Casual spinoff from Corvino coming to the Crossroads
Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room is known for many delicious things, but chief among them is the cheeseburger, where two thin, diner-style chuck patties find rapture between a house-made sesame seed bun with perfect garlic aioli, charred onions, dill pickle slices and melty muenster cheese. The outstanding popularity of this burger gave Michael and Christina Corvino the idea for Ravenous (1830 Walnut St., Kansas City, corvinokc.com), the burger joint opening this June inside the ParC at Corrigan Station, right next door to Corvino in the Crossroads Art District. Ravenous will feature the signature Corvino cheeseburger, of course, plus chicken sandwiches, veggie bowls, fries, malts and fried pies. The small space will have counter service and ample outdoor seating. Ravenous will be open seven days a week, 11 am to 7 pm, and later on First Fridays.
Vegan burgers from Pirate’s Bone coming to the Crossroads
After five years in business, vegan coffee shop Pirate’s Bone shuttered its Brookside doors in March in favor of a new location and slight tweak on the concept. Mexico City-born Zaid Consuegra has been gradually expanding his menu from house-made almond, cashew or pumpkin seed milk in lattes to a veggie burger featuring a beet-and-oat patty on an activated charcoal bun. Now, Consuegra is taking his talents to the Crossroads with Pirate’s Bone Burgers (2000 Main St., Kansas City, piratesbonecoffee.com), a plant-based diner that will bring delicious, accessible vegan food to the people. Expect an opening this spring.
Lush coffee roastery now open in Shawnee
Hearts broke in December when beloved Crossroads coffee shop Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters closed, but owner Bo Nelson has an answer for all his caffeine-addicted devotees while he hunts for a new location. Café Equinox (7036 Nieman Road, Shawnee, familytreenursery.com) opened in Family Tree Nursery in February. While you contemplate ranunculus perennials, enjoy a craft coffee beverage made with Thou Mayest beans.
Fresh poke in Overland Park
Jessica Wang’s Pokélicious (7414 W. 119th St., Rosana Square, Overland Park, pokeliciouskc.com) brings crave-worthy poke bowls to the metro. If you’re unfamiliar with this Hawaiian staple, go with one of her signature creations. The Lomi Lomi Bowl marries marinated smoked salmon with edamame, pickled ginger and red onion. Wang offers sushi rice, brown rice and green tea soba noodles as the base for her poke bowls.
Curios and coffee in Northeast KCMO
Take a step back in time at Mansion Coffee (2821 Independence Ave., Kansas City, facebook.com/mansioncoffeekcmo), open inside Byers Mansion in Northeast Kansas City. The menu is straightforward and simple — the most expensive item is a $5 mocha — and all drinks feature Broadway Roasting Company beans.
The drinks are well-made, but it’s really the ambiance that you go for. Mansion Coffee is decked out with quirky curios from a bygone era. Enjoy an iced tea in the salmon-pink parlor, and revel in your stately surroundings.
Trendy Arkansas coffee in the Garment District
Vested Coffee (310 W. Eighth St., Kansas City, vested.coffee) is open in the Garment District, replacing the former Scratch coffee shop. You’ll find that the bright, inviting space has received a much-needed facelift, and the coffee program, too, has undergone an overhaul. Vested features beans from Onyx Coffee Lab, a celebrated Northwest Arkansas-based roaster, which should please coffee connoisseurs looking for something a little different. (They also stock plenty of local products, like Overland Park’s Geo Pressed Juice). Vested is a true mom-and-pop shop, run by a husband-wife team that will treat you like family.
New beer in Midtown and Shawnee
As craft breweries in oversaturated corners of the country continue to close, Kansas City continues a spate of openings. In the center of Shawnee, Servaes (10921 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kan., servaesbrewco.com) is now open a few blocks away from the another JoCo newcomer, Transport Brewing. Brewer-owner Courtney Servaes’ early menu features several hazy IPAs and offbeat creations like a rainbow sherbert sour and a carrot cake beer. Meanwhile, Alma Mader Brewing (2635 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, almamaderbrewing.com) is now open near Boulevard Brewing. Brewer-owner Nick Mader started his career at Boulevard before working for Colorado’s Crooked Stave and Seattle’s Fremont Brewing. Now running his own shop, Mader says he wants to make hop-forward ales and lagers, mostly centered around classic styles like IPA and Pilsner.
