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Day: July 12, 2024
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Stock Hill goes casual – sort of
When Stock Hill steak house opened in the South Plaza in late 2016, it was one of the largest restaurants in the metro, and one of the most elegant.
Now it has a more laid-back space, The Mezz at Stock Hill, on the second floor mezzanine overlooking The Lounge.
Summer is not the best period for steak houses, says Alan Gaylin, owner and founder of Stock Hill.
“Summer in general for restaurants [is not a good time] with people going on vacation to the lake,” Gaylin says. “This is something for new guests and our existing clients to drop by more often. The menu is more approachable on the price side. Summer comfort food.”
Executive chef Jacob Hilbert’s Mezz menu includes crab and avocado spring rolls, a brie board, KC BBQ wings, triple-cooked fries, East + West Oysters, Caesar salad, BLT Mac with lobster, smoked brisket, catfish and KC Wagyu cheesesteak.
Customers can also order drinks including the restaurant’s signature cocktails such as the KC Steakhouse Punch which includes four rosé wines and apple whiskey, and the Ruby Slipper with prosecco, aperol, grapefruit and sage.
The Mezz is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. The menu also is available on the patio.
In 2016, Stock Hill took a space on the first level of the renovated former Board of Trade building at 4800 Main St., Suite G-001. The 14,000-square-foot restaurant has a two-story dining room, The Lounge bar area, and outdoor terrace. It offers live music from 8 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in The lounge.
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Cheap Eats: Top 5 Places In KC To Grab Bar Grub for $15 Or Less
It’s not difficult to find bar grub for $15 or less around the city. But part of the fun in finding something affordable to eat is discovering the spots that are lesser-known and sometimes overlooked. In creating this list of cheap bar eats, we prioritized the hole-in-the-walls—the strip mall gems and joints that take you off the beaten path—while still indulging in some KC staples.
Some of Kansas City’s best bar food is actually some of its least expensive … if you know where to look. Check out our list of Top 5 Places In KC To Get Bar Food For $15 Or Less:
Louisville Hot Chicken Sandwich With Fries | $14
Lucky Boys
Lucky Boys is the perfect dive bar. Tony Hinchcliffe, a popular stand-up comic who just appeared on Netflix’s Roast of Tom Brady, went to Lucky Boys after his show at Uptown Theater and fell in love with it. Don’t let the fact that he used to drive a Corvette with the custom license plate “IROAST” deter you. If there’s anything a touring comic knows, it’s a great dive bar.
There’s no Instagram wall, reclaimed wood or $30 mocktail menu. There’s cold beer and a small menu of great bar food featuring burgers, poutine and fried bologna Cuban. If The Peanut has the best wings in Kansas City, then it’s safe to say that Lucky Boys has the best chicken sandwich. It’s spicy Louisville hot chicken over a bed of coleslaw on a Farm to Market Bread bun. Their kitchen is open until midnight, so when everything in Overland Park closes at 8 pm, Lucky Boys will always be there for you.
3 Wings And Fries | $13
The Peanut
(various locations)
The three wings and fries at The Peanut is one of the best meals you can eat in Kansas City. It may say three wings on the menu, but it feels more like six, since they give you the entire thing (the flats and drums are still connected). They’ll warn you of a 20 minute cook time when you order. I assure you it’s worth it.
I prefer the downtown location, but my friend, comedian Scott Shaffer (his new special White Noise Machine is now streaming on YouTube) prefers the downtown OP location, and I know several people who only go to the Main Street location. No one is wrong. They’re all great. The blue cheese dipping sauce is what I would recommend. And most definitely get cheese on your fries because it’s the right thing to do.
Pep Boi Pizza | $15
Fortunati
Photography by Sara Alvord Fortunati Pizza is not only one of the best pizza joints in town, it’s also affordable. Owner Justin Norcross, who also owns the dive bar Lucky Boys just a few doors down, opened this West Bottoms pizza spot due to his bar’s wildly successful pizza nights. Because Fortunati is so close to the bar, you can still order Fortunati’s pizza while seated at Lucky Boys, which is why we consider this spot bar grub.
The flour Fortunati uses is milled locally mere blocks away. The sourdough starter they use for their pizza is over 80 years old from Malta, near Italy. It was gifted to Norcross from his friend and the late owner of Observation Pizza, Nick Vella, who tragically passed away in a motorcycle accident. Fortunati is a love letter to Vella and what he started with Observation during the pandemic.
