Where Am I Eating?, Pitch

Where did I find this bowl of all-you-can-eat pasta?

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 11:08:24 -0500

There's only one of these restaurants left in the metro -- the Texas-based chain closed a couple of its other Kansas locations -- but this one, in a high-traffic tourist spot, is popular for its frequent low-priced dinner specials. The current special offers an unlimited bowl of pasta (patrons can choose both the pasta and the sauce) and an all-you-can-eat salad for less than 10 bucks.…

Where can you find this plate of cereal-encrusted french toast?

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:02:00 -0500

It's not enough for french toast to merely be french toast anymore. It now needs to be stuffed with a sweet cream cheese concoction, soaked in liqueur, or dipped -- after marinating in an egg-and-milk bath -- in something slightly crunchy, like crushed cereal flakes.

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So where did I eat this 'vegetarian' potato soup?

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:09:03 -0500

Thanks to several co-workers who lead a meatless lifestyle, I've become a lot more sensitive to the tribulations that local vegetarians and vegans must endure in Kansas City restaurants. Even though I still eat meat, I find myself asking questions in dining venues that my vegetarian friends might wonder about.…

Where did I find this tempting chocolate mousse?

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:22:58 -0600

The actual dessert is called Belgian Chocolate Rum Mousse and it's on a dessert selection at a restaurant very close to the Kansas City metro, but not quite in it.

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Guess where I'm eating a Chipotle Chicken Fiesta Sandwich? (Update)

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:05:21 -0600

Update: There were excellent guesses to this week's "Where Am I Eating?" question, but all near misses. For the correct answer, read through to the bottom of the original post.

The vintage china and the teacups probably give this mystery question away quickly, but where can you find this sandwich: a combination of sliced chicken breast topped with chipotle mayonnaise, pepper-jack cheese, red onion, lettuce and tomato on a French-style loaf?

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Guess where I'm eating delicious pho?

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:45:44 -0600

In the United States, an ethnic dish has officially gained popular acceptance when it's no longer found only in the restaurants that traditionally serve a distinctive culture's cuisine. For example: egg rolls and fried rice, once exclusive to Chinese restaurants, can sometimes be found at American-style buffets, like the Golden Corral.…

There's something about a dish served in foil

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:37:30 -0600

Not too many local restaurants serve dishes wrapped in shiny foil. The Latin Bistro, north of the Missouri River, offers a particularly snazzy shrimp dish in a foil pouch that's opened to great effect, releasing a little cloud of steam.…

A different spin on baked brie

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:15:29 -0600

Tis the season when you hope to discover that your friends' plans for holiday entertaining include baked brie. After it's served, you simply need a few moments alone in the living room so you can shovel crackers in your face and eat more of the circular gooey cheese than you'd admit under oath.…

Guess where I'm eating a trio of panna cotta?

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:31:22 -0600

Panna cotta in a variety of flavors...

Simmer cream, milk and sugar together, add some gelatin (or, in very early times, fish bones to help the concoction set) and you have panna cotta, a popular Italian dessert believed to have been first created in the Piedmonte region of Italy.

It's a confection seen on more and more Kansas City dessert trays lately. And for good reason: it's very light, not terribly fattening and a simple way to end a heavy meal.…

Yes, restaurants use holiday leftovers, too

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:00:34 -0600

A turkey-spinach-and cranberry brunch crepe looked all holiday-like last weekend.

I stopped at a local bistro for brunch over the weekend and found out that even the savviest restaurateurs have to come up with creative uses for their Thanksgiving leftovers. In this case, it was a tasty breakfast dish made from leftover turkey and cranberry sauce.…

A little French breakfast? Oui! Oui!

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:15:37 -0500

An omelet, si vous plais?

Which midtown restaurant serves an off-the-menu Sunday brunch that features a virtual United Nations of morning dishes, including eggs Norwegian, a full English breakfast (two eggs, bacon, baked beans, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes) and several options that would be perfectly at home on the Rive Gauche?

The meal starts with complimentary house-baked scones. (Yesterday's were blueberry with an orange glaze.)

