Wednesday, May 30, 2012

KC’s best Mexican Restaurants

Man Eats World is in search of… KC’s best Mexican Restaurants!
Urbanspoon lists 277 Mexican Restaurants in Kansas City at the time I am writing this, making Mexican Restaurants the 3rd most prolific in town, representing 9.5% of the total number, making it a tie for 3rd place between them and pizza joints after American cuisine (503) and sandwich shops (395).   Of those that I have tried, the following really stand out for me.  I am going to list the Mexican Restaurants that I like in alphabetical order and the reasons that I like them.  If you are reading this, let me know if you agree or disagree, tell me someplace I haven’t listed and what I should try when I go there.  Help me and other readers find the best Mexican Restaurants in Kansas City.

Dos de Oros on Urbanspoon

Dos de Oros (Translation: Two Golds?)
I don’t understand the significance of the name, or even if I have translated it correctly.  I’d love for someone to explain it.  Anyway, this place serves my standard Ameri-Mex favorites with a few twists; they serve their beans whole, not mashed and refried; they’re seasoned nicely and have a really good flavor.  They also serve their dishes sprinkled with white cheese, not yellow (always a plus with me).  I also believe their horchata (a sweet rice milk drink flavored with vanilla and cinnamon) is the best in town, although El Patron serves a pretty good one as well.  Lastly, I like their version of churros, theirs are crunchy instead of soft and served with a scoop of ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup and honey. Nice.
El Camino Real on Urbanspoon
El Camino Real (Translation: The Royal Road)
The Tacos al Pastor are really good here. The seasoned pork is heated on a grill at the front with some pineapple.  I’ve eaten Tacos al Pastor that I’ve purchased from street vendors in Tijuana and Cozumel that I really enjoyed, making me long for them here, these are every bit as good, and the best I’ve had in town.  I’ve also tried the enchiladas and tamales here which I didn’t care for.  The Tacos al Pastor are the reason to come to El Camino Real.  Oh, they also serve bottles of “Mexican” soda.  I like to drink a pineapple soda with my tacos al pastor.


El Patron on Urbanspoon

El Patron (Translation: The Protector?)
I’ve tried most things here and I usually now order the combination platter, the Los Tres Grandes.  It is one taco al pastor (pork), one taco de carne asada (beef) and one taco marinero (fish taco). It is lightly breaded tilapia with shredded cabbage, a slice of avocado and pico de gallo, served with a mango salsa. Wow, those flavors were very interesting together. I don’t know if I like these fish tacos best, or the ones made by the folks at Teocali.  The beef taco contained little chunks of marinated steak, not ground or stringy beef with pico de gallo. It had a good flavor as well. The taco al pastor, although good, is my least favorite of the three tacos.  I’ve already stated that the ones at El Camino Real are my favorite.  For the tequila connoisseur there are many options here, for me, it’s fun to try different ones.  El Patron also has the hippest, most modern atmosphere of any restaurant on my list and is the only one that I know of with a rooftop seating area.

Miguels catering and carry out on Urbanspoon
Miguel’s Catering and Carry-Out
My spouse works with a young guy who is painfully shy and nearly never speaks, knowing that we like to try new places, one day he walked up and said, “Have you ever tried the Chicken Mole at Miguel’s Catering and Carry-Out?  It’s the best I’ve ever eaten.”, and then promptly walked away.  Stunned by this uncharacteristic outburst, we decided that we really had to try it… he was right.  Just a little store front in an old strip mall on Lamar, there are only a couple of tables, so we do as the name suggests and carry ours out.  They put your order in a tri-sectioned styrofoam container which is not pretty, but keeps it warm on the ride home.  The chicken mole consists of a large portion of cubed chicken smothered in mole.  The chicken is very tender and the mole is the best I’ve had in Kansas City.  Some places sweeten theirs, Miguel does not.  I like my mole unsweetened.  It is served with standard industry fare refried beans and Spanish rice, not impressive, but you’re taking it home so you can eat it with something else.  Oh, beware, they only serve chicken mole on Friday and Saturday nights.  (I found this out the hard way.)
Rudy's Tenampa Taqueria on Urbanspoon

Rudy’s Tenampa Taqueria
For me, the only reason to go to Rudy’s is for the Potato and Chorizo Enchiladas, (and it’s a very good reason). Rudy’s was the first place in KC that I ever saw this item on a menu.  I actually have not seen it on anyone else’s menu.  Anyway, these I really like and these keep me coming back, time after time, year after year.  (Does anybody know what the heck a Tenampa is?  I had nine years of Spanish plus I spent a year in Spain and I don't know what that word means, I can't find an online dictionary that knows either.)
Teocali on Urbanspoon

