Kansas City: Finer Dining

Edit: MelBee's closed July 31, 2008.

Fine dining restaurants, or even finer dining, are kind of weird in that they somehow seem more deserving of their own thread. I'm not quite sure why.

I've posted elsewhere on bluestem and Starker's Reserve, which certainly qualify as fine dining restaurants, but my meals have been brunch and lunch, which seem not quite so finer (though quite good).

I guess I start this thread with MelBee's because it's a finer dining place that I've found not quite so fine, and perhaps not quite worthy of its own topic.

MelBee’s is not too far from us, walkable even for suburban KC. I love having a place like MelBee’s on Johnson Drive, in that old school Main Street strip a few blocks away. I would love it even more if it were someplace like MelBee’s but not actually MelBee’s.

It was either December or January when we ate dinner there, many months now. We’ve also eaten there for lunch a few times. I’ve tried to write a post about this place several times, and it’s just not easy to do.

They showcase the works of local artists. They have regular wine dinners. They're doing some joint promotion with the Lyric Opera . They change their menu seasonally. They try so hard, they mean so well, I feel like they’re very earnest about what they’re trying to do….and yet the food just falls flat to me.

It’s been long enough that I can’t recount specific dishes, but I just get the feeling there’s not a very deft hand, not much finesse in the kitchen. It’s hard to say how much this is to accommodate Johnson County tastes. When we got our four or five course tasting menu, we couldn’t believe how much food was included. In response to customer demand, they’ve added “hearty portions” at something of an upcharge. What are you gonna do?

There were some good bites, to be sure, but more that were just a little confusing. Plates were covered in sauce. The menu reads terrific. I was really excited to try dinner here. But the flavors don’t pop on the plate like they do on the page. They’re the kind of dishes that, on first bite, you think, “Hey, that’s pretty good”…and by the end of the dish you’re worn down to the point of “What were they thinking…this is a really weird dish.” I’m not sure if that makes sense. It’s certainly an odd thing to experience.

And the desserts are flat-out not very good, small, and expensive.

Despite everything above, I have been back (and will continue) to be back for lunch. There is somewhat less damage you can do to a sandwich. There was a simple pan-fried fish special that was quite good. The soups (like the entrées) can similarly overpower you by the end, but the bowl that you get at lunch is small, so the problem is not so great.

I’m attracted by the changing daily lunch special of a “two-course prix fixe” for $8.95 (soup or salad and fixed entrée, changing daily). Really actually a pretty good deal. But mostly, I feel an obligation to support the existence of this type of establishment on Johnson Drive, in Mission, KS. I really love that it’s there. I wish it were someplace else.

MelBee's
6120 Johnson Drive
Mission, KS 66202
913-262-6121
http://www.kansascitymenus.com/melbees/

Tried Le Fou Frog last night and enjoyed it rather well, even as it seemed like the sum added up to perhaps more than it’s parts.

Hadn’t read too much about the place, though it seems to have a pretty good rep. We both laughed when pulling up to the outside. The River Market area proper is pretty cute, but this location a couple blocks west looked dismal, and the windowless building looked like a strip club, surrounded by construction, chain link fences, and parking lots. Such is the life of a developing downtown, I guess.

The inside was very cute, consciously French-kitzsch decoration. Not at all bothersome though, and rather enjoyable, all told. It was a lovely night, and we might have sat on the patio out back, but the chairs looked incredibly uncomfortable, especially for a woman with child, a mere couple months from delivery.

Our meal began with an amuse that I don’t quite recall, a very small sort of crescent-shaped pastry, some honey butter, a smidge of prosciutto. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an amuse at all, though I can’t say this really startled my palate, and the butter was too cold. Still, a nice touch.

The food was enjoyable, good even, but only one dish approached exceptional. For starters, my wife had a salad with fresh chevre and a fig honey compote. Quite nice, with generously portioned condiments.

I had the soup du jour, which was some frog leg/morel soup. The broth was really terrific (approaching exceptional). The frog legs were in the form of a puck in the middle of the bowl. I’m not sure if I’ve had frog legs before or not, and I was beyond surprised to note that, whaddya know, it did kind of taste like chicken. The morels were good enough, though they seemed to me reconstituted from dried. It strikes me as a bit too late for fresh, but I’m no expert. I really enjoyed this soup, but was slightly disappointed that the solid accompaniments added relatively little to the experience.

