Subject: Eating Out

• Everything’s better at Café Trio’s new Plaza location

  August 27, 2009

• Battle of the Dishes: General Tso dukes it out

     Two General Tso's battle it out for carry-out supremacy​Two popular Chinese restaurants -- Bo Lings at 4800 Main Street and Kin Lin at 314 E. 51st Street -- are only an eight or nine blocks distance from each other, but in many ways these two restaurants are worlds apart. Bo Lings is well-established, glamorous and not inexpensive. Kin Lin, adored by UMKC and Rockhurst college students and families in the surrounding neighborhoods, is modest, tiny and cheap. Both restaurant

  August 26, 2009

• Would you like some sweet potato fries with that?

  ​Fries used to be an afterthought -- the sidekick to hamburgers or hot dogs. And although you're still likely to find a frozen bag of Sysco fries next to the deep-fat fryer in diners and casual-dining restaurants, french fries have become a serious selling point for burger chains.  Endless french fries slowly coat your arteries at Red Robin, while Chick-fil-A offers waffle cut fries with a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper. Sonic takes a cue from Napoleon Dynamite and features ta

  August 31, 2009

• Poco's is coming back...as a buffet!

  ​Last March, Fat City reported -- somewhat mournfully -- about the last breakfast served at Poco's on the Boulevard, the beloved cafe at 3063 Southwest Boulevard. The dream restaurant of Lorenza "Poco" Gutierrez (who had been the celebrity chef at the Broadway Grille and, later Poco's Latin American Grill), who served breakfast, lunch and dinner -- terrific dinners! -- at her namesake restaurant, a former Waid's diner. Well, as soon as the city's health inspectors sign off on everything,

  August 31, 2009

• In an old neighborhood, a couple of new favorites

  September 3, 2009

• Now Hiring: Fran's Restaurant in the P&L District

  ​This sign was in the window of a building at 14th and Main in the Power & Light District. Not a lot of information, but a guy working inside the building said it's the future site of Fran's Restaurant. Here's the description on the P&L's Web site: Fran's Restaurant is a 24-hour diner, offering upscale comfort food such as pancakes, eggs Benedict, burgers, rice pudding, chili, apple pie and milk shakes, along with daily specials. Fran's will be located on the corner of Main Street and

  September 2, 2009

• Going off menu at fast-food joints

  ​Off-menu items are like the hidden door in the bookcase -- you've got to be able to tell cashiers exactly which button to push on the register in order to reveal the hidden wonders at your favorite fast food restaurant. Mental Floss published a list of 10 off-menu items at popular fast food chains -- but as with so much of the Internet, the best information is in the comments and suggestions that follow the story. A double grilled quesadilla at Taco Bell is a good idea. The chili cheese burr

  September 2, 2009

• Zest needed help, and Chef Linda Duerr came to the rescue

  September 10, 2009

• Local Flavor

  September 10, 2009

• Reconsidering the 15 percent tip

  ​As a waiter it's difficult not to approach new guests and make assumptions about what kind of tip you're about to receive. A table of teenagers in the diner doesn't look nearly as promising as a first date or birthday party. But when the crumbs have settled and the check is signed, the reality of whether a table was satisfied with the service is right there on the tip line ... unless, the tip is exactly 15 percent. Then, according to Slashfood's Hanna Ruskin, a waiter has no idea whether you

  September 10, 2009

• Can promise conquer problems at the Westside Local? Here’s hoping so

  September 17, 2009

• The West Bottoms might get...happier

  Todd Schulte has an idea for this space, but no deal yet​There's been a lot of incorrect information floating around about Todd Schulte's future plans. Schulte -- the entrepreneur behind The Happy Soup Eater, a home-made soup delivery service and Happy Gillis Cafe and Hangout, the popular soup-and-sandwich restaurant at 549 Gillis Street in Columbus Park -- has been reported to be moving his restaurant to a space in the West Bottoms. Not true. Schulte is, however, contemplating put

  September 16, 2009

• Ciao Bow Wow

  September 24, 2009

• Best Of Extra: More Best Brunches

  The Sunday brunch rule: Pick up a plate and try everything ​One of the standard categories in the annual Best of Kansas City edition of The Pitch is Best Brunch. The combination of breakfast and lunch is an alluring proposition, particularly if it's one of those fabulous all-you-can-eat affairs. Since buffets can be an expensive endeavor for some restaurants, the order-off-the-menu brunch is becoming a more popular option. That's the format at the European-style boite that we chose a

  October 2, 2009

• This week's "Best of Fat City": The Best of Everything

  ​The American Dream, in the 1950s, was to have the best of everything -- it was even the title of a 1959 movie! And guess what, people still want the best of everything, even in a difficult economic climate. And, damn it, that's what The Pitch wants you to have, providing lots and lots of enticing suggestions in this week's annual Best of Kansas City issue. Naturally, in Fat City, we're most concerned with the culinary choices offered in the issue, both the choices selected by The

  October 2, 2009

• Best of Extra: Server of the Year!

