| The Hereford House has one great chicken dish -- this is it. |
To whet your appetite for The Pitch's annual Best of Kansas City issue, we're counting down our favorite Top 50 dishes each weekday until October 7.
When you think of restaurateur Rod Anderson's Hereford House restaurants -- best-known for juicy grilled steaks -- chicken isn't a dish that immediately comes to mind. There are three versions of the bird on the current menu: hickory-grilled (served with bearnaise or barbecue sauce), a grilled barbecue breast served with the St. Louis-style ribs, and the best choice of the trio: a succulent chicken Piccata.
The Italian word piccata is the femine form of piccato -- meaning larded. The traditional preparation calls for the dish -- chicken or veal -- to be sauteed in butter and covered in a light sauce made from the pan drippings, lemon juice and chopped parsley. The dish is believed to be a Northern Italian standard.
But every restaurant seems to put a different spin on it. Some use mushrooms; others add a little milk to the lemon-butter sauce. The Hereford House Piccata is one of the more flamboyant versions. A little more French and maybe a bit less lemony than the more simple variations on this dish, the Hereford House Piccata boasts two plump breasts that have been lightly dusted in flour, then pan-seared and drenched in a decadent bechamel blended with artichokes, fresh chopped tomatoes and tart capers.
It's a popular alternative to steak at the restaurants (and it's modestly priced, by this restaurant's standards). Go on, don't be chicken: Order it.
Our list so far:
No. 50: Chocolate Malt from Fox's Drug Store
No. 49: Il Parma from Bella Napoli
No. 48: Italian sausage and eggs from Cascone's Grill
No. 47: Orange Roll from Clock Tower Bakery
No. 46: Tacos de cochinita from Frida's Contemporary Mexican Cuisine
No. 45: Barbecued pork bun from 888 International Market
No. 44: Tableside fresh mozzarella from Jasper's
No. 43: Gyro Sandwich from Mr. Gyros Greek Food & Pastry
No. 42: Apple strudel from Grunauer
No. 41: Rice noodle bowl from dim sum at Bo Lings
No. 40: E-Crush from Hi-Hat Coffee
No. 39: Flight of Freshness from Fresher than Fresh Snow Cones
No. 38: Curried chicken salad from Cafe Provence
No. 37: Apple fritter from John's Space Age Donuts
No. 36: Pollo con limone e olive from Lidia's Kansas City
No. 35: Wedding-cake cookie from LattéLand
No. 34: Stroud's cinnamon rolls
No. 33: Smoked Polish from Werner's
No. 32: Burger and frites from Westport Cafe & Bar
No. 31: Paletas from Paleterias Tropicana
No. 30: Goat korma at New Cafe Tandoor
No. 29: Lemon cake from Cafe Europa
No. 28: Chocolate Mousse Torte from Napoleon Bakery
No. 27: Spring rolls from Vietnam Cafe
No. 26: French fries from LC's Bar-B-Q
No. 25: Classic Cookie's herbed-potato-and-sausage casserole
No 24: Farmer greens salad at The Farmhouse
No. 23: Egg salad sandwich from You Say Tomato
No. 22: Waldorf Salad from Bloomsbury Bistro
No. 21: Pork tenderloin sandwich from Kitty's Cafe
No. 20: Root beer from Mugs Up Drive In
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