Cafe Augusta: 12122 W. 87th

I have been to Cafe Augusta probably half an dozen times since it opened last summer. Why haven't I posted about it? Well, there isn't a ton to say really. The JoCo populace seems genuinely happy with this moderately classy little cafe and its selection of sandwiches, soup, salads and European-inspired entrees. When it opened it was often crowded at noon, but I've noticed lately that business has dropped off a tad. Let's just call that the Ferruzza bubble. The Pitch's reputable critic gave it a somewhat positive review that had me there for lunch the same week. Perhaps some of the luster has worn off.

I was moderately pleased with my Cobb Salad on that first visit, though surprised to see that the $8.95 dish did not come with chicken, as most Cobbs do. While the typical bacon, blue cheese, tomato, avocado, etc. came standard, chicken would have been a $3 upcharge, bringing the total to a fairly hefty $11.95, not including beverage or tip. If I'm ordering from a counter, I expect a little more for my money, or just slightly lower prices. Also the avocado was underripe.

While I had become accustomed to ordering at the counter and having my food delivered, my most recent visit saw the unexpected development of table service. This was a nice touch and I found the server to be quite friendly and well-trained. I tried the half sandwich and soup combo ($8.50) with a currry squash soup that was attractively presented.



The server had described the soup as "not spicy" but it was actually fairly hot. This was a-ok by me, but other may have been miffed at the false advertising. The smoked turkey and brie sandwich was tasty, though I grow very tired of the ubiquity of ciabatta bread. A crusty baguette would have been perfect. The combo is a decent value for the money, though I find it does not hold up favorably portion or taste-wise against the similar offering at 75 Cafe.

Folks rave about the unconventional take on the tuna melt at Cafe Augusta. It arrives open faced on four smallish slices of multigrain bread.



The flavor of fresh ginger is prevalent in the tuna mixture, which also contained grapes and nuts. Overall I liked the sandwich but the sweetness and overabundance of grapes kind of overwhelmed the inherent flavor of the tuna fish. The unusual presentation made it easy to eat though the bread was a little soggy on the bottom. This leads me to believe that the tuna melt is broiled in the oven rather than grilled.

The house dressing on their salads is superb, though the lettuce looked a little past its prime on one of my visits.

The atmosphere is somewhat nicer than 75 and many other local joints. While the European landscape prints did little for my aesthetic sensibilities, I appreciated nice touches like the oversized, interestingly shaped white china and sprigs of fresh herbs in small vases on the tables. The music is tasteful and runs toward classical (far superior to the "smooth jazz" blaring at 75 Cafe).



There is certainly more to the menu than I have discussed. For instance Augusta offers German food on Mondays and a series of dinner specials throughout the week. In the end, Cafe Augusta is not bad, but certainly not my first choice for lunch in an area that actually features some very good lunch spots. The decor and menu seem perfect for business lunches or any other sort of semi-upscale meal in which you don't want to fret about the personal tastes of the attendees.

Red Bench Cafe: 7921 Santa Fe (OPKS)

Red Bench has closed and is now Great Day Cafe.

This pleasant little lunch spot occupies the space that recently housed the popular Farm to Market Cafe in downtown Overland Park which I reviewed two years ago ago on this blog. Earlier this summer, signs at the Cafe indicated that the owners were retiring and selling the business. Before long, the place had received a slight makeover and reopened with a very similar menu and new ownership.



It kept the name "Farm to Market" all summer and the menu was more or less intact but differences were immediately apparent. For starters, the produce in the garden salads was superb: homegrown lettuces, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers created a simple yet superb example of how fresh ingredients can transform mundane items into things of beauty.



The sandwiches remained serviceable, with notable improvement in the quality of deli meat used. They continued to use Farm to Market Bread which makes no small amount of difference compared to mass produced product available other places.



Several weeks ago, the restaurant changed again, dubbing itself "Red Bench Cafe." I'm not sure, but the staff seems to have changed somewhat as well. What was previously seemingly an entirely woman-run operation seems to have a gentleman at the helm now who hovers behind the counter and out in the dining room crunching numbers on a laptop. A few of the decorative changes have been scaled back, such as the flimsy cheesecloth that lined the walls after its first change.

Currently Red Bench is a fairly good quality lunch spot offering a small breakfast menu in addition to a selection of sandwiches, soups and salads. They have a decent lentil soup every day in addition to a rotating soup. I had the lentil soup and was surprised to see that it contained whole lentils in a gentle, slightly sweet broth. I am used to lentil soups being blended to created a thicker texture. It was good, but I eventually tired of the mouthfuls of whole lentils.



The minestrone soup was a considerably greater success with hearty, rich tomato broth, pasta and kidney beans. Unfortunately both soups were not hot enough when delivered to me. To me, this is a relatively serious infraction. Yes, soup can be heated up with little adverse effect, but holding foodstuffs at a lukewarm temperature is conducive to bacterial growth which can cause foodborne illness. I'm not a crackpot, I just take food safety very seriously. Let's hope these folks start getting their soups nice and hot before serving them to people in the future.



