Ingram's June 2022

Wining & Dining (continued)

BEST OUTDOOR DINING Take away winter’s hogging of each calen dar year here; there are still plenty of days and evenings where outdoor dining is a true Kansas City pleasure. No setting is finer, say the ballots, than TREZO MARE RESTAU RANT AND LOUNGE in the Northland, which snags this Gold . The Silver goes to GRAM& DUN , where the Plaza venue adds a touch of class to the experience. Sharing the Bronze are CHAR BAR in Westport and Y a Y a ’ S EURO BISTRO . BEST PLACE TO TAKE OUT-OF-TOWN GUESTS There’s more to impressing visitors than barbecue alone; the barbecue experience is what matters, and here, the food-only voting flips: This time, Gold goes to FIORELLA’S JACK STACK BARBECUE , which offers a touch of refinement in its six locations. Sil ver goes to Q39 in Midtown and Overland Park, while JOE’S KANSAS CITY earns a share of the Bronze . The other half goes to Y a Y a ’ S EURO BISTRO , which makes a splash in yet another category. BEST SEAFOOD For being a landlocked metro area, we sure are blessedwith seafood options. Not the least of which is BRISTOL SEAFOOD + STEAK +SOCIAL , which reels in the Gold yet again. How fresh is ocean’s bounty there? This fresh: If youwant to know tomorrow’s specials, they say, you’ll have to ask them tomorrow. Silver honors are divvied up between MCCOR MICK&SCHMICK’S and EDDIEV’S , both close enough and quality enough, to form your own personal seafood-hopping experi ence if you add in another Plaza competitor, OCEAN PRIME , which made an immediate splash upon opening early this year. BEST STEAK Ancient Spartans understood that there could be room for two kings, and if barbecue holds one throne in Kansas City, it’s Spartan counterpart (counterSpart?) is steak. It’s easy to find a great one in this town, and this time around, the best of the best for Gold is at 801 CHOPHOUSE . At either the Power & Light District or in Leawood, you’ll enjoy prime cuts seared to perfec tion, with all the right sides. That puts THE CAPITAL GRILLE , the all-time top cut in this category, into Silver status. Carving up Bronze together are HEREFORD HOUSE (in Shawnee, Leawood, and Zona Rosa) and J. GILBERT’S in Overland Park.

BEST SPORTS BAR/GRILL Game’s on! Where to watch? This region is swarming with sports-themed bars, and the competition for reader votes is always intense. This year, Gold honors go to THE PEANUT , that South Plaza icon (with off shoots throughout Kansas City), where the game is sometimes secondary to those de lightful chicken wings. JOHNNY’S TAV ERN , which started in Lawrence nearly 70 years ago, now fills beer glasses in 12 loca tions from Topeka to Kansas City and is popular enough to snag Silver . Bronze goes to TWIN PEAKS , serving sports fans in the Northland, Olathe, and Independence. BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH Whether you’re capping off a relaxing week end or looking ahead, Sunday brunch is a special event at Y a Y a ’ S EURO BISTRO , where the buffet-style offerings appeal to ap petites of all sorts. BRISTOL SEAFOOD + STEAKS + SOCIAL weighs in with Silver , and you can’t tell us the carrot-cake waffles didn’t help spike that voting. Splitting the Bronze honors are enterprises well-familiar to this year’s voting bloc— NICK & JAKE’S , and BLIND BOX BBQ . BEST NEW RESTAURANT The contest for Gold here, it turns out, was no contest at all: OCEAN PRIME made its debut in late winter and ran away with the voting. In boxing terms, a TKO against anyone else who opened since mid-2021. How’d they do it? One look at the steak-and lobster tells you all you need to know. BEST SERVICE Again, there’s one standard—the Gold stan dard—where we declare a champion, and this year (spoiler alert: you’ve seen this before) it’s THE CAPITAL GRILLE . They say great wait ers are great by the way they blend seamlessly into the dining experience—the ones that stand out usually do so for the wrong reasons. Trust us: the latter group is not working at The Capital Grille, where the goal is to treat each diner like the only one in the room. BEST ASIAN RESTAURANT It’s not quite time to retire the trophy, but BO LING’S comes through with Gold once again, asserting its primacy in the minds of readers who value Asian food done right. You’ll find those temptations from the East on the Plaza, in the City Market, and in Zona Rosa, at two locations in Overland Park and yet another in Lenexa. New to the scene and making a re

spectable charge for top honors is BAMBOO PENNY’S , which brings tropical Thai flavors to Leawood. Bronze is shared by two well established players, Downtown fixture VIET NAMCAFÉ , and Leawood’s BLUE KOI . BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT French cooking, as any Francophile will tell you, is a world apart from that of other na tions. Which might be why restaurants— especially those grounded in the style of Provence—do so well in Kansas City. Start with a namesake operation, Gold -winning CAFÉ PROVENCE in the Prairie Village Shops. There, lamb, rabbit, and veal share the stage with beef and chicken entrees at this family-owned enterprise. A close second for Silver goes to LE FOU FROG , located in the River Market but with roots that also extend to Provence. A pair of rising stars in this category are Bronze co-winners CAFÉ DES AMIS in Parkville and the self-evident location with WESTPORT CAFÉ . BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT Italian food: luscious, silky smooth, and filling. That trifecta brings life to plates at GAROZZO’S RISTORANTE in, appropri ately enough, Columbus Park. There, owner Michael G. and his team treat your tastebuds with pastas, lasagna, steaks, and more. Do try theChickenSpiedini there, or go for theBistec ca Canzoneri. Molto, molto bene. Another iconic name inKC-style Italian is CASCONE’S ITALIANRESTAURANT onNorthOak Traf ficway, where beef, chicken, veal, and fish have been served up for nearly 70 years. A two-way split for Bronze is shared by JASPER’S ITAL IAN RESTAURANT , a longtime fixture in south KC, and a recent newcomer, RAGAZZA FOOD&WINE , at 43rd andMain. BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT For our money, it’s the No. 8—the burrito bursting with beef, pork, and cheese—but you can’t go wrong with any of the lunch or dinner offerings at JALAPENO’S MEXICAN RES TAURANT . Readers agree, and that means another Gold for this enterprisewith locations in Brookside and southern Johnson County. For your south-of-the-border fix Downtown, MANNY’S OF KANSAS CITY lives up to its self-proclaimed “Spirit of Mexico” motto by building on a four-decade history of authentic fare. The food is fabulous, but don’t forget the margaritas. Not far down Southwest Boule vard sits another West Side staple, PONAK’S MEXICAN KITCHEN & BAR , specializing in both eats and drinks true to the genre.

28

I n g r a m ’ s

Best of Business Kansas City 2022

Ingrams.com