For mains, my wife had three very large prosciutto-wrapped prawns. I should know more than that, but I don’t. Served with fried polenta, a bit of some brown sauce, and some token veggies…a baby carrot (!?), a cherry tomato, something else perhaps. A poor description, I know. She seemed to like it just fine, and I enjoyed my taste well enough.

For me, it was a luxurious-sounding monkfish preparation…wrapping asparagus, rilettes of pheasant, and “truffle foie gras.” I suspect this latter was the D’Artagnan product mousse truffe, which is a truffle-flecked or flavored pate, good in its own right, but not quite as luxurious as it sounds. Unadvertised was an excellent and creamy risotto upon which the meal was served.

While I again enjoyed the dish and happily cleared my plate, the monkfish was a little overdone and didn’t have the delicate butteriness that it can. And the accents to the dish ended up a bit muddled. Had I not read the chalkboard, I doubt I would have picked truffle or foie gras flavors out of the dish.
Cherry clafoutis was the dessert du jour and again, while good enough, noticeably inferior to what I can produce at home when I’ve got good cherries in the freezer.

Now these may seem (and I feel) like I’m picking nits with bistro food. Sure, it can be great, but I can be quite happy with a bistro experience where the food is just “good enough.” Our service was charming, I enjoyed the space, and I didn’t feel like I was someplace (see MelBee’s) that just couldn’t hang in a better food city.

But Le Fou Frog is not quite bistro prices. At $26 per, our entrees were among the cheapest on offer. They offer some pretty tony stuff (a wagyu and ahi surf & turf for $50), which is fine. But more typical bistro fare, like veal sweetbreads or braised lamb shank, is pushing $30. The entrée prices are more typical of a Chicago 3 star, which would be one thing if you could get commensurate quality. I’d love to see a menu like Le Bouchon here.

This is the kind of thing I’m talking about when I say the cost of living for a food geek is higher in KC than in Chicago.

The price is mitigated somewhat by a reasonable value wine list and pretty easily available (modest) discounts through the KC Originals, PowerCard, those coupons you can buy every quarter, etc., saving you $15-20 for a meal. Still…

Ultimately, would I go back? Probably. There are enough places in that price range (and that’s a rare enough occasion) that it won’t be soon. But it’s pleasant enough and good enough that I wouldn’t rule out a return.

Le Fou Frog
400 E 5th Street
Kansas City, MO 64106
816-474-6060
http://www.kansascitymenus.com/lefoufrog/

Aaron,

When it comes to finer dining, as you named it, Kansas City and Overland Park are full of sub-standard places where you'll have the exact same experience as you did at Melbees. The prices are high, the menu looks good, the food sucks, or is average at best. I've felt jipped leaving places like that so many times in that town.

The cooks in KC don't have the pressure or competition that Chicago cooks do. There are no established precedents, such as Trotters or some place like it, that set the bar for excellence. There seems to be a lack of taste among the public there as well. These places like Melbee's stay in business year after year, and the list of them goes on and on.

There are very few finer dining places that are worth going back a second time. A couple that I personally like are Axios in Brookside, and Room 39 on 39th street in Westport. Axios is a bistro run by a husband and wife. I love the trout there. perfectly cooked, with toasted almonds and lemon garlic vinaigrette, IIRC. I've been several times, sometimes just for dessert(s), which are very good. Very cute space, too.

Room 39, I also love their trout dish. prepared a little differently, with mashed potatoes and spaghetti squash sauteed in butter, but still very delicious. They have a very seasonal menu, focusing on fresh and local ingredients. I've only been once, but I hope to go back soon. I really want to try their breakfast/brunch menu.

Aixios
251 e 55th st.
Kansas City, MO
816-333-3305

Room 39
1719 w 39th st
Kansas City, MO
816-753-3939

bnowell724 wrote:When it comes to finer dining, as you named it, Kansas City and Overland Park are full of sub-standard places where you'll have the exact same experience as you did at Melbees. The prices are high, the menu looks good, the food sucks, or is average at best.

Thanks for the encouragement.