You can get a whole sandwich or a soup/salad and half sandwich combo which is much the same as what Farm to Market offered. There is a Black Forest Ham, Turkey Havarti and an interesting chicken breast with artichoke sauce sandwich. All are passably good but won't blow your mind. They are sandwiches after all. I have some slight concerns about the prices here. For almost $10 I got half a grilled ham sandwich and a cup of soup.



I'm not convinced that this is a good deal, considering that even my relatively modest appetite was barely sated after eating it.

Nonetheless I am firmly convinced that Red Bench Cafe is an improvement over its previous incarnation as Farm to Market Cafe which I had become increasingly disappointed in up until its sale. I believe that the ingredients are now of higher quality and that there is more thought put into preparation. I am honestly not sure what has happened to this place in the last 6 months in terms of ownership, but these folks are making a strong effort to surpass the effort made by Farm to Market. Downtown OP needs a decent sandwich/soup spot and right now they have it.

The Classic Cookie: 409 W. Gregory

I think this is the shortest lunch I have ever eaten in Kansas City. I rolled up to Classic Cookie on the north end of Waldo at about 11:30. I knew it was a small space and wanted to get there before any noon rush. I'm glad I did.

The small but pleasant dining area was mostly full when I arrived, including a long table of 6 or 8 folks. Smartly the Classic Cookie has small four-top tables that can be pulled together or pushed apart to accommodate groups of varying sizes. That being said, this is not a good place to have lunch with a large group. The place is simply too small and it gets very full at the height of lunch hour, as I was soon to discover.

I know this is a popular spot for breakfast/brunch but have never been because the idea of waiting to eat while hungover has never appealed to me. Nonetheless I was surprised at the steady stream of folks that continued to walk through the door throughout my meal. By the time I got my food, the wait for a table was up to 20 minutes.

Some people opted to wait by the front door, creating a somewhat awkward environment in which they were obviously impatient and watching everyone else eat. Some folks waited on the bench outside because it was a nice day. Others decided to leave and go elsewhere (probably the Mexican place on the corner). I have no idea why you would show up to a tiny restaurant with three other people at noon on a weekday and expect to be seated right away.

This place does have a nice vibe and I can see why people like it. It is casual and decidedly non-corporate feeling. The small size really contributes to the atmosphere which is bustling, energetic and fairly loud. The staff persons are extremely talented, conversational and friendly. I had a menu within a minute of sitting down, my order taken quickly, food that arrived within 10 minutes and my check just as I was finishing.



While I waited for my food to come out of the kitchen, my server brought a basket of cookies and mini-muffins to my table. There were about 3 cookies and 2 muffins, which seemed like overkill for one guy, but I made a valiant effort. The cookies are good, but nothing mind-blowing. I had a peanut butter, a chocolate chip and an oatmeal (I think). I can't remember the muffin varieties, probably because I'm not a huge fan of muffins in general.

I had a half chicken salad sandwich with a garden salad for 6.25. The salad contained the ubiquitous mesclun greens and croutons with a fine balsamic vinaigrette. I would have liked more things in the salad since I don't really care for croutons, but I survived.



The chicken salad was pretty dry, without much seasoning. It was all white meat, but was otherwise unremarkable. Now, those who read this blog know that I have an intense dislike for mayonnaise. But yes I do eat the occasional chicken salad or tuna salad sandwich. These items are not nearly as chock full o' mayo as they once were at most restaurants worth their salt, so typically I can stomach them and even succumb to the periodic craving for them as I did at the Classic Cookie.

My bill came to 8 dollars and change--quite reasonable for a full service lunch. A 15% tip would come out to about $1.30. Now, in my estimation any tip under $2 is bullshit, I don't care what the conventions of tipping tell us. I was also eating in a very small restaurant as a solo diner. My table could have been occupied by four people and I think it makes sense to throw percentages to the wind and tip at least $3, especially when the service is this good.

Classic Cookie in short is a great little neighborhood joint that serves very typical American lunch fare, and they do it reasonably well. I like the owners and the staff, and the space is somewhat invigorating for those who can stand the crush of Caucasian humanity the comes with it. The food won't win any awards but it is freshly prepared and good quality. The baked goods are a nice touch too, and they are available for bulk carryout from the bakery case. So I can recommend this spot to folks looking for a casual, feel good lunch in Waldo.

Adrian's Cafe: 9940 College Blvd.

Be careful when visiting Adrian's, you don't want to get lost in those creeeepy Corporate Woods. Apparently when it was built, Corporate Woods was a big deal in the world of suburban office parks. Nestled in the natural landscape of multi-lane College blvd. between 69 Highway and Antioch in Overland Park, it consists of a series of office buildings and shops insulated by a few trees, and lots and lots of land. As the website says:

A perfect environment made even better by your presence. Thank you to the tenant's of Corporate Woods®

Nothing says professionalism like a misused apostrophe and a trademark symbol.



