is a pricey restaurant. I would strongly recommend getting a cheap gift certificate and using it here! I think the steak alone was $37.
Would I go again?
Definitely. But next time I'm getting the steak.

Avenues Bistro

Oh ... What a find!

Avenues Bistro is another find from Check Please, Kansas City (the PBS show you really should check out).

Let me first say this. I have been mourning the loss of my all-time favorite KC restaurant, Sienna Bistro for a long time. No other restaurant I have been to has ever come close to them. Until now.

Avenues Bistro is a little place that you might miss if you're not looking for it. It's on the corner of a row of shops in quaint Brookside. From the outside, it looks so small. I assumed it was going to be super-small inside. But it is way bigger inside once you get into the dining room. There was a huge age range - from a bitty baby to the large group of high schoolers out for prom to the "experienced" diners.

There are so many good looking things on the menu that it was truly difficult to pick. So... I picked the first item and I'm already planning on going back to keep trying more things! Thought was put into this food. It wasn't just thrown together for you to not enjoy. There were layers of flavor and reasons for each of those flavors to be there.

If I lived in Brookside (a little dream of mine...) I honestly would go to Avenues Bistro often.

This is truly good food!

Blanc Burgers and Bottles

Oh boy did tonight's restaurant hit a craving for me!

I tried out Blanc Burgers + Bottles tonight in Westport. Have you been here yet?? Ya gotta check it out.

You can guess by the name what they serve. Burgers, right? And a TON of different beers. Lots to try from and our server was very helpful in picking one out. This is not your average American hamburger place where the meat is so processed and has so many fillers that you can't really tell that it's beef. This is GOOD meat with GOOD flavors added to it - not to hide what it's not, but to accentuate what it is.

I had the Inside Out Burger with blue cheese, bacon, and an onion ring right on it. I don't believe there are regular hamburger buns here. Mine was served on a brioche bun. Everything to add a kick to the flavor.

There is lots of character in here! The sides were served in mini metal shopping carts. Cute.

And a definite re-visit.

Em Chamas

I have always wanted to go to a Brazilian restaurant, a churrascaria. The concept was intriguing.
So when Em Chamas came to Kansas City - and to the Northland even! - I knew we had our chance!

Have you ever been to a churrascaria? Here's the basic set up. When you get there, you receive a little round card. As long as you have it facing up they will bring you all sorts of different types of rotisserie meat, still on their skewers. They shave a little piece of it off for you and you get a little sampling of everything you want. When you scream uncle and can take no more, you flip your round card over and they take mercy on you. Scott was pretty excited at taking this restaurant on!

You don't just get meat here. There is also a "gourmet bar" that you can visit as many times as you would like. I actually liked this more than the meat! There were some things there that I've never seen on a salad bar before. Lots of seafood and vegetables done so perfectly.

Would I go again? This place falls under the category of "we'd go if another couple asked us to go there with them." What do I call that?? And if we did go, I'd probably just get the gourmet bar.

This place is a little pricey but you get a TON of food for your money - if you want. If you aren't hungry, don't bother! And if you don't have elastic pants.

Cafe Cedar

We wanted to keep our Valentine's dinner low key. I'm not a huge fan of going out to dinner Valentine's night - the food isn't usually as good I think. So, we went to Cafe Cedar. I don't think this building was always a restaurant. I know before it was Cafe Cedar it was The Skillet. And I'm pretty sure some of The Skillet's fixtures are still there. For example, there's a little red convertible in the middle of the dining room. With serving dishes in it. We're guessing that it came with the place, and no one wants to put the effort into getting it out.
The food was great! We got a combination appetizer plate that had hummus, falafil, baba ghonouj, stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie and tabbouleh, served with warm pita bread. Neither of us had tried any of that before, except the hummus. Everything was so good on there. My favorite was the falafil. Scott loved the hummus.
For dinner I had the Sultan Chicken. It had pieces of chicken, potatoes, almonds, pine nuts, and raisins baked in phyllo dough. The flavors were great, but it was a little dry. Scott had a beef ka bob which was cooked perfectly.
I would definitely go back there again. Soon. I'm craving that falafil right now. Yum!