Teocali
It seems rather off the beaten track on a one way street.  I like their Tacos Puerto Vallarta (2 fish tacos), the waitress said that they (along with the shrimp tacos) were the house specialty; the menu says that they were voted "Best in Kansas City", I agree that they are good, but it is a toss-up between these and the ones served by the folks at El Patron for the best in class category. The Tilapia is lightly breaded and seasoned. It was moist and flakey, very well prepared.  They are served with a cup of whole pinto beans and Spanish rice.
These are my favorites and what I like to order while there, do you agree, disagree?  What else have I been missing?

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Cupcake a la Mode

Cupcake À La Mode on Urbanspoon

We finally got around to trying Cupcake a la Mode; (It’s only taken 3 years).  We took so long to get there that they have changed locations from 47th Street in West Plaza to a cute spot directly on the Plaza.  Good for them!  Business must be good.  My spouse, 17 year old son and I ordered 4 cupcakes:  Red Velvet, Blackberry, Nutella and Tiramisu.  Now, not being from this area originally, I have to admit that I am not a fan of Red Velvet cake.  In fact, I don’t even understand what the big deal is… red food coloring makes it oh so much better?  However, my son has been thoroughly brainwashed by that red dye and he says that Red Velvet cake is his favorite.  I do like the cream cheese frosting, so I stuck my finger in it and tasted it (much to the loud objections from my son).  It was good; I don’t know what the cake tasted like because I refuse to knowingly put that much red dye in my body.  However, my son reported that it met expectation, minus being tarnished by a finger sized hole in the frosting.  Next, the Blackberry; its butter cream frosting was just like eating a blackberry, there was even a nice plump blackberry on top, nice.  The disappointing part of this one for my spouse and I was that the chocolate cake portion was dry; a problem not uncommon for chocolate cake.  The same problem was true for the Nutella cupcake.  The Nutella cake’s other problem was that it didn’t taste anything like Nutella.  I’ve been a big fan of the spread since childhood, so I was disappointed.  The best cupcake for me was the Tiramisu.  Wow, two types of butter cream frosting covered the moist white cake.  We all really liked this one.  I will go back for one of these, take it to the deck at Starbucks with friends and have it with a cup of good coffee.  That’s the best part of Cupcake a la Mode’s new location.  You can have your cake and walk to your favorite outdoor coffee spot too.     


Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Wild Cod Special Truly Is

Blue Koi on Urbanspoon
Monday night May 14th, 2012.  I’m not a big fan of Asian food so I didn’t want to eat here.  I talked my spouse into walking down to Lakeside Tavern to check out the menu there, but we saw ketchup sitting on the tables when we peeked in the window and my spouse had a fit (so we walked back to Blue Koi).
It was a very pleasant evening so we sat outside.  Blue Koi has a very large outdoor covered dining area perfect for those of us who like to eat al fresco, it would be fun to sit out there and eat during a gentle rain.  The special for the evening was “Wild Cod”, pan seared in Saki with Asian spices.  I ordered it, my spouse ordered Braised Pork with Shitake Mushrooms at the suggestion of our waiter.  The special was served over white rice with a side of sautéed carrots, asparagus and baby shitake mushrooms. 
I ordered it with the suggested wine pairing which really complemented the flavors of the meal; when sipped while chewing the fish; it changed the flavor of the wine to a slightly smoky, clove like flavor.  Nice.  My spouse, who dislikes all things fish, tasted it at my urging and liked it very much as well.  This, for my spouse, was a very big complement. 

  


The owner was walking around asking people what they thought of their food.  I told her I thought that the fish special was fantastic.  She was pleased and explained that it was her own creation.  I told her the only thing I didn’t like about it was that it wasn’t available all the time.  She explained that even though it is not on the regular menu; it is offered as a special about every six weeks.  (It had been presented on a laminated sheet so I figured that this was not just a onetime thing.)  Lucky me.
My spouse was far less enthused by the Braised Pork with Shitake Mushrooms.  I tasted it and agreed, the fish was the dish… at least for tonight.

For dessert we had Wonton Cheesecake.  (Think Crab Rangoon with a cheesecake filling instead of crab.)