Anyway, the Corporate Woods shopping center caters to the lunching needs of local woodland denizens with several pretty good restaurants. The site is home to Garozzo's, Rosati's, Chipotle, and First Watch, but the noblest lunch spot of them all is Adrian's Cafe.

They don't mess around here; the menu consists of sandwiches, salads and soups. That, my friends, is the essence of lunch.

This is all about counter service. One employee at the beginning of the line takes your order and makes your sandwich. He or she slices the bread for each sandwich by hand from a seemingly fresh baked loaf. Bread slices are a good inch and a half thick, and are nicely crusty with a surprisingly light and fluffy interior. Most importantly, they have a quality rye that tastes like caraway.

You can get half a sandwich for about $4.25 which sounds like a lot but they are pretty large. A whole sandwich is about $6.50, depending on what you get. I typically order a half sandwich and salad, which you can have for 6.50 as well. Incidentally the side salads all seem very good, though most are prepared ahead of time and available in plastic containers on the deli counter. I'm a fan of the potato salad in particular. They also have three or four homemade soups each day. Recently I tried the chicken noodle and was favorably impressed with the homemade noodles and fresh vegetables but found the temperature to be far below what must be required. Please folks get that temp up before the busybodies good people of the Johnson County Health Department come calling. Oh, and don't forget a cookie on your way down the counter. They are seriously good.

The corned beef here is really tasty too. The sandwich guy looked at me a little funny once when I asked for corned beef on rye with Swiss cheese, mustard and nothing else. I'm not interested in lettuce, tomato or onions on my corned beef sandwich. Hell I almost passed on the cheese. But the sandwich stood up to the test with flying colors.



The standout here is the service, which has been reliably friendly in my several visits to Adrian's. Last time my bill was $8.81. The guy at the register said, "tell me the truth sir, do you like pennies?"

I replied, "why no, I do not care for pennies one whit."

He gave me an enthusiastic cheer and forked over 20 cents in shiny silver coinage. He probably uses that joke multiple times a day but I really do appreciate both the sentiment and the obvious joy he takes in the work.

While the food is good, the main thing I like about Adrian's is the concept. It is simple, quick and enjoyable. It also is the closest thing to a normal deli we have in the KC area.

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Yelp

Browne's Irish Market and Deli: 3300 Pennsylvania Ave.

Browne's is a crusty but delightful little Irish themed deli and store just east of the hustle and bustle of Broadway in what feels like another world. I had heard of Browne's before but it fell off my radar until the "Top 10 Kansas City Foods to Eat Before you Die" meme got started. One of my favorite reads, Another Kansas City Blog had a list that I think was my favorite, and included the Reuben sandwich from Browne's Deli. Y'all remember how much I love the Reuben dontcha?



Along with the Monte Cristo, the French Dip and the Grilled Cheese, the glorious Reuben holds a hallowed place in the pantheon of classic grilled lunchtime sandwiches. So I was excited to try the Browne's variety.

First things first, Browne's is a very small shop on the corner of 33rd and Pennsylvania, and is a real slice of KC's past. It is an example of the kinds of corner shops that use to riddle midwestern neighborhood corners, whether they were drug stores, taverns or hotels. The building is old, and it shows on the inside. It's just a very cool old space with a ton of character. The business has been located on that corner and owned by the same family since 1901.



They do things very casually here and it's a tad odd. You order at the back counter, but they don't care if you pay first or after you eat. There are plenty of well-worn shelves with Irish jewelry, clothing and foodstuffs aplenty. So if you are looking for a Shamrock-in-a-heart lawn ornament, this is the place to go. While I'm not crazy about commodified, Americanized Irishness, the merchandise does give you something to look at while you are waiting for Drunky McSwilligans to make your sandwich. It was unclear whether they typically bring stuff out to you or if you are supposed to wait. There was hardly anyone there when I went, but I'd hate to see Browne's on a busy day.

The menu is printed out on a piece of paper and taped to the deli case. There are some other Irish items advertised behind the side counter: meat pies, bangers, rashers, black pudding, white pudding, and other funny limey delicacies that I couldn't identify if they were placed in front of me.

The also have several kinds of homemade soup, and today I opted for the lobster bisque. They also had potato soup and...uh, some other kind. The side counter offers an assortment of homemade cookies which Browne's advertises as "the best in Kansas City."

They're not.

But the reuben is damn good, but much smaller than those at other establishments. No triple deckers or oversized bread slices, just a normal sized sandwich on normal sized bread (with a choice of light, dark or marble rye). I actually love the modest portion size, and one could easily down a whole sandwich and bowl of soup. The corned beef was well-trimmed, tender and delicious. The lobster bisque was insanely rich and astonishingly flavorful. It was delicious and well-made, but I couldn't finish it all.