    Joel O'Laughlin is waiting for his big break while waiting tables​Joel O'Laughlin is a writer. He's a waiter. He's a writer and a waiter and the Reader's Choice for "Best Waiter/Waitress" in this year's Best of Kansas City issue. Since O'Laughlin -- who has also dabbled in stand-up comedy -- may have the perfect credentials for professional restaurant work, it's no surprise that his friends and fans sent in lots of ballots for the Kansas City native who has worked at Waldo P

  October 6, 2009

• Parkville’s Iron Horse bistro is on the right track

  October 8, 2009

• New fall lunch menu at Cafe Sebastienne

  Grilled swordfish, left, and a hot Kentucky brown highlight the new menu. ​While there are plenty of new and interesting exhibits at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, diners should be excited to learn about the new fall lunch menu at Cafe Sebastienne. Although Executive Chef Jennifer Maloney changes the dinner menu weekly to account for seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, the lunch menu changes only seasonally.   The two new dishes that caught our attention are the Swordfi

  October 7, 2009

• The honest truth about tipping

  ​Last month the debate raged on Fat City whether 15 percent was still an adequate tip, but now the question is whether the concept of tips should even exist. In a recent essay, columnist David Mitchell of The Observer tries to explain why he feels tips are outmoded: If you're going to a restaurant to be served and eat a meal, why is the price of the delivery open to negotiation but not that of the food itself, the ambiance, music, heating or use of the furniture? All of these things can disa

  October 7, 2009

• Now Open: The Pizza Bar

  Salvatore DiFatta puts raw sausage on his pizza and...it works​Salvatore DiFatta sells pizza at the lunch-only venues he owns in Chicago and Washington, D.C., but he's actually from Baltimore, where he began working at a pizzeria as a teenager.DiFatta was hired by the Cordish Company to re-vamp the Power & Light District's failed Vinino Bistro -- an Italian restaurant concept that was too fancy (and seriously unfocused) for its location. The initial idea behind Vinino was to serve b

  October 9, 2009

• Ra Sushi is saucily seductive

  October 15, 2009

• The Mixx is now open in the Power & Light District

  ​The Mixx opened last Friday in the Power & Light District at 1347 Main, a sister restaurant to the popular Plaza eatery that lets customers mix their own salads and sandwiches.  "My goal was to create an interesting and contemporary space for casual dining," says owner Jo Marie Scaglia, who is busy shuttling back and forth between her two locations and overseeing the company's growing catering business. At the new space, The Mixx has launched a hot breakfast menu and has a host of ne

  October 16, 2009

• Fran's opens in Power & Light today

  ​It's not often that party animals and families are both excited about the arrival of a new restaurant, but Fran's Restaurant -- a 24-hour diner opening in the Power & Light District today -- has something for everybody.  "It doesn't matter who you are, you are going to like something on this menu, it's huge," says general manager Kandice Jenkins.The new restaurant at the corner of 14th and Main is the first U.S. location for the immensely popular Canadian chain (the original Fran's R

  October 16, 2009

• No mo' show at GoJo?

  Do the teppanyaki chefs still put on a show at GoJo?​Larry and Barb from Lake Waukomis, Missouri, e-mailed us this week with an intriguing question. "We've gone to GoJo's since it opened and still enjoy the food. But there's no show anymore," wrote Larry, noting that when teppanyaki steakhouses like GoJo were all the rage in Kansas City, "most of their cooks/chefs put on quite a show. They were jugglers, percussionists and all 'round showmen, but now it seems that they just do a perfu

  October 16, 2009

• 715 opens in Lawrence

  ​The "European-style" 715 is set to open this morning on Massachusetts Avenue in Lawrence. "Italian cuisine is not just about the pasta, tomatoes, cheese and other ingredients. It's about the lifestyle that brings you those dishes. Our goal is to emulate that feeling at 715 by offering the closest thing to a European neighborhood eatery as you can find in the Midwest," says Executive Chef Michael Beard.The new restaurant is named for its street address in the historic Anderson Building. "It's

  October 19, 2009

• Kobe opens in the Power & Light District

  ​The world of surf and turf came to the Power & Light District this weekend as Kobe Japanese Steak House opened on Saturday. The surf is the 14 hibachi grills, while the turf is a sushi bar in the main dining room at 1303 Baltimore Avenue. The Power & Light location is the sixth restaurant for a chain that began in Leesburg, Virginia."We always strive to use fresh, high quality ingredients. Our pricing is reasonable and we have larger portions," says manager Frank Ha.  The sushi s