The combination of local flour, sourdough starter and all fresh and local ingredients is what makes this the best pizza in Kansas City hands down. Their hot honey pepperoni and jalapeno pizza, called the Pep Boi, will send you into such euphoria you won’t even notice the heartburn. The crust is perfectly thin, and the contrast of the sweet honey and spicy jalapeno is a match made in heaven. If you’re like me and like to dip your crust in ranch, Fortuanti makes their own. It’s this attention to the small details that makes Fortunati worth your time and money.
Reuben Sandwich | $6.95
Breit’s Stein and Deli
Breit’s manages to stand out even among Strawberry Hill’s stellar bar scene. The pub’s atmosphere is steeped in old world Irishness and nostalgia. If it’s your first time visiting, the regulars will give you a once over when entering, but who cares? Every sandwich is $6.95 and served with chips. The Reuben won’t let you down. The $4 pint of Guinness won’t either
Wednesday Taco Night The Easy Inn | 3 For $5
The Easy Inn
My apologies to all who want to keep this once-in-a-blue-moon kind of deal on the down-low, but it’s just too good. Every Wednesday, the Strawberry Hill dive bar offers three hard-shell ground meat tacos (gringo-style), along with a shot of Montezuma Tequila Blanco and a cold one of Tecate. Come in right at 5 pm and enjoy your steal on the patio.
Looking for more cheap eats ideas? Check out our 34 Amazing Kansas City Meals For $15 Or Less
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Cheap Eats: Top 6 Dishes In KC To Cure Your Hangover For $15 Or Less
Finding delicious hangover cures for $15 or less is easy in the city, but the real joy is discovering hidden gems that are often overlooked. Our list of top spots to cure hangovers highlights the best hole-in-the-wall places—those strip mall treasures and off-the-beaten-path joints—while still indulging in some classic KC favorites.
Curated by Tyler Shane Written by Dawnya Bartsch, Rachel Layton, Patrick Moore, Tyler Shane and Kyle Wisecarver. Photography by Sara Alvord. Illustrations by Linzie Hunter
Single Plate Lunch Buffet | $15
KC Kabob
8216 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park
Sitting a couple doors down from the venerable Taco Naco in Overland Park, it’s easy to overlook this traditional Persian restaurant. It’s a new location for owner Hamid Tafreshi, whose former Lenexa restaurant shut down during Covid, which I found devastating considering it was my family’s go-to for Iranian food.
But Tafreshi is back up and running. The new space is small, but they manage to pack a daily lunch buffet in at the front counter. If you’re new to Persian food, begin with a few scoops of saffron rice and pick between chicken or beef kabobs.
The cucumber and tomato salad, or shirazi, is a must along with some ghormeh sabzi (herb stew) and mast-o-khiar (a yogurt-cucumber sauce) for dipping. Top it all off with some charred tomatoes, and do it like the Persians do: indulge in the raw onions.
Lunch Special | $13.95
Sushi Uni
12841 W. 87th St. Parkway, Lenexa
If you are lucky enough to beat the lunch rush at this popular Lenexa sushi restaurant and not miss its amazing lunch specials, you’ll learn you don’t have to sacrifice price for quality rolls. Sushi Uni offers an impressive lunch special for just under $15: three sushi rolls of your choice, two crab rangoons, and soup or salad.
Not sure what to order? Grab a classic California roll. I also recommend the spicy crunch tuna roll with a spicy mayo and a sweet eel sauce. And don’t miss out on the spider roll with deep-fried soft-shell crab. Yes, you read that right.
Jalapeno Cheddar Kielbasa | $14.95
Wiener Kitchen
9645 W. 87th St., Overland Park
Photography by Sara Alvord In between Costco’s $1.50 hotdog and a Kauffman Stadium glizzy lies a peculiar restaurant that sells hotdogs, brats and even pancakes in the morning. The entire breakfast and lunch menu is under $15, but one item rises above the rest: the jalapeno cheddar kielbasa.
This kielbasa is topped with coleslaw and honey mustard barbecue sauce. It hits every taste bud you have and is the perfect combination of salty, sweet and spicy. You don’t have to go to the grocery store to buy some brats to grill. Just head over to Wiener Kitchen and have them prepare you one.