Browne's ain't fancy, everything comes on disposable plates and even the can of Guinness was accompanied by a plastic cup.



Yes they have beer, their authenticity is assured.

Prices are decent but not great. I think the half sandwich and soup combos are about $7. A few bucks more with drink and a modest tip. 10 or 11 bucks might be a bit much for a place with counter service and plastic forks, but it won't stop me from going back, and it shouldn't stop you from trying it.

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Yelp

Pangea: 900 W 39th St

UPDATE: Fat City reports that Pangea is closing at the end of December 2008

Ever since I started blogging, folks have been telling me to hit up 39th street eatery Pangea. I have been putting it off however because it is located in that tacky, newish strip mall which just seems so out of character for the neighborhood. It's also down closer to SW trafficway than the heart of the 39th street restaurant scene. If I go to that area, I usually opt for a place closer to the state line.



But this place has specialized in lunch and lunch only for several years. That makes it hard for me to ignore. Of course, they started serving dinner recently and after my trip there, I think this is a good move for them. But they offer interesting, decent food and have a nice business of lunchtime regulars.

First of all, this place is purty.



Okay well it is a little too shabby chic for my taste--not in a charming, do-it-yourself way like Happy Gillis, but more like an I-spent-ten-grand-at-World-Market kind of way.



But you have to admit that it is still a pleasant space with a soothing color scheme. Naturally that made me worried.

A chalkboard hanging above the counter displays the lunch menu. I'm not sure if the menu actually changes or if the ephemeral medium is merely an aesthetic move. There is a lot to choose from and it's a hard decision. Why hard? Because you can't wrap your head around what is going on. I imagined Pangea to be a soup and sandwich kind of place, but its menu is all over the map. Represented cuisines include Irish, Argentinian, Mediterranean, Italian, Jamaican and Thai. If that isn't enough they offer three soups, four salads, a full dessert menu and of course the ubiquitous panini sandwiches.

Anyhow, you order at the counter, pay and sit down. At this point an employee comes out and brings you silverware and a napkin. That's a nice touch I suppose. They also come pick up your dishes when you are finished. It's like table service only without all the annoying stuff that involves communicating with people. People can be so irritating.

Due to a near caffeine overdose, I was not overly hungry so I opted for the chicken panini with Artichoke spread, thin sliced red onion & tomato on Ciabatta Bread. I have to say that I would try something else next time, but only because aforementioned artichoke spread was distinctly reminiscent of mayonnaise.

Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe mayonnaise?

Anyhow, I'm going back to try one of the so-called small plates for lunch. The people around me were getting some seriously delicious stuff delivered to them while I meditated to my happy, mayonnaise-free mental space and dutifully ate my $8.50 sandwich. It came with a damn good little salad too, dressed with homemade balsamic vinaigrette, which at this point I think you could call a guilty pleasure.

Pangea is a little expensive I suppose. I'm normally looking for table service if I'm gonna pay upwards of 15 bucks for a meal (which you can easily do here). But it's not a total scam like The Mixx. And they have beer and wine available for all you drunkards out there (I know pot, kettle, all that jazz).



I'm not usually a fan of menus that are this varied, but I think Pangea might be on to something. I need to make many more visits to confirm this, but I'll bet almost all of it is tasty. And that's the point: this is the kind of menu that keeps you coming back to try more. If they make a damn good gnocchi, why not go back for the pad thai? All my friends who are good cooks can make any kind of food taste great.

I don't have much else to say at this point but I wanted to get Pangea on the map here. If y'all have eaten here, tell me what's good.

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Yelp

Happy Gillis Cafe & Hangout: 549 Gillis Street

I first heard about this place over at the fine local food blog Noodletown back in March. Columbus park is an interesting neighborhood, and I wish I spent more time there. It has characteristics of the River Market and Northeast/Independence Ave. areas that surround it, but physically it feels different--smaller, older, quieter.

Historically Italian and increasingly populated by Vietnamese, Columbus Park is delineated by highways on three sides and the river on the fourth. This makes for some interesting navigation for those unfamiliar with the streets. Like the River Market, the streets are laid out according to the position of the river and not true north/south like downtown proper. That means it's old, people. It's home to several good restaurants as well, notably Vietnam Cafe, La Salla's and Garozzo's.

As Charles Ferruzza pointed out in his excellent piece about Happy Gillis, this building has a long history of being a comfortable neighborhood meeting and gathering place. The best part about Happy Gillis is that it maintains its connection to the neighborhood. The owners did not swoop in, totally revamp the place and produce food in an environment that appealed to people who don't live there. That's also why it's called a "hangout."

They left the sign from the original Gillis Sundries market out front, something a lot of restaurant owners wouldn't do. To boot, the menu has a few homages to the ethnic character of Columbus Park--notably a Bánh mì and a few classic Italian sandwiches.

