Tour De Dalzell - Part 1

Three hungry men, and the hopes of a unique foodie adventure fall before the vintage steel contraptions, fastened somewhere in the late 70's. The only thing holding back the fiery souls was the uncertainty of the road ahead. Never before, has the Tour De Dalzell been attempted, especially in the heat of a 95 degree day, and with about 50 pounds worth of gear.

We have our proper uniform attire, which includes classic blazers and properly fitted button-ups. Our bikes are fine-tuned and more than ready to hit the pavement of the beautiful Kansas City. The tour starts at the monumental Nelson Art Gallery where the three tour patrons and competitors, Ryan Maybee, Jimmy Keown, and Paul Manning gather. The goal of the tour is not to win, but rather to experience a world of cuisine in the quaint artistic Crossroads Neighborhood. Yes, the Tour De Dalzell is an ode to one of the fine chefs that makes the food scene more exciting and original in Kansas City. Rob Dalzell once had a dream, and that dream has come to life in the development of his five wonderfully diverse eateries, ranging from fast food style to fine dining.

Guided by Ryan Maybee we were able to experience Rob Dalzell's creations with great enthusiasm that delighted the taste buds.

This, is Part 1

We flew through the heated streets of midtown, catching up each other's lives and remarking on the beauty of the Midwest city we call home. We reach the top of Main Street just before the great descent through Crown Center Plaza. As the sweat (appetizing?...) began to roll down our faces we hit the long downhill to the Crossroads neighborhood. No more pedaling, just the relaxation of a crisp morning wind as we let gravity take over; all the way to SouperMan.


Souperman is conveniently located in the old TWA building and thus surrounded by the creativity of Barkley Advertising. The lunch spot is pretty small and has a modern-esque decor. The most eclectic aspect of Souperman is the extremely creative menu. We're talking about dishes from Thai chicken noodle soup to chilled cucumber dill soup. They also offer fresh salads and amazing sanditos, which are little panini style wraps that rocked our world. We ended up trying an assortment of soups and sanditos, which was a great start to the tour. The food was fresh, healthy, and most importantly, inexpensive. You get to enjoy some of Rob's most interesting creations with lunch style pricing.

Check it out ---

1724 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64108

Badonk-a-blanc (burgers + bottles!)

Blanc burgers and bottles has been in the conversation for best burger joint of KC ever since it opened in March of 2008. The variety of burgers including the au poivre (pepper crusted burger, watercress, green peppercorn sauce) and the inside out (blue cheese-stuffed burger, applewood-smoked bacon, onion ring, ketchup, mustard, butter lettuce, onion brioche bun) are all made from ground tenderloin. This is the starting point for all these burgers that really set them apart. The awesome ingredients and creative combinations are just extra bonuses. Even the buns are made exclusively from “Farm to Market” bakery. Gotta highlight a few awesome side items including the hometown Boulevard brewery Pale Ale onion rings, as well as truffle fries!

Don’t get too excited about the food that you forget to try some of the awesome specialty sodas or milkshakes at Blanc. The chocolate milkshake is one of the best made in the city. Not ice cream, but chocolate custard is mixed with locally owned, Schatto creamery milk. Then served right from the steel mixing cup....Boomshakalaka. There are over 140 specialty sodas or beers to choose from and they actually have “Mexican” coca-cola! Haven’t ever seen that here in KC before…..gotta try it if you never have.

The burgers will clearly be more expensive than your double cheese from McDonalds, but give their lunch special a try from Monday-Friday 11-3 to indulge in a burger and side dish for about half the price!.....not that regular price isn’t so worth it.
Blanc burgers is located in the heart of Westport right across from the Bunker, at the intersection of Broadway and Westport road. Or check out their brand new location, just south of 105th street on Mission Road.

A Breakfast Bonanza, of Sorts...

