Dining, Pitch

Voltaire - the saloon, not the philosopher - opens tonight

Charles Ferruzza — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:01:00 -0500

It's been a long time - decades, maybe - since you gathered up your favorite vinyl records and hauled them anywhere (except a secondhand store in order to get rid of them). Now there's a venue in Kansas City where you can eat, drink and listen to your rare 1958 Somethin' Else LP with Cannonball Adderly, Miles Davis and Art Blakey.…

Big Rip Brewing Co. expands the Northland's beer universe

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

Josh Collins flips open the lid of a white 5-gallon bucket to reveal the lustrous red juice inside.

"This is what we got from 60 pounds of organic raspberries and three hours with a juicer," he says.…

DelHi Soul Food Buffet closes in KCK

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:04:42 -0500

Fast Pitch reader Chris Whitmore arrived at the DelHi Southern Cuisine Buffet, the family-owned soul-food restaurant at 8055 State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, a little too late. It was closed - for good.…

Which out-of-town restaurant would you lobby to bring to KC?

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:52:00 -0500

Let's call this one the Powerball question. Should you luck into a pot of money and be able to convince a given restaurant to franchise or simply relocate, what eatery (be it chain or single shop) are you bringing in from out-of-town?…

The Gaf has closed in Waldo

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:04:00 -0500

The Gaf (7122 Wornall) poured its last Guinness on Saturday. The Waldo pub and bar closed after eight years in the former Romanelli Grill space (Charles Ferruzza wrote about the spot's stylish upgrade back in 2005).…

Pitch Taste of KC beats the weather, draws 700 hungry people

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:57:00 -0500

The predicted torrential rains arrived in downtown Kansas City precisely as The Pitch's Taste of Kansas City was wrapping up for the evening. By then, though, the 700 people leaving the Live Block of the Power & Light District had been sated by a variety of victual vendors that had offered up cheeseburgers and phad Thai and macarons and petit fours and plenty of other good things.…

Giovanni's Deli goes big in the Northland

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:10:30 -0500

Giovanni's Italian Deli & Pasta (6100 N.E. Antioch Road) is the rare place where you can get a ham sandwich and a pound of ham for when you're hungry three days later. The hoagies are done in the style of a classic Italian tradition.…

Boulevard's Saison-Brett hits store shelves and taps Tuesday

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:14:00 -0500

With beer, absence simply makes you thirsty. On Tuesday, you have a chance to drink a beer that even Steven Pauwels, Boulevard's brewmaster, misses.…

Big Rip Brewing Co. opens to the world Sunday

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:04:00 -0500

The Big Rip Brewing Co. is set to let it rip Sunday. The two-man microbrewery in North Kansas City (216 East Ninth Avenue) will be serving up samples to the participants in the Tour de Brew bike race as part of the official open of their Tap Room.…

Indios Carbonsitos and the Hangover III and other weekend possibilities

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:30:37 -0500

Indios Carbonsitos, one of the city's original food trucks, is giving out free tortas on Saturday to help promote Hangover III. (The event kicks off at 10 a.m.; the free food starts at noon.)…

The Pitch's Taste of KC is ready for eaters this Sunday

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:38:00 -0500

Eat your way across Kansas City's culinary landscape at The Pitch's Taste of Kansas City 2013 this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in the KC Live Block of the Power & Light District. The annual local food-and-drink sampling party includes more than 20 restaurants (Clark's, BRGR, Los Alamos, KC Smokeburger, Thai Orchid and Poco's among them) and beer from Sam Adams.…

The Humdinger: Stand in line to get in, baby

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:09:00 -0500

This hot afternoon called for a cold milkshake. Not one of those bland boring (and probably chemical-laden) shakes at one of the conglomerate fast-food restaurants, but something a little more eccentric.…

S.D. Strong Distilling is likely the country's only distillery in a cave

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:30:50 -0500

While other suburban fathers in Parkville tend to their lawns on the weekends, Steve Strong is heading 65 feet below ground. The former rocker, most recently of Steve Strong and the Jackknife Truckers, and father of three has been toiling in the caves below Park University for the past two years.…