The food is very good, not spectacular. Sandwiches and salads are freshly prepared with high quality ingredients. I feel fairly confident that all varieties are tasty, probably some a little more than others. It's a good sign that I have confidence in this place only having visited once. You can just tell they know what they are doing. My Italian sandwich floored me with the pure power of a good salami and some killer homemade giardiniera but I didn't care for the ciabatta-type bread it came on. An Italian sandwich craves Italian bread, people.

Soups are the bread and butter here. The owners have operated a home soup delivery service for a few years and apparently have done well enough to open the storefront to complement their trade. Personally I can't get excited about soup, particularly on a 95 degree day which have been all too common lately. My lovely lunching companion did however offer me a taste of a cold corn vichyssoise (wow, did I spell that right on first try?), served with a dollop of fresh pesto. Sounds great, but I found it underwhelming. As my companion pointed out, there's no reason to puree corn in the middle of summer. Plus, I don't want to drink my lunch anyway (unless we're talking alcohol).

The atmosphere here is charming and the service is friendly and attentive. I don't have anything bad to say about the decor or the vibe or the staff. Really laid-back.

I'm not sure this is a destination-spot, but it's a really good option for those who live or work nearby. Or stop by after the oppressive crush of the City Market on a Saturday, it's a good place to decompress.


More about Happy Gillis:



Check out photos of this charming space on flickr.

Goofy Girl gives her take and gets the Bánh mì.

Everything else you need to know is on Yelp

Bella Napoli: 6229 Brookside Blvd.

Bella Napoli is a nice little Italian market and deli located near the black hole of death also known as Brookside Boulevard and 63rd Street. Like most places in Brookside, Bella Napoli is very good, but not nearly as good as everyone tells you. But that's just overcompensation for the Midwestern inferiority complex ("no, I swear! Waldo pizza is better than anyplace else in the entire world!")



Bella Napoli proper is the center storefront in a row of three allied business. On the north side is an attached pizza and pasta place, with table service and a faux finish inside which gives the impression that, rather than painted drywall, you are looking at 300 year old Italian stucco. It's called 'La Cucini di Mama' or something that I assume means "Mama's Kitchen." Is that anything like "Mama's Family?" I love it when restaurant owners try to immortalize their mothers with half-baked business ventures. In memory of my mother I'm gonna open a restaurant featuring fried spam, corned beef hash out of a can, and syrup made of brown sugar melted in butter.

On the south side of Bella Napoli is an attached espresso bar and a few tables.

The market and deli is obviously the oldest of these three establishments, and obviously the most interesting. There is a small but nice selection of foodstuffs and beverages for sale, as well as at least 6 varieties of olives in wooden barrels, and a mouth-watering assortment of Italian meats and cheeses behind the counter.

They offer seven kinds of sandwiches. I'm not gonna list them, go look at the damn website (I'd link directly to the menu but all those fools who build restaurant websites don't realize that they foil me by building every damn thing in flash. Really. Sure, building a site where you can't copy and paste text or link to any subpage is a great idea. Go look at the site--any reason it should be all Flash? Just wonderin').

These are the best kind of Italian sandwiches. A small portion of highly seasoned meat, some fresh cheese, olive oil, maybe some roasted peppers or giardinera. Contrary to popular belief an Italian sub should not be piled high with three inches of salami (joke? anyone?), much less ham or mustard or *gag* mayonnaise. Bella Napoli does a nice job with the sandwiches, these fresh mozzarella is perfect, the olive oil is good, and the meats are high quality. I enjoyed a sub with prosciutto, fresh mozz, roasted red peppers and fresh basil.

My only quibble is the bread, which lacks the definitive crust that I've come to expect from good Italians. Italian bread should hurt the roof of your mouth a little when you bite into it. The bread at Cupini's is better, but their sandwiches--while also good--are a tad less authentic than Bella Napoli.

You don't really need side dishes with your sandwich, but chips are available. Drinks can be procured at the register. Sandwiches cost between 6 and 7 dollars so you'll get out for less than 10 bucks all told. As for seating there are half a dozen tables scattered throughout the place and a few outside.

In terms of a quick lunch, I'm not sure you can do much better in Brookside than Bella Napoli.

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Yelp

New York Delicatessen: 7016 Troost

New York Deli has closed. Read this nice remembrance at Save The Deli


It was with much joy and anticipation that I sauntered into this venerable KC establishment that bills itself as "home of the awesome reuben." The Reuben is totally Prince Among sandwiches in my book. I am hard pressed to think of another sandwich that brings me as much joy. That being said, a good one is hard to find. I like Harry's Country Club and especially the Peanut for a good local reuben. But I have been driving by New York Deli and heard good things about it, so I would go there regardless of reuben availability.