  October 19, 2009

• Lee Chai’s new Hot Basil gets us all worked up

  October 22, 2009

• The return of the restaurant matchbox

  The restaurants are gone, the matchbooks linger on....​Even though it's illegal to smoke in restaurants anymore, one of the symbols of those carefree, let's-light-up-shall-we days -- the matchbook, or box of matches imprinted with the restaurant's name and logo -- is suddenly back in favor, according to an article this week in The New York Times. People love matches because they're free, they're a memento of a pleasant meal or a first date, they're always handy to have around the house

  October 23, 2009

• Closed: The Coyote Grill

  The coyote howls no more in Leawood​Well, it was a good try. Looking for a great idea to beef up profits at Yahooz, their Leawood "cowboy restaurant," PB&J restaurant group owners Paul Khoury and Bill Crooks closed the venue earlier this year and quickly re-invented the location as a new Coyote Grill. The Coyote Grill was a popular casual dining spot serving Southwestern fare at the now-razed Mission Center. It was an early success for Khoury and Crooks, so the idea of

  October 26, 2009

• Cafe Europa: Sustainable restaurant

  ​If you don't clean your plate at Cafe Europa, you shouldn't feel guilty. The Crestwood restaurant has partnered with environmental consultant Earthscraps LLC to implement a composting and recycling program.    "This is about getting into restaurants and addressing the issue of waste. Cafe Europa is an experiment. I'm hoping to take all my experience in the restaurant industry and passion for trash, and work to create a sustainable environment," says Jerame Gray, President of the Kan

  October 27, 2009

• Mezzaluna and Frank’s put homespun comfort before Continental glamour – and that’s fine

  October 29, 2009

• Leftovers: Fraud, Job Openings and Menus

  ​Here are some random newsy items from my reporter's notebook. Fraud Alert Overland Park Police say there's been "a cyber intrusion into the credit card server" at Llwelyn's Pub. The police have received several complaints of credit card fraud, so if you've charged anything at Llywelyn's in the last six months, you're urged to monitor your credit card statements carefully. If you suspect any unauthorized purchases, you can contact the police at 913-327-6855.Now HiringThe Drop Bar put out a not

  October 29, 2009

• Service Industry Horror Stories, Episode #2

  Some servers love to dress up ... I wasn't one of them​I did a lot of things as a waiter that I'm not particularly proud to confess. I threw tip trays at stingy customers (prom kids were the worst), I once used a foreign accent when working in a Greek restaurant (I was bored!) and more than a few times served caffeinated coffee to customers who demanded decaf. What can I say? The caffeinated java was fresher. One thing I would not do was wear a costume on Halloween. My theory was this

  October 30, 2009

• Chilli n Spice Indian Bistro doesn't deliver on the promise of its name or ambitious menu

  November 5, 2009

• An etiquette guide for servers

  ​We've all got a mental checklist of things that servers can do to improve or ruin their tip. The New York Times blog You're The Boss has created a two-part list (the second half will run next week) of "100 things a restaurant staffer should never do." The first 50 suggestions all seek to put the needs of the guest first, to keep the restaurant running smoothly and to avoid value judgments. The list feels a bit like Miss Manners for restaurateurs -- a formal and slightly outmoded advice guide

  November 4, 2009

• Leftovers: Openings, moving, and menus

  ​Here are some random newsy items from my reporter's notebook.Get Ready for Freddy's Freddy's Frozen Custard is coming to Kansas City. The Wichita Eagle reports on eight possible franchise locations, with the first to open next spring near 135th and Metcalf in Overland Park. Freddy's Web site lauds the Wichita-based company's steakburgers, shoestring fries and concretes. Health Inspector's Close Sharp'sSharp's 63rd Street Grill was temporarily closed on Monday after the Kansas City Health Depa

  November 4, 2009

• Grand Street Cafe now open for breakfast

  Grand Street's Monte Cristo looks like a serious sandwich. ​Grand Street Cafe launched its new breakfast menu on Monday with a number of sweet and savory options designed to lure in the Plaza corporate crowd.  "We expect to have a strong business crowd, it's definitely going to be a big component," Chef Ian Hockenberger said when Fat City caught up with him in the dining room earlier this week.The new menu grew out of an informal arrangement. Grand Street Cafe regularly hosts two to three

  November 5, 2009

• Top 10 soups in Kansas City

  ​Soup is the ultimate comfort food in winter. There's something about a warm bowl and cold weather that just feels right. Perhaps it stretches back to the days when Julia Child used to make primordial soup. So, Jonathan Bender and Charles Ferruzza set out with their soup spoons in hand in an effort to find out bowls were worthy of a place at a table. The list that follows is the Top 10 Soup options in Kansas City.  10) Roxanne's Cafe -- This family-owned Parkville diner offers two ho

  November 5, 2009

• Restaurant folks always band together

  Former Magic Pan employees will reunite Saturday at the RecordBar​Back in the early 1980s, Tom Damico was a waiter, serving crepes at the old Magic Pan restaurant in Seville Square on the Country Club Plaza. One of his Magic Pan co-workers, Sherri Blades, later married Bob King and a few years later, Tom, Sherri and Bob all worked together -- you know how servers move around from restaurant to restaurant -- at the Hyatt Regency Hotel; Sherri was at the Terrace Restaurant, Tom was at J.