Walking around the River Market on a Saturday morning is probably one of my favorite experiences in KC. The bustle of vendors and customers creates an amazing energy, and an ode to the lost art of open markets. Although the area thrives with their beautiful market, the food scene seems to be a very hit-or-miss adventure. I used to be a huge fan of the River Market Brewery, but as easily as gems come into this world, they also go out. So what might be that special gem? Yeah, Blue Nile is great, and there’s nothing more exquisite than Le Fou Frog, but I want something that’s grungy like the river. Well, I found my “crystal” in the rough, and it goes by the name of Succotash.

(Definition)
Succotash - a food dish consisting primarily of corn and lima beans or other shell beans. Other ingredients may be added, including tomatoes, green and sweet red peppers, and possibly including pieces of cured meat or fish.


We walked into Succotash on a beautiful Saturday morning and felt like we were walking into a Wes Anderson film. The environment was almost over the top, but new and exciting at the same time. After a short wait we sat down and were blown away by the interesting assortment of traditional favorites and some eclectic additions. Our selection went something like french toast, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, the kitchen sink, and a couple of interesting egg/gravy/(and other assorted ingredients) sandwiches. We ended up loving the food and the experience at Succotash. The pancakes were massive, but the most impressive item was the “kitchen sink,” which seemed to include every item that was created in the kitchen…hence the “sink.” We really enjoyed the food and felt like Succotash would be a great place to come on a monthly basis, as every dish felt like it was just loaded with calories (there were some alternative healthy items, but when we do breakfast, we do it BIG!).

So if you haven’t had the chance to check out this creative little restaurant in the River Market, you should. Go experience a breakfast you’ll never forget and who knows, maybe you’ll run into a Tenenbaum on the way out.

Eden Alley basement adventure!

There’s more than one benefit to eating at Eden Alley, a vegan/vegetarian restaurant on the lower level of Unity Temple in the country club plaza. Along with tasty, creative dishes, Eden Alley benefits the community in numerous ways:
· Pays for organic recycling for all food waste
· 90 percent of all food is brought in from local, organic farmers
· All paper products used are made from 100 percent recycled materials
These are the other things that make you feel good inside, besides the delicious sweet potato burrito! This is one dish that is sure to fill up any appetite weary of a “vegetarian” meal.
The hummus and baba ghanoush duo was a great starter to compare the two dips.

The egg salad came highly recommended and was excellent.
The price was what really stood out to me the most. The fresh, organic ingredients used to put together each dish do not come cheap. I suppose the rent in the Unity Temple’s basement is not much compared to typical plaza commercial space.
This basement atmosphere would be my only questionable critique. The space is very large and airy, but it wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable…..just unusual.
The service was very, very kind and relaxed. It was exactly what I expected and it added a lot to the experience. The server was quite knowledgeable of the menu and very attentive. Great place to check out.

Raytown Gardens Crew

Check out the new baby lettuce seedlings from our friends at the Raytown Community Gardens. Definitely check out their blog @ Raytown Community Gardens and get involved. KC Foodies will definitely be assisting in growing fresh produce with the Gardens, and using it to experiment on some amazing family style meals.

Thomas 39th Street: Part 2

So here's a review that I wrote a while back when I attended Thomas with a small group. On March 13 we went back to Thomas with the whole foodies crew and unfortunately had a much different experience, which is documented below the original.


ORIGINAL: BEGINNING
Lately I feel there has been a shift to Asian cuisine in the eclectic neighborhood of 39th street. To tell you the truth, I don’t mind it at all. I love authentic noodle dishes from Po’s, the basil fried rice from Thai Garden, and I may partake in a little bit of Blue Koi sometimes. But this little blurb isn’t dedicated to any of the wonderful asian restaurants, but more to a locally owned, fundamentally amazing restaurant called “Thomas.” The menu at Thomas offers a beautiful take on traditional American cuisine, and the environment of the dining room gives me the feel of a small east coast eatery.