I've heard good things about Room 39, and also 1924 Main. 40 Sardines seems to generate some good reviews. bluestem and The American were nominated for Beard awards, for whatever that's worth. A new bistro, Avenues, opened in Brookside, and my aunt really enjoyed it.

Aixois is on the list too, though when we were house-hunting we stopped in one afternoon (more cafe-like) for a bite and cup of coffee. The girl behind the counter was so surly and disinterested it really has affected our desire to return. I'm sure we will eventually.

Aaron Deacon wrote:
I've heard good things about Room 39, and also 1924 Main. 40 Sardines seems to generate some good reviews. bluestem and The American were nominated for Beard awards, for whatever that's worth. A new bistro, Avenues, opened in Brookside, and my aunt really enjoyed it.

Aixois is on the list too, though when we were house-hunting we stopped in one afternoon (more cafe-like) for a bite and cup of coffee. The girl behind the counter was so surly and disinterested it really has affected our desire to return. I'm sure we will eventually.

40 Sardines has the billboards saying things like "Asparagus and Chocolate" or some other weird combination of ingredients. They claim they are an "exciting" place to eat; my one lunch experience there was very boring.

I've had very good and very bad service at Aixois, but its usually good.

bnowell724 wrote:40 Sardines has the billboards saying things like "Asparagus and Chocolate" or some other weird combination of ingredients. They claim they are an "exciting" place to eat; my one lunch experience there was very boring.

They've had billboards? Weird. I'll admit, my expectations aren't high. And I find Town Center (Towne Centre?) atrocious. But hey, I've always been willing to travel to uncomfortable neighborhoods in search of good grub.

Hey aaron, do you have plans to go to Robert Krause in Lawrence?

bbqboy wrote:Hey aaron, do you have plans to go to Robert Krause in Lawrence?

I'm intrigued by the prospect, but I doubt I'll go any time soon. It sounds to me like you'd probably drop $250-300 on dinner for two. At the low end. That exceeds my budget for just about anywhere. I've heard it's legit, but given my experiences so far, it would take some more convincing before I'd believe it.

For anyone unfamiliar, well I don't have too much info on this place. As far as I know, you're basically going over to this couple's house for dinner with whoever else has reservations that night, one seating, menu is set, 30 seas max. And they are supposedly top-flight chefs. Dining experience is supposed to be very unique. They've been in the news a bit because they were shut down for using their home as a restaurant, opened a space in "downtown" Lawrence, and have finally worked out the legalities and reopened in their home.

Sounds cool, but man, it's expensive.

Krause Dining
917 Delaware
Lawrence, KS
(785) 838-9830

(Not sure if this phone number's still right.)

bnowell724 wrote:Room 39 on 39th street in Westport ... I also love their trout dish. prepared a little differently, with mashed potatoes and spaghetti squash sauteed in butter, but still very delicious. They have a very seasonal menu, focusing on fresh and local ingredients. I've only been once, but I hope to go back soon. I really want to try their breakfast/brunch menu.

During our recent weekend in Kansas City, Mrs. JiLS and I walked by, paused and admired Room 39 and its menu. It was a coincidence; I just drove over there so we could walk across State Line Road and claim we had set foot in Kansas, something Mrs. JiLS somehow had never before managed. Anyway, based just on looks, we were really intrigued by Room 39 and thought this would be a great place and regular dining spot for us if we lived there (ah, the imagination runs wild!), but given the fact we live in Chicago and there are probably 78 and a half different bistros offering just about exactly the same fare as Room 39, we felt no need to drop in.

I've lived in KC for 35 yrs, with time out for other interesting places, and I'm here to tell you that it's a very strange place to eat. Let's get the obvious out of the way first: there are plenty of excellent real food places--bbq, fried chicken, taquitos, gyros, collards--in town. A genuine eater is NEVER going to go unsatisfied.

But suppose you want a dish from perfectly selected fresh ingredients, perfectly cooked, a neighborhood bistro sort of thing, something which I can find everywhere here in Montreal. Good luck in KC. It just doesn't exist. MelBees is a perfect example. Dang, it *should* be just right: looks right, sounds right, acts right, but fails. Fou Frog is nice enough, but it isn't reliably as good as they they think it is. [One of my fave students is a server there. She had her grad party two weeks ago there, catered by her collegues. Was the food amazing? Maze wee. Can you get it that way, reliably? No.]