  November 5, 2009

• An etiquette guide for servers: Redux

  ​The New York Times blog You're The Boss is back with the second half of its "100 things a restaurant staffer should never do." And although author Bruce Buschel suggests that these are merely guidelines for his restaurant, the insinuation is that there's a lesson every server can learn. It's interesting to watch Buschel's tone change slightly from what he describes as "a modest list of do's and don'ts" in part one (published earlier this week) to the end of the second post's introduction wher

  November 6, 2009

• Back in the kitchen: Max Chao

  Max Chao is back in the Crossroads​Last year, Max Chao was working as general manager for the newly opened Masalas Authentic Indian Diner at 91st and Metcalf in Overland Park. Masalas had opened in the spot where Chao had, for three years, been running a casual dining restaurant called Ohana Hawaiian Grill. But Chao says he was "downsized" by the owners of Masalas a few months ago, and started looking for new employment opportunities. When he stopped by restaurateur Casey Adams' Nara

  November 6, 2009

• Now Open: Shabby Hattie's Tea Room

  It's girly, but the portions are man-sized at Shabby Hattie's Tea Room in Parkville​Professional seamstress and former cocktail waitress Marcia Cherrito (the niece of local entertainer Frank Cherrito) had a dream: She wanted to open her own little tea room that served baked goods, breakfast, lunches and tea. Last week Cherrito threw open the doors to her turquoise-and-teal tea room on downtown Parkville's main drag (113 N. Main). Shabby Hattie's Tea Room and Boutique (named for Cherrito

  November 9, 2009

• In an age of imitation, Rob's Café and Roxanne's Café are two classic diners

  November 12, 2009

• What your waiter is Tweeting about you

  ​In just a few months we've gone from a server being fired for what she wrote on a blog to a server being fired for a Tweet about a customer. Keep your eyes peeled for the waiter that is terminated following a Facebook status update or for participating in a Reddit thread about the parent company of their restaurant. Meanwhile, after the jump, there's a list of some of the weirder interactions between servers and diners that we found through a Twitter search. 

  November 11, 2009

• Leftovers: Breadsticks, menus, and hirings

  ​​Here are some random newsy items from my reporter's notebook.Farm to Market Launches Line of Breadsticks  The Farm to Market Bread Company recently introduced a new line of Grissini Torinesi -- traditional Italian-style breadsticks. The grissini will be made by Claudio Cantore, a third-generation baker who emigrated to the United States from Italy in 1974 and served as an early mentor to Farm to Market founder Mark Friend. "I'm really proud we can offer Claudio's Grissini," Friend say

  November 11, 2009

• The Well rolls out Sunday brunch

  ​The Well has quickly established itself on the Waldo circuit since opening this August -- and now it's hoping to attract more patrons with a host of new menu and drink offerings. The bar and grill debuted its Sunday Brunch yesterday, which features an omelet bar among the six stations offering breakfast breads, fruit, eggs benedict, salads and desserts. For those who need it, there's also a Bloody Mary bar with enough vegetables for you to consider that your meal. 

  November 16, 2009

• At Julian, Celina Tio delivers on her promise of "feel good food"

  November 19, 2009

• The Majestic

  November 19, 2009

• Now Open: Cozy's Cafe

  Kozeta Kreka just wants customers to get cozy ​To her family and friends, Kozeta Kreka is simply Cozy. And that's the name Kreka -- a native of Pogradec, Albania -- gave to her new restaurant, Cozy's Cafe. The placed opened two months ago at 6740 W. 75th Street, directly across the street from Fritz's Chili and the Petco store. Kozeta ran her own candy company before leaving Albania with her husband Albert and two children in 1997. For a few years after moving to Kansas, Kreka was

  November 18, 2009

• Going out for turkey day? Plan now!

  Who makes it at home anymore?​Plenty of restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving Day this year. The holiday wasn't always a big business day for the restaurant industry; until the late 1980s, Thanksgiving was considered a holiday when most people preferred eating -- and cooking -- at home. But anyone who has ever hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family knows it can be an ordeal: roasting that bird for hours, creating all those side dishes, trying to remember which relative

  November 20, 2009