We started the meal off with some bruschetta and made our way through a beautiful green salad. For our entrée we chose the Diablo Pasta with a seafood medley mixed in. The seafood was cooked to perfection and the slight spiciness of the pasta gave a real attitude to the meal. The proportions of the pasta were perfect and the sauce was light yet packed with amazing flavor. The staff and owner are also very friendly and always looking for ways to make your experience a better one. We ended up speaking with the owner for about 30 minutes on the KC restaurant scene and how he got started with the idea for Thomas. Back to the meal!! For drinks we went with an Argentinean flight and a couple glasses of pinot noir. The culmination of the wine, food and ambiance was even further intriguing with the added element of the piano player Vince Cook. He has a booklet loaded with 100's of songs he covers, and thus, there’s a never ending mix to your dining experience. In one night we heard everything from Beatles covers to Bittersweet Symphony.

Overall, Thomas is an excellent environment to bring some friends or a date. The pricing of the menu is very decent and the wine/martini selection is impressive as well. Go down to 39th street, strike a conversation with Vince, and indulge in an amazing experience.

Thomas Site
ORIGINAL: ENDING

Ok. So our foodies adventure to Thomas began with pure excitement, especially after I hyped up my last visit. First off, we made a reservation at 8:30 for ten people, and were given a table that fit eight at most in the corner of the restaurant. Not that this is a huge deal, I can sit close to my friends, but its unfortunate that we made the reservation almost two days before our actual visit. We started off the night with an interesting mix of wine bottles and various martinis, all of which were excellently prepared and extremely tasty. What was not excellently prepared or tasteful was the service we got. Now we know perfectly well that the food service industry is about the most difficult out of all other industries, especially when there's a ten top sitting in a corner booth. Well this server was just not having a good day and it was reflected in his behavior towards not only our questions, but concerns with the food preparation. Having vegetarians in the mix one must be able to probe the meals to make sure they fit their lifestyle and habits, and this was the last thing the server was willing to do.

So the night started off with good drinks that eventually went sour when the food came. Just as I expected, the food was excellently prepared and wonderful from start to finish, but we kept feeling the wrath of bad service. You know that feeling that you want to leave because you don't feel welcome? Yeah, that was the emotion lingering in the air for the entire night. By the end of the night I had to apologize to our entire group for promising them something that didn't pan out like I thought it would. I really do believe in the Thomas menu and drink lists, but I need more consistency. My first visit there was welcomed by an extremely polite and helpful waitress, even a conversation with the owner and piano player, but this visit was kind of a letdown. I don't know if I'll be able to go back unless there's something that really pushes me past the whole "not feeling welcome" taste I have in my mouth.

But with The KC Foodies we never give up on a restaurant. Sometimes a second chance is needed for a bad experience, and we're always willing to give Thomas another try, but probably not until the summer.

Town Topic (burgers)

The latest restaurant excursion was to Kansas City's favorite "after the club closes" burger joint. It was a rather spontaneous excursion. It took place at approximately 2:30am on the most recent of the Fridays in current memory.

Without much thought me and a group of 5 including myself arrived there with the late night munchies after some pretty serious vintage dancing. (Seriously, "Ice, Ice, Baby" & "Beat It" were on the playlist.) Wait, before I break into a quaint anecdote you need a Town Topic visual.

(it should be noted that the dining area is as deep as that 2nd window on the left and as long as the building. [minus about 10ft for the bathroom and kitchen entrance.])

For the sake of reiteration, the dining area is small. It fits about 10 people comfortably.

Back to our anecdote!
5 of us arrive at 2:30 am to an already half full Town Topic. There are now 10 people in the filled dining area. We are immediately accosted with a gruff, "wha d'you want!" by a lady who clearly has had a few too many burgers and way too many cigarettes. We all stare around for a second and then gradually give our orders to the grumpy, frumpy, hoarse woman. A few minutes later the most delicious egg, bacon, and cheese breakfast sandwich sits before. I'm not really sure if the food is really the best out there, but when you're in a late night munchy craving stupor, it's pretty f***ing amazing.