Though no longer owned by the original family, NY Deli has been open for 103 years! It has been at 71st and Troost for about 60 of those years, a really remarkable achievement when you think about it. I read an article from a few years back that claims it is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Kansas City. And it is a very interesting place, seemingly unencumbered by the pressure of serving classic NY deli fare in a neighborhood that has changed from a far-flung Jewish enclave into a widely diverse community whose future is very much up in the air. This is my way of saying that the stretch of Troost in the 60's and 70's blocks have almost been completely ruined physically. Aging strip malls, parking lots, cheap billboards--it's basically Wornall road without a lot of successful businesses, unless you count Walgreens. Well there's also Soil Service, my favorite lawn and garden store in the city.

Anyhow, let all this suffice to say that NY Deli is a weird vibe. While there I saw a group of business-looking guys purchase an entire salami (for $40+) and a priest eating a sandwich the size of his head. The only noise in the place comes from human voices and a bank of refrigerated deli cases.

This is a place for a serious sandwich, and a seriously good one at that. The corned beef is absolutely perfect--seasoned, warmed, and sliced to perfection. Every sandwich has meat sliced to order which is stupidly hard to come by these days. There are not a lot of frills here. If you want more than bread, meat, cheese and condiment, you may be out of luck.



They also have excellent kosher dill pickles (2 w/sandwich!) and a number of interesting items like cucumber salad, pasta salad, Kosher beef hot dogs, and chopped liver. Apparently the brisket is something special according to this annoyingly earnest youtube video.

But I have a quibble with NY Deli's "Awesome Reuben."

It is not grilled.

Sorry folks but unless it's grilled it's just a corned beef sandwich. Don't believe me? Check out this reuben photo gallery and tell me if you see one that isn't grilled. I can appreciate their effort to be unique but it should be called "Home of the Awesome Corned Beef Sandwich" and that's that.

But what a sandwich. First of all it is a triple decker, and even a blowhard like me can't get his big mouth around it (dirtiest sentence ever?). The swiss cheese is slightly aged, not the tame, pale 'baby' swiss hocked at price chopper and its ilk. The dressing is basically comprised of generous swaths of grainy deli mustard and mayonnaise. I had a really hard time coming to terms with the amount of mayo on the sandwich because I hate the stuff. But the whole thing was good enough that I ate the entire sandwich. No leftovers.

I need to go back and check out the baked goods, which appeared to be fairly popular. Strangely enough, they only have one kind of bagel and it totally sucks. It's basically a kaiser roll with a hole in the middle. But some of their sweet rolls look great. I'd also like to try the hot dogs and maybe some chopped liver on a brave day.

Further reading:
From the Pitch
KCactive.com

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Yelp

Farm to Market Cafe: 7921 Santa Fe (OPKS)

Believe me, I really want to dislike this place. I really do. No it's not the best sandwich you will ever eat, but it's a really solid lunch spot with super friendly staff and a casual coffee shop atmosphere. In the summer they have a great little patio and proximity to the park. The lunch menu is small but covers all your bases: deli sandwiches, a selection of salads, a couple of homemade soups, desserts, a full run of espresso drinks and so forth.

Sometimes you just want a sandwich. No bullshit like paninis or subs or foccacia bread. And never, ever "wraps." Talk about the worst trend in the world. I don't think KC has received the message that wraps went out in 1999. Anyway I want some good meat, some good bread, some good cheese, lettuce, tomato and the condiment of your choice. Somehow Subway can't manage to create bread without it being full of air or overly seasoned or just plain wrong. And I'm sure they put artificial aromas in the stuff to fill the failing mall food court with the fictitious odor of baking bread a la Cinnabon or whatever that place is that sells cinnamon rolls the size of basketballs. And people wonder why we're fat. Well personally my weight is the result of absolutely zero excercise, but I've made peace with that.

Anyway Farm to Market is known for their bread which appears in grocery stores all over the metro. While not the best bread around, it is generally the best bread you can get at the local store rather than visiting a bakery itself. They offer the option to grill any sandwich which is great, but generally I pass because the bread is good in its original state.

The staff is quite friendly and helpful, almost to a creepy degree. They have this smiley, almost cultish kind of service ethic. Generally I respect gruffness and efficiency more, but far be it from me to complain. All was explained when I noticed some books for sale in the front window, written by a co-owner of the business. Basically these books look like religious psycho-babble about how running a business brings you closer to God. The author is trying to establish herself as some kind of expert in "faith formation" whatever that is. It seems like a term developed to keep well-educated people interested in church.

Normally out of principle I shirk businesses that espouse overly religious and/or right wing ideals, such as Hobby Lobby, Coors brewing or Chick Fil-A, Forgive my rant here, but we need to realize that decisions we make -- like eating lunch -- have implications beyond our taste buds. If I go into a restaurant and see a photo of the owner with his arm around Ronald Reagan, I'm gonna think twice about going back. You do what you want. Farm to Market is an exception for the time being. As far as I can tell, my occasional sandwich isn't supporting an agenda of gay-bashing, religious intolerance or woman-hating. Plus it's a local business with limited ability to support offending organizations with oversized political contributions.