These were interesting; four are served hot on a plate with some sort of fruit (apricot maybe?)  and syrupy juice which is cold.  These went down well with a large cup of coffee.  Not my favorite dessert ever, but worth a try.
Blue Koi on Urbanspoon

Monday, May 14, 2012

Sorrento's

Sorrento's Italian on Urbanspoon
This place has a very friendly, small-town feel. The owners, Anni and Andy interact with their customers, the customers interact with each other, so, if you want to be in your own little bubble, don't go here. For those of you who like people and good food, you have to give this place a try. It was the most fun I'd had in a restaurant in a long time!

Now, to be honest, my dinner partner did not want to get out of the car after we pulled up, it took 3 minutes of coaxing to make him walk through the front door, he ended up having an even better time than I, so do not be put off by the outward appearance, (a good rule to live by anyway).   The inside is rather small and has an order counter, but Andy took our order at the table anyway.

We started with an antipasta plate and toasted ravioli. We both could have made a meal out of the antipasta plate and warm bread alone. Anni chided me for not eating my tomatoes, it felt like my own Mom scolding me, I loved it!

The salads were good and just slightly drizzled with oil. But the best thing was the Spedini. Wow. The Spedini here is not rolled; it is a tenderized breast, served flat. It may well be my favorite Spedini in town. The pasta was actually served warm AND al dente with a red sauce (I know, you'd think that this would not be a difficult thing to accomplish, but it seems that most places can't pull this off, Sorrento's did).

The owners told me they cook their house made Italian Sausage in the sauce which leaves behind a slight fennel flavor, nice. Next time I have to try the Italian Sausage, they were rolling their own meat balls as we were leaving, so I know those are house made as well, and I can't wait to try those either.

This place serves beer and wine. The other notables are that they close at 7:30 PM nightly (so get here early) and are closed Saturdays and Sundays.

Sorrento's Italian on Urbanspoon

Chez Elle

Chez Elle Creperie Coffeehouse on Urbanspoon

There are several trendy breakfast spots in Kansas City in old buildings in old neighborhoods that have gone for the "trashy chic" look with beat up old kitchen tables and rickety chairs (and that's fine). However, whoever owns this place put some money into the décor; everything is new and inviting. There are quite a few stairs to climb to the entrance, but don't let that deter you if you have trouble with stairs, there is a ramp on the left side of the building.
After climbing the stairs and entering, you find yourself in an inviting two story space that feels rather like a lobby. The order counter is to your left, the menu is written on a chalk board above the entrance to one of two dining rooms. You place your order and are given a number that you place in one of the kitschy little metal Eiffel Towers that are on each table. I thought these were cute and I appreciate that I don't have to wait, bunched up with everyone, near the counter for my order to come up or have someone walking through with plates of food yelling customer names every few minutes.
The kitchen is in the center and open to what I would consider the main dining room, to the right of the order counter. The other dining room is more coffee house style with black leather couches and chairs, a few tables to sit at and art from local artists for sale on the walls, this room has windows, the main room does not. Both rooms are inviting. I like that the spaces are so distinct, I can choose one or the other based on my mood.
Food:
There are 26 crepes listed on the menu (I'm sure you can come up with your own favorite concoction as well). In addition, the menu states that vegan, gluten free and buckwheat crepes are also available. Other menu items available: Greek, Spinach and House Salads; Soup of the Day; an assortment of house made pastries, smoothies and coffee.
We each ordered a cup of coffee and decided to share four crepes.
Crepe One: Bonjour - ham, scrambled eggs, Swiss cheese and hollandaise. (It came with the scrambled eggs piled on top, hmm…) We both thought this one was rather bland (possibly because we were also eating crepe two at the same time).


Crepe Two: Jambon - Black Forest ham, pesto, spinach, mozzarella and crème fraiche. Wow. The pesto tasted house made, very fresh, as was the spinach. The basil and garlic in this really made it pop. We both really liked it.


Crepe Three: Tropicale - coconut cream custard, almond brittle, pineapple and kiwi. I thought this one was okay. I did like the mix of flavors and textures. My co-diner absolutely loved it.


Crepe Four: Citron - lemon curd, strawberries (on the side) and whipped cream with a dash of powdered sugar. This one is served cold. My co-diner thought this one was too tart. I really liked this one. The tart lemon mixing with the ripe, sweet strawberries was a nice mix. This one would be especially refreshing on a hot KC summer afternoon.


The bill came to $34.80 before tax or tip (there is a tip jar at the order counter). We both really enjoyed this place and will be back.

Chez Elle Creperie Coffeehouse on Urbanspoon