It's been three years since Joe DiGiovanni sold Joe D's Wine bar and Cafe and left the restaurant biz. But DiGiovanni is back, baby! "You could take my old place [Joe D's] and fit it all in the kitchen and still have 200 feet left over," DiGiovanni said as he showed me around his new spacious restaurant. He still seemed amazed at all the room.
Yes, DiGiovanni has left the cramped confines of Brookside for the spacious pastures of Leawood and, as readers of Pitch Fork already know, Zest is the result. With a modern interior (featuring some of the nicest hardwoods I've ever seen custom-installed for a restaurant) and a playful menu, Zest is ready to capture the cool, hip crowd of Johnson County. And no, DiGiovanni does not see that as a oxymoron.
"This is the top producing area in town. There's plenty of money and
lots going on here. We didn't want to turn off the more traditional
mature audience, but we still wanted to be a destination for the younger
crowd. I've had at least 15 different people tell me this interior
makes them think they're in New York and I'm OK with that."
The menu is more playful than the interior and chef Eric Eckhard (formerly of Capital Grille) blends the high-end straight with the low end. There's the truffle and Gouda covered macaroni and cheese or the panzanella with this unforgettable description: "day-old bread tossed in herbs with tomatoes, peppers, onions and baby greens with Italian dressing. Popular in Tuscany, Lazio, Marche and now, Leawood."
The prices are closer to neighbor Blue Koi than they are to neighbor Room 39. An appetizer will run about $6 to $8 and the only entree that costs more than $20 is the tenderloin filet. ($24.)
Zest officially opened for business last Monday and DiGiovanni is ready to start seeing the big crowds again. "I've worked virtually seven days a week this past year trying to put this thing together. These last three years out of the business, it felt like I was in hibernation. It feels so good to come back and see people I haven't seen since I left ... I'm going to have fun here and I want to infuse that spirit in everything. I want to give life and food and wine zest."
Zest is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner Monday and Tuesday until 10 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday until 10:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturdays until 11 p.m. Both Saturday and Sunday feature a brunch from 10 a.m. and 9 a.m. respectively until 3 p.m. For a full menu visit Zest's website here.
-- Owen Morris
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