The Power & Light District's best restaurant is also its first one to actually have a connection to Kansas City. The Houlihan's Restaurant Group, the current owners of this restaurant concept (created by Joe Gilbert and Paul Robinson back when "fresh seafood" was considered an oxymoron in the Midwest) wisely decided to give the downtown Bristol a 21st-century sensibility. There's no vintage leaded-glass dome here, but the interior is sleek and modern, and the staff — well-trained and attentive — can intelligently explain the difference between butterfish and moonfish. Chef Pat Cleary hasn't turned his back on the classic Bristol repertoire: the creamy clam chowder, the famous baking-powder biscuits and the oysters Rockefeller. But his updated menu, which changes daily, has a more multicultural sensibility, including Vietnamese crab spring rolls, chipotle-grilled shrimp and lobster ravioli. And because most seafood is a proven aphrodisiac, it helps that this dining room is dimly lighted and many of the servers are sexy as hell.