The major problem, according to some of my smart friends in the industry is what they call "the Gilbert-and-Robertson-ization" of KC. G&R are the guys who invented the fern bar. Their first place was Houlihan's, then Annie Santa Fe's, Bristol Bar and Grill (fish), etc. etc. Franchises everywhere. Appleby's of course is also hq'd in KC. These places are a bump, maybe a bump and a half, up from Olive Bar. Good enough for KC. They, and their competitors, swamped the place and we're still living with it today. Kansas Citians, like their neighbors all over the country, would infinitely more appreciate going to a place like this than an unknown local. A good local restaurant has empty covers on Friday night; Olive Bar, Appleby's, Montana Grizzly's (or whatever) have lines out the door. The Midwest in general, KC in particular, isn't ready for a decent ("decent" in the LTH-approved sense of the word ) neighborhood restaurant.

Trying to find a decent locally-grounded place is very hard, against this kind of competition, is difficult. There's an organization of better KC restaurants called "The Kansas City Originals" which pretty well exhausts what's available at this level. Aaron, I think if you hope to find something decent in the finer dining range, it'll have to be from this group. Good luck!

Geo

I thought it would be worthwhile to link to some other restaurants that fit the theme of this thread:

Justus Drugstore (Smithville)
Krause Dining (Lawrence)

Krause Dining certainly sounds like pretty high-end Fine Dining.

When I was in KC a few years ago, I dined and stayed at Ophelia's, at the time it was fantastic. It was an easy commute to arrowhead. I have no idea how it is recently, but I thought I would post it here, if anyone is ever in the suburb, because it is oddly placed.

http://www.opheliasind.com

Ophelia's
201 N. Main St.
Independence, MO

I'm not sure if you'd call Aixois finer dining or not. It's a French bistro, with a noisy if not boisterous crowd and a neighborhood feel.

At lunch especially, which is what we ate last week, it didn't feel particularly fine, but I imagine the vibe is a little different at dinner.

The menu is appealing, if a bit old school. I enjoy seeing calf livers and frogs legs on the menu. I didn't particularly enjoy my frog legs served with mashed potatoes, green beans, and half of a roasted tomato.

The frog legs were a bit tough but the sauce--a tomtato, oregano, probably other herbs de provence--was tasty. The veggies were okay but unremarkable.

The same, I believe, could be said for both salads also ordered by my table, one with salmon, the other with goat cheese, tomato, something predictable.

They were reportedly a bit tired, and they looked enough thus that I can't even recall if I tried them.

All-in-all, the food was fine, not someplace I'd necessarily choose to return, but someplace I'd be happy to give a second chance given a good reason. The wine list looked interesting at least, and the white burgundy I ordered was pretty good.

Oh, my absolutely favorite thing (okay not saying much, but it actually is really great) about this place is the kids menu. I can't think of any place else, actually, that does such a nice job offering a kids menu so accessible yet so in tune with the restaurant's offerings.

Escargots and a cheese plate as the appetizer choices; roast chicken, grilled fish, croque monsieur among the entrees (I don't mind the cheesburger taking the place of steak frites.

The boys, in fact, had been really wanting to go just to try snails (which were pretty good, though not quite to their liking after all).

(I wrote this before remembering that bnowell724 posted about Aixois upthread. Looks like I'll have to go back to try the trout. And dessert.)

Aixois
301 E 55th St
Kansas City, MO 64113
(816) 333-3305
http://www.aixois.com/

A couple other notes appropriate to this thread.

I finally got to try bluestem at a non-brunch hour, and it continues to impress, as mentioned over in its own thread. Heading there again tomorrow night--their happy hour half-price (yes, half price) lounge menu can't be beat.

40 Sardines has closed.

Room 39 seems promising, as we've been to their late night "happy hour" a couple times now and they have competent bartenders, decent frites, and an attractive menu. I look forward to a meal there.

Sorry for all the replies to myself, but I also wanted to post on 1924 Main before it gets much further in the rearview mirror, and separate posts makes indexing a bit more convenient. This meal was a couple months ago now, and I really wanted to take the time to do justice to just how bad this meal was. Unfortunately (or fortunately) i don't have all of the details, but wow, it was just terrible.