So I'll continue to revisit F to M cafe, mostly because I had a cup of sweet potato bisque that was really damn good and I want more. Prices are relatively good--soup and half sandwich for 7.95. With a drink you'll easily spend 10 bucks which is sort of my unofficial cutoff for a reasonable lunch these days.

It's downtown Overland Park location is pretty charming. I really like downtown OP as a physical environs and was surprised to see as many empty storefronts as there are. I suppose most of the money and development has moved to the southern end of the county, leaving some of these first suburbs to struggle a little more. A taste of their own historical medicine I suppose. The business that are on that stretch of Santa Fe seem to be doing well, however, and the street is far from deserted in the midday. Mostly retirees and joco homemakers, from the looks of it, but I have seen the occasional lunch break dude eating at F to M. Anyhow, even a heathen like me gives this place a thumbs-up. Until I can find a good reason to actually hate it. Happy eating!

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Yelp

Antonio's Pizzeria and Walnut Deli: 527 Walnut

For some reason I always avoid the places on the east side of walnut. Never been to Vivace, because its name reminds me of 5th grade piano lessons. The owners probably have no idea what it means. Or maybe they do, and just have an inflated sense of how great the place is. Anyhow, nestled close by is a nice little lunch spot called Antonio's.

Antonio's has a menu a mile long. I have mixed feelings about this, mostly because it took me 10 minutes to find a freaking sandwich without mayo on it. Mayo is disgusting. All the sandwiches are named after celebrities, which is nice but unnecessarily dates the place about 5-8 years before the present. I mean, who has hear the name 'Ally McBeal' since like 1999? As you can imagine the McBeal is a low-cal alternative, which is relatively funny. Anyhow, their sandwiches are really good, made with higher quality meats, cheeses and bread--this already puts it head and shoulders above most other sandwich places downtown. That shouldn't be the case, but it is.

Prices are decent, about what you would expect. My last visit there I ordered a nice sized turkey sandwich with stuff on it, a bag of chips, a delicious fountain soda, and a cookie for about 8 bucks and change. Normally I would get the sandwich and nothing else which would put me in the 6 dollar range. But I just want good food, I'm not gonna split hairs over three bucks unless it tastes like crap or is served by annoying people.

Antonio's advertises itself as a pizzeria, but I have not had the pleasure. Pizza is really not a lunch time food unless you're talking slices. I don't even know if they are open in the evenings, this really doesn't seem like a dinner restaurant, but then again, nothing in the river market really does. But I'll warrant the pizza is good here, just judging from the quality of their ingredients.

In summary, I'm a fan of Antonio's because the selection is good and the sandwiches are made like the give a shit about what they are doing. That shouldn't be too much to ask for. in most cities, Antonio's would be just a good, run of the mill option, but here it outshines the rest of the crappy competition. I plan to go back often.

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Grinders: 417 E. 18th Street

Now I like Grinders well enough, but it has a really stupid name. It almost sounds like a chain restaurant in a mall food court, only it should have an exclamation point:

"Come join us at Grinders!"

or maybe "Grynders!"

This place definitely deserves a more interesting moniker.

And Kansas City definitely needs more places like this--most cities are full of them: Casual, cheap, young-ish, inventive, locally-focused, open late. You can smoke, you can have some beers, they have good and fairly interesting food, albeit a little on the lowbrow side.

It's also easy to pick on Grinders (idiotic name aside) and it usually has to do with Stretch. Yes, that Stretch dude has apparently burned a couple bridges, whatever, I don't know him at all. Certainly his art is not my cup of tea. Not because it's too wacky for me, but because he clearly thinks it's too wacky for someone like me. It's actually a lot like the stuff my cousin was making in the 60s and 70s, and it's just not that challenging. And that sculpture park is just plain bad. Anyway, there's some of that crap in Grinders, including a huge, twisting metal arch near the front door. Whatever, it's fine really.



But the place is locally owned and operated, and the employees seem happy to be there. They certainly are friendly. I wouldn't call it the most efficient operation, but these kinds of joints rarely are. Anyway, go there, get the Philly cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz (!) and be glad you did.



Yelp

Succotash: City Market

FYI: Since my original visit 2 and a half years ago, Succotash has picked up and moved from the CIty Market to 26th and Holmes.


This place gets a lot of kudos from my friends, random strangers and the KC press. I'm happy to report that it is not entirely unwarranted. Most people I think, go to Succotash for weekend breakfast or brunch. Indeed they offer brunch fare all day long, in case you have a crepe craving at 1pm. I typically don;t have a crepe craving ever so this doesn;t matter to me.

Anyway, the lunch menu is not as huge as other places, but everything truly looks good. My Turkey Club was just about perfect--homemade bread, fantastic bacon, mesclun greens, nice cheese. It had the whole package. I've had their salads before too, and they do not disappoint.

