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.
There is no great Kansas Ocean. But Cafe Sebastienne (4420 Warwick Boulevard), in the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, can make you forget that fact with its plate of exquisite crab cakes served on a summer vegetable succotash.
The pan-fried crust can barely contain the lumps of tender, white crabmeat inside. Dollops of lemon-oregano aioli bring a cool richness to the dish. And the succotash -- a fresh medley of corn, red pepper, zucchini, summer squash, snow peas and onion -- gives the plate a bit of sweetness, making you dive back in for the next savory bite of crab cake.
Take a seat in the sun-dappled courtyard. Order a plate of crab cakes. Close your eyes after your first forkful. And for just a moment, the traffic on Warwick will be the waves crashing against the shore.
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 Café 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
No. 19: Flank steak sandwich from Happy Gillis
No. 18: Chicken Picatta from the Hereford House
No. 17: Mom's Macaroni and Cheese from McCoy's Public House
No. 16: Fried green tomato salad from Café Roux
No. 15: Veggie burger from Room 39
No. 14: Onion rings from Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue
No. 13: Cranberry scone from Oak Street Coffee
No. 12: Chicken walnut pasta from Osteria il Centro
No. 11: Steakburger, Fifty-Fifty and a special chocolate frosty from Winstead's
No. 10: Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale from Boulevard Brewery
No. 9: Ice cream-and-cookie sandwich from Murray's
No. 8: Autumn Cookies from Chacko's Eatery
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