The menu was of the sort that tries to be clever by telling you what the ingredients are but not what you're getting.

My entree was something like "ribeye, potato, short rib, onion, parsley."

Okay, fine.

Uh, wait a minute, parsley? That referred to the little parsley garnish that you would get on any plate at any restaurant that bothers to garnish at all, adding nothing whatsoever to this dish.

The "ribeye," I guess, must have been some sort of slice of prime rib? And it was topped with a sweet ragu of shredded short rib and caramelized onion. I don't know of a clever way to say it just didn't taste very good. And the ribeye description was disturbingly misleading.

My wife ordered a breaded fish entree that resembled nothing so much (in appearance and taste) as a giant Sysco fish stick. Just appalling. I think a few rubbery shrimp may have been swimming in the shallow pool of industrial strength tomato sauce that shared the plate.

I don't remember what our first course was at this point, only because I do believe it was somewhat less offensive than the main courses.

We ended with cheese, which was served in the same wretched manner as the rest of our meal--"So, this one's yellow, this is blue, this is white, and I think this one's from California." The actual offerings weren't quite as pedestrian as they sounded (though no great shakes either), the best being the one from California, which turned out to be Serena Three Sisters, a cheese I rather enjoy.

Unfortunately, we were served an old, sweaty piece of the rind that was inedible. Since our waitress had disappeared. I brought it up to the counter overlooking the kitchen, where the chef's wife, who I believe runs the front of the house, was actually quite gracious and apologetic, replacing it in short order with what must have been a 1/4 pound of the Three Sisters. A nice gesture, to be sure, and a sign that at least someone cares.

It's too bad they aren't able to impart such care to the rest of their staff who were variously rude, ignorant, and incompetent.

People here seem to really love this restaurant, by and large, and there are only so many options. Maybe this was a really, really, really bad night.

***

The chef, Rob Dalzell, is something of a local restaurant mogul. Young, probably about 30, he now owns four restaurants around town: 1924 Main, Souperman, Pizza Bella, and Chefburger. He was profiled recently in the local weekly The Pitch. He's funded by his father, I believe the article states, rather than some investment group, and he's really dedicated to bringing good independent restaurants downtown, which I find very admirable.

His restaurants tend to be stylish in a good way, if perhaps a bit too much attention to detail in the decor, as iif preparing for franchising, an especially Kansas City ambition I'm finding, and a suspicion about Dalzell after eating at 2 of his restaurants that was confirmed by the article linked above.

1924 Main
1924 Main St
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 472-1924
http://www.kansascitymenus.com/1924main/

Aaron,

Fine dining in KC, as you've found out, is a real crapshoot. I suggest you stick to the basics and give us some reviews of KC's nicer steak houses, something which they are known for and for good reason. I'll start out with a recommendation for J. Gilbert's in Overland Park. I've eaten there a good number of times and have always been impressed with their top quality prime dry aged steaks cooked over hardwood. I've been there with groups as large as 80 people and all of the steaks came out cooked exactly as ordered, which I thought was an impressive feat! The atmosphere is typical clubby steakhouse, with a separate bar/cigar smoking area (unless OP has enacted a smoking ban). I highly recommend this place!

J. Gilbert's Wood Fired Steaks
8901 Metcalf Ave
Overland Park, KS 66212
913-642-8070

"J. Gilbert" is of course named for famed restaurater Joe Gilbert, co-founder of the once-upon-a-time Monster Food Chain (to take up Aaron's point) Gilbert & Robinson: Houlihan's, Bristol, Annie Santa Fe, you name it, it was invented and cookie-cutter'd in KC by G&R.

Friends in f & b say that the success in KC of G&R is one of the reasons that there's been such limited success over the years for fine dining: no room in the market. The Plaza was the spawning ground for all these franchises.

But there's no gainsaying that G & R paid attention to details. I blasted them one column in the KC Star bcz I went to Bristol--seafood only, basically--to get some oysters and there wasn't a single Sancerre on the menu, something I believed to be absolutely essential if a place wanted to call itself "a seafood place". Column came out on Wed., they came to see me at the U, a couple of v-p's, and things were fixed by Monday, throughout the chain.