D'Bronx corned-beef sandwich is a deli stopgap

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:00:42 -0500

At d'Bronx (3904 Bell), I always walk in intending to get a grinder and I end up hearing myself order a slice of pizza and a chocolate-chip cookie (if they're recently out of the oven) before my brain can catch up with my mouth. But several weeks ago, armed with the mission of compiling a month's worth of sandwiches for this week's cover story, I was determined to walk away with a hoagie in hand.…

Wolfe-es has classic stick-to-your-ribs breakfast

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:00:10 -0500

You can blame brunch, but, at some point, breakfast got complicated. French toast got gussied up, pancakes have been stuffed beyond recognition and the cocktails seem to matter as much as the food.…

Royals fan Joe Hoffmann dedicates first plate to Don Denkinger at Flying Saucer in St. Louis

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:30:42 -0500

Sometimes all a man has is conviction and an online fundraising campaign. Joe Hoffmann, perhaps better known by his blog handle Chimpotle locally, is a former Kansas City resident who has been transported via a cruel twist of fate or a car down Interstate 70 to St. Louis.…

Fritz's Smoked Meats' Bette Rogers is a meat avalanche

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:50:00 -0500

For the past month, I've been on the opposite of the Atkins Diet. I have been in pursuit of every carb-laden, meat-stuffed, cheese-filled sandwich within 40 minutes of Kansas City.…

Pan-Asian buffets: You just can't have too many of them

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:04:00 -0500

The old Fuddrucker's location at 8725 Metcalf, last occupied by the short-lived Royal Buffet (it lasted about five months), is getting a new tenant: another Asian buffet! According to the hand-lettered signs taped to the window of the venue, the "grand opening" of the new Pacific Buffet will be this Wednesday.…

Where to celebrate American Craft Beer Week in KC

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:46:00 -0500

May you never see the bottom of your pint glass - it's American Craft Beer Week. And Kansas City has plenty of ways for you to raise a toast in honor of this drinking holiday.…

Red Door Grill opens its doors in Leawood today

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:40:00 -0500

It's opening afternoon for chef Debbie Gold and the Red Door Grill. Gold left the American Restaurant last month to join Red Door Restaurants, a new local restaurant group that intends to open several neighborhood-focused eateries.…

Bruegger's Bagels has closed in Overland Park

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:59:00 -0500

Shed a few schmears. Bruegger's Bagels (13713 Metcalf) has closed in Overland Park.…

Brookside Farmers Market Gardening Festival and other weekend possibilities

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:37:00 -0500

With the danger of frost gone and warm, wet growing conditions, it's finally time to start thinking about your garden. Conveniently, the Brookside Farmers Market (63rd Street and Wornall) is holding its annual Gardening Festival on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There's a garden tool freecycle (think take-a-penny, leave-a-penny but with garden tools), a cooking demonstration with wild edibles from the Farmhouse's Michael Foust at 11 a.m. and a chance to ask local farmers about what to plant and how to keep it alive.…

Mother's Day brunches ... reservations still taken

Charles Ferruzza — Fri, 10 May 2013 06:05:00 -0500

Don't feel guilty: You're not the only one, by any means, who has procrastinated until the very last minute to make reservations for Sunday brunch for your mother, your wife, your significant other, the woman who is still collecting your court-mandated child-support payments, and all the other lovely people who deserve to be honored on Mother's Day, May 12.

Instead of asking Mom to dress up in her best frock only to take her to the drive-through at Sonic, why not make a reservation - it's not too late!…

Millie's Cafe brings back Polish, Croatian food to KCK

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:48:00 -0500

Stephanie Springer's vivid red lipstick is the same shade of red painted on the woodwork inside her new restaurant at 553 Central in Kansas City, Kansas. The unassuming frame building, which was occupied by Sophie's Deli for nearly three decades, has been given a new life this week as Millie's Cafe & Catering.…

Tilted Kilt is the latest breastaurant to set its sights on KC

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:00:28 -0500

Kansas City is apparently the new Tampa Bay. Or at least that's the thought of whoever is in charge of the concepts putting together wings, female servers and men in ill-fitting suits.…