Half-way through our meal the front door opens and in walk about 3 guys. The space is now a little on the crowded side. 5 minutes later, 3 more people arrive. Another 5 minutes, 5 blondes and 3 guys walk in. 24 people jammed into town topic. My group is now done with our meal and we're ready to pay and get out. But, we can't. It's too crowded and nobody can get any where. Over the course of the next 10 minutes another 10 people try to cram in, and are successful until some guy starts telling people nobody else can fit. There were now over 30 people fit into a space that really should only hold 10. I think the fire marshal would have been a little peeved. We managed to force our way to the register and pay. Overall the experience was amusing and satisfying.

The service at Town Topic has its own special negative charm. I go there to have an older angry man (or woman) make me a burger. He/She is told to do so by a slightly angrier woman (at least every time I've gone.) who yelled at me to tell her what I want. Really though, when I told her my order she added a bunch of stuff with out any indication of how much all these extras were going to cost me. (and they definitely cost you.) So effectively I pretend like I know what I want and then she tells me what I really want. For some reason this style of service works just fine at the latest hours of the night.

The food itself is about as good as any other diner burger place, but its late night service gives it an increased goodness factor. Compared to other 24hr diners, it's probably the best in KC and has it's own distinct charm.

between the hours of 10am and 10pm 6 out of 10

between the hours of 10pm and 10am 9.5 out of 10

Lulu's Thai Noodle Bar!

If you're looking to branch out and try something other than your usual french dip and fries for lunch, give Lulu's Thai noodle bar your half hour break at noon and get after it! This mid-size joint along southwest boulevard has proved to offer some great values with about 15 lunch specials all under 7 bucks! Prices don't increase too much during dinner either. Don't be scared by the "blazingly spicy" stereotype Thai food gets stamped with. Lulu's stocks a legion of ingredients to offer combinations and dishes to please all preferences along the spice spectrum. If, however, capsaicin is not your enemy but your friend: I must recommend the "drunken noodles"...absolutely delicious. Don't forget some Thai iced tea!

Blue Grotto

The latest KC Foodie event occured at Blue Grotto, a nice pizza place

situated next door to The Brooksider on Brookside Plz, right off 63rd street.

The restaurant presents itself in an interesting way. When you walk

in you have to go through the bar to get to the hostess. I found this slightly confusing, but courageously moved forward with the evening. Black trim, steel accents, and a natural maple floor lend themselves nicely to the environment's modern organic feel.

I was meeting my party there, so after a brief verbal exchange with the pleasant hostess, I was directed to go upstairs and around a couple corners. The table we were seated at fit ten and we definitely filled that space. It was positioned alone on a catwalk that served as a visual transition for the bar and restaurant space below. This location had a very light open feel that surprisingly felt rather nice. I was expecting a cafeteria -esque feeling to the meal, but fortunately that never came.

When I got to the table I was treated to a barrage of greetings from my enthusiastic friends. This was gonna be a fun night, as long as the food and service were okay. As the night progressed and a couple Boulevard Smokestacks and a few dirt ies (foodie talk for a dirty martini) were consumed, the appetizers for our meal came.

Here's what we ordered: Sun Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Torte, New Zealand Lamb Chops, Roasted Long Stemmed Artichoke Hearts, and P.E.I. mussels. Of these dishes, the highlights would be the cheese torte and the P.E.I. mussels. The mussels come in a chardonnay cream sauce that carries the richness one expects from something like an Alfredo sauce, but is still thin like mussel sauces should be. The cheese torte is like any cheese ball you might find at a decent party, except much less ball-ness and way more flavor goodness. Either of these are a must order.

After appetizers came the meal. (As one would expect.) We ordered the following pizzas: Margherita, Salsicca, Spicy Shrimp and Andouille Sausage, and the days special. Of these there is nothing particular to say about any one of them. In general though, they were all very good and larger than expected. My only complaint is that the crust got a little soggy in the middle and couldn't hold its shape.