Moreover, the service is casual, jaunty and quite efficient. It's a place with nice food that nonetheless does not suffer from pretension. I'm trying desperately to find something negative to say, but honestly it's hard. The prices are even fair. I did have to sit next to a couple with a restless child. This was not really a big deal, but I did get a kick out of seeing the family drive away with the child strapped in the front seat of an old-school jeep with no doors. Not a car-seat in site. Shades of my 70's childhood.

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Yelp

Jason's Deli: 11th & Main

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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Delaware Cafe: 300 Delaware St

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.

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Carollo's Italian Deli: City Market

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.

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Yelp

Kansas City Public Library Cafe: 10th & Baltimore

This is a little joint in the new KC Public Library main branch. Apparently this place is actually named the "Nine Muses Cafe" according to the little menu by the cash register. However I doubt that telling a friend to "meet me at the Nine Muses" would result in anything other than complete bewilderment.

Speaking of bewilderment, that's the reaction you get at this place when you ask for a cappuccino. I get the sense that your average library customer doesn't sip Italian coffee drinks while poring over the latest Mary Higgins Clark gem. They do offer decent if slightly overpriced regular coffee that, in spite of their best efforts, comes in unpredictable levels of strength and hotness.

As for the case at hand, namely lunch, this place makes cheap sandwiches, and weird little individual pizzas in a little oven. They also feature a daily special which ranges from the predictable (Turkey Club) to the eyebrow-raising ("oven-fried cod"). Service runs at its own pace here, and employees do not hold your hand through the ordering process. "Nope, we don't have that right now" is an all-too frequent response when ordering something for lunch, particularly soup. God know why, but people love soup. I wonder if these people know that the soup just gets squeezed out of a plastic bag every morning. Anyhow, they aren't gonna apologize for being out of something. That's just the way it is people.

This place is pretty hoppin' at the noon hour. I don't know if it's library folks or employees from around the area, but prepare to wait a while to place your order. I'm not sure it's worth it, if you are in a hurry, but if it gets your ass in the library, I'm all for it. Sometimes they jam the music in here too. It's kind of funny to be sitting at a table and have trouble hearing your lunchmate because some bland pseudo-African smooth jazz is blaring overhead. I think these employees are just a little bored.

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Soho Cafe: 314 W. 8th

This is nice little spot on the first floor of the Soho loft building on 8th street. It can get lost in the shuffle due to its lack of prominent signage, construction and other nearby restaurants. But this is a nice cafe that features a pretty hearty lunch menu. You can get a decent sandwich here, as well as a french dip, pulled pork on a bun, or chicken caesar salad.

There is always the same dude behind the counter, and he is prompt, friendly and efficient. I've never had to wait long for my food after ordering, which is a big bonus compared to these other yahoos in the neighborhood.

But yes, I have complaints. I really like the option of getting mixed greens with my lunch instead of chips or potato salad or whatever. You gotta eat something green sometime for Christ's sake. Takes some of the heat off the french dip in terms of providing nutrients and so forth. But the salad dressing at the Soho is the worst raspberry vinaigrette--a big pet peeve of mine. Why do people like this crap? It's like, so 1990's pseudo-fancy american restaurant revival stuff. I mean, no one thinks a wrap is fancy any more--Oh wait, the Soho has a bunch of wraps on the menu--why this veritable dessert topping of a salad dressing? I suppose assberry vinaigrette has crossed into the undiscerning realm of popular taste. Americans elected our current fearless leader twice, so I guess you can't expect much in terms of gastronomic sophistication.

But the Soho has the worst raspberry dressing I have ever had. It makes my teeth hurt.

I should also mention that the prices are not so great compared to the quality of the food. While decent enough, the food doesn't really warrant the 10 bucks it costs you. But I do pay a visit once in a while because you can hang out and read the paper or whatever without feeling hurried.

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Yelp

Planet Sub: 11th & Main

Most people in KC have been compelled to eat at Planet Sub at some point. You have your opinion. Like most establishments of its ilk, the food is good enough, but not necessarily the stuff you crave. PS is fairly quick, easy, dependable, and doesn't suck. Of course, that's not good enough.

The 11th Street location is a veritable zoo at noon on weekdays. It's almost depressing that so many people want the bland predictability of chainsville. But given the alternatives, it's also not so surprising. My first ever visit to PS had me staring blankly at the sea of people eating in the place; the urge to run away from this mayhem was overwhelming. But I stuck with it, deciding to get a sub to go. I stood in a long line before ordering and afterwards prepared to wait awkwardly by the soda machine for my sandwich to emerge from the kitchen.

Oh yes, the gimmick. Instead of taking names or handing out numbers, the wise folks at Planet Sub hand out playing cards. I was handed the Ace of Clubs. Cute, huh? This sort of corporate playfulness sickens me. Not one minute after paying a dude calls out "ace of clubs!" and i get my sandwich before many others who preceded me. When I get back to my workplace I discover that it was completely the wrong order. Never have I been so happy to get screwed over, replete with the knowledge that the gimmick failed.

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