Pantry Staples
The eastern edge of Brookside has a stellar new dining option. Baba’s Pantry (1019 E. 63rd St., KCMO) is a Palestinian-American counter-service restaurant which, as its name implies, also has a stocked deli case and several shelves of to-go items. The menu at the bright and cozy shop features kebabs, falafel and other familiar favorites, all well-prepared with lots of authentic seasonings. Make sure to ask for a cup of the hot sauce made from minced jalapenos, which you can also buy from the deli case.
Pure Bliss
We’ve been a little geeky about Bliss Chocolatier in Blue Springs (3100 S.W. MO-7, Blue Springs) since it opened and started racking up accolades from national media like the Washington Post. Now, we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Bliss has started making ice cream—the high-butterfat milk comes from a local dairy, and the mix-ins include homemade sponge toffee, Valrhona chocolate and Madagascar vanilla beans bought at fair-trade via an importer in Liberty. The bad news is that Bliss has been so busy they’re taking a three-week break from July 27 to August 14.
Leawood Luxury
Speaking of high-end chocolate: Park Place is now home to Panache (11555 Ash St., Leawood) which combines locally sourced fresh ingredients (honeysuckle, rose petals, spirits distilled by Union Horse) with single-origin chocolate. Panache is active on the international chocolate competition scene, was named a Grand Master Chocolatier last year and has won recognition from the International Chocolate Salon.
Main Street Social
The new Third Street Social location south of the Plaza will open at the end of July. Taking over the former Nick & Jake’s (5031 Main St., KCMO), the new Social spot brings a killer happy hour menu that packs out the original Lee’s Summit location. Owner Andy Lock is the father of Mizzou signal-caller turned Denver Broncos QB Drew Lock and was founded with the idea of bringing the “big city feel” of Chicago bars to Lee’s Summit. Look for a happy hour menu that offers three dollar pours of nearly any tap on the wall and steals on contemporary pub grub, like Korean steak tacos.
Wow House
The little house next to Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop in Westwood is now a low-key neighborhood dive bar with dumplings. As first reported by Feast, in the evenings from Thursday through Saturday, The House (2707 W. 47th Ave., Westwood) has been turned into a “beer and a shot” kind of place—that also happens to be a virtual kitchen for Wow Bao, a Chicago-based fast-casual Chinese concept that makes Asian street food including bao, potstickers, steamed dumplings and rice bowls.
The New Republic
Taco Republic is now open at the former Arby’s at Corinth Square (4100 W. 83rd St., Prairie Village). It’s the second location for the hip Mexican restaurant founded on the Wyandotte side of County Line Road on the border of KCK and Mission. In addition to street-style tacos and flavored margs, the location will have a lawn with “family-friendly, outdoor games.”
Correction: We incorrectly used the word “gyros” to describe the beef shawarma at Baba’s Pantry. We regret the error.