Why they needed to fix this obvious fault is odd to me, tho'.

So, I've lived in KC for 37 yrs, and most of that time franchises were pretty much what was available in the middle to top-ish ranks.

Geo

Joe's obit in the NYT:
http://tinyurl.com/4v3phg

Geo wrote:Friends in f & b say that the success in KC of G&R is one of the reasons that there's been such limited success over the years for fine dining: no room in the market. The Plaza was the spawning ground for all these franchises.

We have a similar phenomenon here in Chicago with Rich Melman and Lettuce Entertain You restaurants, but happily that hasn't kept the high end places from developing and flourishing. Also, I'm pretty sure J. Gilbert's isn't a chain, though looking at their website it appears that they have opened a few in other cities, so I guess I'm somewhat mistaken on that count. I'm wondering if the J. Gilbert locations in other cities are as good as the Overland Park location. In the case of Morton's, for instance, the flagship on State Street seems to be noticeably better than the locations in other places (or even some other locations right here in town) and don't even get me started about the Due's Pizza expansion.

stevez wrote:I suggest you stick to the basics and give us some reviews of KC's nicer steak houses, something which they are known for and for good reason.

Yeah, I've heard good things about J. Gilbert's, despite it's corporate ownership. Unfortunately, we're not big steakhouse eaters. Plaza III is really the only local place that seems worthwhile. Hereford House has about 5 or 6 locations (surprise) and I've not heard much positive about. Phillips Chophouse is new and gets some decent reviews. Golden Ox may or may not be good any more, but strikes me as old school all the way but without the quality of a Gene & Georgetti. Capital Grille is often referenced as the best steakhouse in town. Which is all to say, I probably won't end up doing much on the steakhouse scene.

The existence of multiple location restaurants here is certainly worthy of its own topic.

stevez said:

don't even get me started about the Due's Pizza expansion.

Yeah, there's one on the Plaza that is just absolutely forgettable. I first hit Due in the late 70s (? maybe early 80s), when it was legendary, and with good reason. Multiple locations just seems to kill a place...

I've always liked the American. Had some memorable meals there, especially when I was working with them on wine seminars. Brad Ogden was their first great chef, and man! he made some wonderful food. Plus, their space is glorious.

For all its overdone Hollywood Eye-tallian features, Jasper's has produced some very nice meals in the past, but I don't know about now.

Aaron, you just keep doing the scouting for us!

Geo

Aaron Deacon wrote:Yeah, I've heard good things about J. Gilbert's, despite it's corporate ownership. Unfortunately, we're not big steakhouse eaters. Plaza III is really the only local place that seems worthwhile. Hereford House has about 5 or 6 locations (surprise) and I've not heard much positive about.

I've eaten at all three of these and IMO, Gilbert's is head and shoulders better than the other two. I had no idea it was a corporate owned place until today, but that doesn't change the quality of the steaks.

stevez wrote:

Aaron Deacon wrote:...
Plaza III is really the only local place that seems worthwhile.
...

I had no idea it was a corporate owned place until today, but that doesn't change the quality of the steaks.

Agreed, and I know my in-laws went recently and said it was very good. What I wrote above about Plaza III, I meant just of the steakhouses, which for some reason, I never thought about J. Gilbert's as a steakhouse like Gibson's, G&G, Plaza III, Morton's, etc...more upscale American bistro kind of concept.

Either way, I'm sure we'll get around to it and appreciate the reminder.

I had no idea it was a corporate owned place until today, but that doesn't change the quality of the steaks.

My understanding, gleaned from a former sever, is that J. Gilbert's is used as a test-bed for their other restaurants. Currently for me, it's the best steakhouse in town despite that bistro thing they have going on. Golden Ox is barely a shadow of its former self and the Hereford House is best avoided period. We used to think Jess & Jims in Martin City was the best, but I haven't been in years and last report was abysmal. Might not even be in business anymore for all I know.

Generally I just go 'round the corner to McGonigle's Market at 79th and Ward Parkway and choose from their awsome selection of Prime and Choice steaks. Nothing like a Prime porterhouse/rib-eye from McGonigle's cooked to perfection on my own grill.

While it has it's own thread, this one would be remiss without mention of Justus Drugstore.