Bún Bò Huế | $14.95
Pho Lan
5024 N.E. Parvin Road, KCMO
QUIETLY SITTING ON the edge of the River Market, Pho Lan, a family-owned, no-frills Vietnamese joint, lists their menu items in their native language. Don’t worry—there’s English descriptions underneath. But this small detail always bodes well if you’re looking for something unapologetically authentic, like the hearty soup called bún bò Huế.
Like pho, it comes with vermicelli noodles, but instead of the accompaniment of beef or pork, you’ll find slices of beef shank, pig’s feet and chunks of pork blood swimming in this soup. Slightly spicy and oh-so rich, it’s absolutely irresistible with a squeeze of lime. Trust me on this one. -TS
Bento Box Mr. Le | $14.95
Mr. Le
5024 N.E. Parvin Road, KCMO
This compact, unassuming strip-mall restaurant in the Northland is a hidden Asian food gem. The restaurant is not fancy, but it has a much-deserved loyal following. The popular restaurant serves Vietnamese and Japanese food along with sushi. It’s consistent, fresh and offered at a good price. The lunchtime bento box especially hits the mark. Your choice of meat is served alongside steamed rice, a house salad and your choice of miso or onion soup.
Pad Thai | $12.95
Thai Place
9359 W. 87th St., Overland Park
Kansas City does not lack Thai restaurants. There’s everything from fancy sit-down to strip mall Thai. Everyone has a favorite spot, but what’s the best bang for your buck? Thai Place, near 87th and Antioch.
The huge pad Thai dish is big enough to be a meal on its own, but it comes with a side salad and two crab rangoon to fill it out. The salad’s ginger-honey mustard dressing has just enough tang, and the wonton mini fried rangoons add a nice bite-sized crunch. As for the pad Thai, it comes with your protein of choice, is cooked with a scrambled egg and is topped with peanuts and green onions. The sauce-to-noodle ratio is perfect, giving you a sweet and tangy bite each time.
Looking for more cheap eats ideas? Check out our 34 Amazing Kansas City Meals For $15 Or Less
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Immerse yourself in art at the Kemper’s Cafe Sebastienne
Have you dreamed of sipping rosé with Matisse or dining with Duchamp? It’s all possible at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art’s Cafe Sebastienne. The cafe itself is a piece of art, and the dining hall and its patrons are an integral part of the art installation.
The Cafe Sebastienne dining room is lined from floor to ceiling with paintings by the late American artist Frederick J. Brown, who died in 2012. The installation, called The History of Art, features 110 oil paintings, each representing an important movement or figure in art throughout the ages. The works cover the cafe’s seven irregular walls, and they can cleverly be identified via a “map” found on the back of the menu. Dining in the cafe is an immersive experience.
“The series reflects the words of my mentor Willem de Kooning, who once told me, ‘Remember that art is a very old profession—it began with a shaman in a cave,’” Brown said at the time of the permanent installation in 1999.
The installation begins with Brown’s renditions of those cavemen’s drawings and chronicles the history of art through the 20th century, including Brown’s interpretations of many great masterpieces of both Western and non-Western art. Featuring references to artistic styles and genres based on famous paintings by Titian, Goya, Manet, Matisse, Picasso and de Kooning, among many others, Brown, who was born in Georgia and grew up on Chicago’s South Side, pays tribute to important artists throughout history within the scope of the installation.
“The experience of being able to speak the language of all these artists from the time of the cavemen and to go back into the thought process that they went through was a very exciting and a very humbling experience,” Brown said. “I wanted these works to serve as a reminder to both the museum’s visitors and the [Kansas City] Art Institute’s students of the importance of history and the development through the ages of creative expression.”
Brown’s pieces are included in the collections of major museums around the world, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in D.C., as well as the White House.
What makes this work dynamic is that it doesn’t “just hang on museum walls,” said curator Dana Self in an essay she wrote about the installation. “It is the museum walls. In many ways, The History of Art is the genuine heart of the Kemper Museum precisely because it is extremely personal, was stitched together with love and devotion, reflects not only the museum itself but also the patron who built it, and ultimately forms the physical nucleus from which the rest of the museum radiates.”
The History of Art was commissioned by R. Crosby Kemper and Bebe Kemper, who were friends of the artist.
The cafe serves a seasonal menu and is open for brunch and lunch during museum hours.