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Apple dumplings and banana bread pudding (Updated)

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:34:47 -0500

Dracula's favorite dumpling!

We could only confess during October -- the month of ghouls, ghosts and gremlins -- that the bright-red, sticky-sweet sauce on the baked apple dumpling is the exact Day-Glo pinky-red color that the old British Hammer Studios of the 1950s and '60s used for its particular shade of "blood" in films like Dracula, Prince of Darkness.

That's because the sauce is made of melted candy.

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A great restaurant better have some balls (Update)

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:29:17 -0500

Update (October 5, 2010): The long-awaited answer from last week? These big, meaty balls are served at the new Carmen's Cafe restaurant in Leawood.…

A new place for Sunday fried chicken dinner (Update)

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:23:21 -0500

Update: The fried chicken dinner that was the featured in this week's "Where Am I Eating?" post garnered some very good comments, but none of them actually pinpointed the actual restaurant: Backfire BBQ in the Legends Entertainment Complex in Kansas City, Kansas. Chicken is only available on Sundays, but that's also the day the venue offers fried chicken and homemade waffles.…

The return of the fried apple pie

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:00:51 -0500

The American fried apple pie dates back at least as early as the first pioneers, who dried slices of the autumn fruit to keep around through winter. Wrapped in a sheath of pastry and fried in butter or lard, these satisfying pies were the original "fast food."…

What do you mean, you've never heard of Panhead Billy's BBQ?

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:30:38 -0500

It's a barbecue joint! It's a biker bar!…

Small-town barbecued meatloaf...and bikers

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:00:05 -0500

When I say small town, I mean practically microscopic: population 120 people.

I stumbled into this combination biker bar and barbecue pit traveling through Missouri on one of our speedy eastbound interstates.…

Just give me a plate of barbacoa tacos (Update)

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:28:53 -0500

Update: Commenter Mallary almost had the right answer to this week's "Where Am I Eating" quiz. That's right, Mallary, it's Paparico's Mexican Restaurant on Wornall Road.…

When garnishes go crazy

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:26:12 -0500

Update: This was a tough one! The restaurant thhat serves this dramatically-garnished bowl of seafood etouffee is Shields Manor Bistro in Platte City.…

We love calamari with lots of interesting sauces

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:30:26 -0500

Calamari -- the delectable squid dish best-known on most local menus in its crispy, fried incarnation -- has become so familiar that McDonald's and Home Town Buffet seem to be the only restaurant chains not serving it. But not all calamari appetizers are created equal.…

Italian lasagna or truckstop casserole? (Update)

Charles Ferruzza — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:27:39 -0500

Update: Such terrific guesses from our commenters, but no one had the correct answer to this week's "Whare Am I Eating?" question. A rare example of stumping our savvy readers.…

Eggy, cheesy, saucy brunch

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:30:39 -0500

It's eggsquisite

Sometimes scrambled eggs or even eggs Benedict just won't do in the morning. This dish, a variation on the classic Italian frittata, is made with eggs, angel hair pasta, Fontina cheese and all kinds of other rich ingredients, then smothered in a cheesy cream sauce.…

Springfield Cashew Chicken (Updated)

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:39:41 -0500

Not quite like it looks in Springfield

Such great guesses as to the restaurant that serves this good -- but not great -- version of Springfield Cashew Chicken! It needed to be a lot crunchier.And which restaurant served the dish?…

I'll take the falafel plate

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:55:01 -0500

Fold it in a wedge of pita and you've got a hot sandwich

You can also call these fried chickpea patties -- according to the most recent updated version of The Food Lover's Companion -- "croquettes," unless, of course, they're ball-shaped. The falafel at the restaurant serving this dish are very green, thanks to the fresh cilantro in the batter.…

Give me the bird

Charles Ferruzza — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:48:15 -0500

Go ahead, bite into that breast!

Back before anyone knew about dirty words like cholesterol, saturated fat and stroke, it was a tradition to have, right after church services, a hearty Sunday supper of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits with butter, and green beans. And that's exactly what we ate on Sunday afternoon.…