We didn't order dessert and called dinner done after the pizzas. The server couldn't split our bill so we spent the next 25 minutes trying to figure out who owed what. Apparently math is hard after a drink or two.

The server herself did a fairly good job. She had to deal with a chaotic group of ten people and only forgot one thing. She didn't anticipate our needs, but was prompt when we voiced one.

Overall, Blue grotto is a good place to go. Between an appetizer and a pizza, you could probably feed 3 people and stay under $40 for the table, even with a drink or two. A great place to take a date and definitely worth a visit. The appetizers are where the restaurant sets itself apart, so a light meal and drinks is a great way to experience this modern Brookside pizzeria.

Overall it gets a 7.5 out of 10.

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1924 Main Happy Hour!

If you haven't had the chance to stop by 1924 Main's bar to try a drink from their "Classic Cocktail" list, you need to soon folks...

The list has been inspired by the demand for creative, throw-back, but most importantly UNIQUE cocktails. 1924's bar is serving as the beta to introduce these fabulous drinks. Ryan Maybee from JP Wine Bar has teamed up with chef Rob Dalzell to open a "speak-easy" concept bar, but unfortunately no other information is available at this time. The drink menu at 1924 is a manifesto of Maybee's scientific style. Cocktails to look forward to: "Ginger Rickey", with hendrick's gin ~ lime ~ ginger syrup ~ club soda. The "PC Fizz" will feature, "pimm’s no. 1 ~ yellow chartreuse ~ lemon ~ egg white. Opening mid-March.....

---1924 Main site!!

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For Froyo, get some Yummo!

Located in the power and light district right next to a sister shop, ChefBurger, Yummo is a great mid-day, frozen yogurty treat! There are roughly 8 different flavors to choose from that change out somewhat frequently. I had the peanut butter which was MONEY and mixed in some Reese's cups. Everything is self serve which is really fun and gives you the chance to score that custom treat you've wanted all day! Make any size you would like but beware, the froyo is priced out by ounce.

-Yelp Review
-Urban Dictionary Definition - "Yummo"

Extra Virgin Patio
Warm weather in February...Spring is almost here-!

Extra Virgin=Extra Sexy

From the moment we entered the front door, all we could do was wait...wait and see exactly what that grilled beef tongue or the braised pork cheeks would taste like. And unfortunately, we waited a while! But it was a very busy night and this slow service would surely be different on a night when every yuppy KC hipster was not cramming into the dining room after a long stroll through First Fridays (just down the block).
We ordered about twelve different dishes. The idea here is to get a taste of many things....and a taste of many brand new things for some. All of the orders are tapas style: small plates. We indulged in the baked pasta formaggi, charred hangar steak, and baked maine mussels to name a few.
This will be a great place for groups to sample different dishes.
The restaurant is connected to Michael Smith's original self titled restaurant next door so feel free to sneak a peek at that on the way to the restrooms.
For now,
1. Food-8
2. Atmosphere-8
3. Service-5
4. Value-6


Yelp Review-
Restaurant Site
http://www.extravirginkc.com/Home.html

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First Fridays = First Foodies Adventure

To open up the Foodies season we went down to The American for some amazing wine and appetizers. Willy, the bartender, offered amazing service and was always looking for ways to make us feel comfortable and at home. The atmosphere of the lounge has a definite 70's feel and the house pinot noir was a great way to start an amazing evening. After getting some light food and a few drinks we made our way down to the Crossroads District to participate in the always amazing First Fridays. The weather was beautiful for this time of the year and patrons were flooding the streets and galleries. After visiting some of the amazing galleries and listening to an awesome 7th/8th grade rock band, we went over to check out Extra Virgin. With the sudden weather spurt the Crossroads was packed and the restaurant was probably as busy as its been all winter. We started off with some excellent cocktails, champagne, and dove into the food head first. - Food Review Up Soon!--

Check out The Crossroads District Site-
CLICK HERE-!