New Pearls
On July 12, chef Vaughn Good’s highly anticipated restaurant Fox & Pearl (2143 Summit St., Kansas City, Mo. foxandpearlkc.com) moved from its temporary location in the Westside (the former Novel space) to its sparkling permanent digs on the corner of Summit and Avenida Cesar e Chavez. This bright space features caramel-colored upholstered booths, a handsome horseshoe bar, an epic patio and a delightful underground speakeasy. The good news is that the food is just as sumptuous as the décor: Prepare to drool over plates of homemade cavatelli with pork jowl, pan-seared pork terrine on buttermilk biscuits and snappy fried green tomatoes. The bad news is that you’ll have a really hard time deciding what to get on your first visit and what will have to wait until your second.
Jumping through Hoops
Beloved Brookside watering hole Charlie Hooper’s (12 W. 63rd St., Kansas City, Mo. 816-361-8841, charliehoopers.com) is still closed due to a fire and doesn’t yet know when it’ll reopen. The June 16 kitchen fire at Hooper’s appeared to be minor — our editor happened to be there when it broke out and joined others in lazily carrying his beer outside to watch the firefighters work — but the Cheers-like tavern has remained closed with staff transferring to Waldo sister bars The Well and Lew’s Grill and Bar. We asked when they plan to reopen and were told there’s no date in sight.
Jonesin’
Wildly popular KCK smoke shop Jones Bar-B-Q (6706 Kaw Dr., Kansas City, Kan. 913-788-5005) has reopened — though still not with its new pit. Sisters Deborah “Little” Jones and her sister Mary “Shorty” Jones Mosley have long been favorites with knowledgeable local cuehounds, but an appearance on Queer Eye gave them a new level of celeb status that led to the shop selling out within 20 minutes on a recent Saturday. (In the wake of the show, they also faced a brief sauce shortage.) The sisters had planned to add a new pit during their weeklong closure but hangups with the city slowed the plan.
Plant-based pretty cupcakes
Nestled into the former Pirate’s Bone Coffee space in Brookside is a cheerful new bakery — and it’s got a twist. Chef-owner Iris Green is passionate about vegan and gluten-free eating, and that’s reflected in the sweet treats at the Littlest Bake Shop (645 E. 59th St., Kansas City, Mo. 816-216-1006). You’d never guess by appearances that Green’s creations are anything but traditional, though: Her cupcakes are almost too pretty to eat, and her flavors are divine. (We would perform questionable favors in exchange for a dozen of her lime cupcakes with raspberry compote and rosewater icing.) The Littlest Bake Shop also serves specialty coffee drinks, in case you need to supercharge your sugar high.
Bay of pigs and pickles
A sandwich from Bay Boy is never a bad idea — and now, it’s even easier to get your hands on one of their magnificent Cubanos (smoked pulled pork, honey ham, Swiss cheese, thick pickles and hot pepper sauce between fluffy Dutch Crunch bread) with the opening of their second location inside the Made in Kansas City Marketplace on the Country Club Plaza (306 W. 47th St., Kansas City, Mo. madeinkc.com).
