Kansas City: Breakfast

Breakfast is tough. There's a big difference between a weekend breakfast and a weekday breakfast, a post-hangover cure and a family brunch, American-style bacon and eggs and a multi-course Turkish breakfast.

Accordingly, I think breakfasts in KC deserve their own thread, even if the restaurants in question may offer other meals.

I've got a bit of a backlog of these, but I'll start with a relatively recent meal at Succotash.

Succotash is in River Market, downtown along the Missouri River. The area seems quite nice to me, but apparently suffered a nearly fatal blow about 30 years ago when the local mob blew up a bar or two in what was then known as the River Quay.

Now, there are some restaurants, shops, and a very cool museum housing the artifacts from a steamboat, sunk in the Missouri and dug up out of a cornfield 10 years ago. On many days (every day?) there is a large public market here, and Saturdays are the biggest market day. It gets quite enjoyably crowded and lively, like downtown in a city.

Our visit to Succotash was on a Saturday morning. We had a longer than expected wait, and I could see how some would have problems with the service, but it didn't bother me too much. Certainly not good service, though. At times simply odd.

I was disappointed in the food. The pancakes were terrible, I thought. Ridiculously huge and with an IHOP-like flavor. My banana bread French toast was quite good. The bacon was good. My scrambled eggs were quite bad. Really bad. Flat, brown, overcooked, and little flavor. I mean, scrambled eggs? C'mon. Biscuits and gravy got a thumbs down from my father-in-law, while the smoked salmon wrap got a thumbs up from my mother-in-law, but I didn't press her, and she almost always gives an initial thumbs up. The home fries looked pretty good.

It's unfortunate, though, because food aside, I really dig the place, or at least the idea of the place. I love the bustling City Market on a Saturday morning. I'm cool with the quirky decor and the staircase. I'm just not sure I want to eat there again.

Oh, and I ordered a "lemonade"...I think the menu called it "best ever lemonade" or something. They make a big deal out of their pureed fruit drinks. Ennhhh... First of all, it wasn't lemonade. They processed a whole pear, a small, rindless lemon, and a small chunk of ginger. The flavor was okay, but dominated by pear, and too much tannin from the unripe pear skin. Should have been colder too. And lemonade.

Succotash
15 E 3rd St
Kansas City, MO 64106
(816) 421-2807

On Father's Day, we visited Avenues for brunch. Avenues is located in Brookside, widely considered the best neighborhood for families who want to live in urban Kansas City, MO. Reminds me a little of Lincoln Square.

The interior of Avenues is a little odd. The place is new, open within the past year, but looks like it was trying to recreate the stuffy interior of a 1960s hotel ballroom. Except it's a friendly, neighborhood place, so it's not really stuffy. On their website, they invite you to

Stroll on over to Avenues Bistro
and experience a real "taste of Europe"

Italics and quotation marks are theirs. Yep, it's that kind of place.

Their brunch is only moderately good food, but a ridiculously good deal. For $12.95 you get an entree selection prepared to order along with the buffet. I hate brunch buffets, but this was actually the kind of stuff you're supposed to eat from a buffet. Some antipasto-type stuff...pickles, olives, cheese, meat, some pastries, some fruit, yogurt, etc. None of it was great, but it was good enough, and it looked better than it tasted, which sounds like damning with faint praise, and maybe it is, but it was a cheery and pleasant little presentation.

Like the buffet food, our entree orders looked and sounded better than they tasted, but not bad such as to prevent a return visit.

And the real surprise...they didn't charge anything for the kids to eat from the buffet. So we got a very nice Father's Day brunch for two (with okay food) for under $30. I'm not sure people here see this as a value destination, and maybe it's not at other times, but I thought they provided a nice place for the neighborhood.

There was a four-top just behind us, all decked out with the finest silver, nice candles, etc., for an older couple celebrating their 40th anniversary. Another good example of this place being a friendly neighbor.

Avenues Bistro
338 W 63rd Street
Kansas City, MO 64113
816-333-5700
http://www.avenuesbistro.com/

I just realized that stevez's Town Topic account probably ought to be linked here also.

My favorite breakfast places in KC...

You Say Tomato - Everything is made from scratch. Breakfast croissant, breakfast casserole are very good. Also panini and flatbread pizza kick ass for lunch. 28th/Holmes

Eggtc - Breakfast burrito with mango salsa, spinach/egg crepe and meximix with cholula are all great. Eggs benedict prepared very well. 51st/Main

Pocos- Huevos divorciados with rice is good but only if you order with side of the extra hot salsa verde. The default salsas have no heat. 31st/SW Blvd.

Succotash - Hipster garage joint with slow service. Dig the salmon bfast burrito.

You Say Tomato
2801 Holmes St
Kansas City, MO 64109
(816) 756-5097

Poco's on the Boulevard
3063 Southwest Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 931-2526

Eggtc.
5107 Main St
Kansas City, MO 64112
816-561-0991
http://eggtc-kc.com/

Classic breakfast—eggs, meat, GOOD hash browns—is difficult these days in KC. Used to be a lot better, when Joe's on State Line, the Wornall Diner and others like them, were still around and open for breakfast.

At the moment, I prefer Bell Street Mama's, which is a genuine mom's place, friendly staff, no smoking, and real genuine Mid-western breakfasts. Here's an accurate review from Charles at The Pitch:

http://www.pitch.com/2004-10-14/dining/mama-s-house/

Biscuits and gravy are first rate. TODG likes the pancakes. And I just *love* the cheese grits!

Aaron, have you done Mexican breakfast anywhere in town yet? I'll be back in time for semester's start on 18 Aug. Let's get together!

Geo

Bell St. Mama's
1726 W 39th St
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 531-6422

Good call on You Say Tomato. I really dig this place, and I'm not even quite sure how to categorize it, which is one reason I haven't written anything about it here. Breakfast is good for sure, but so is everything else.

Terrific homemade pies, sandwiches, quiche and more. I like this place a lot. Still haven't gotten around to Poco's or Eggtc. yet, but have heard good things.

Another place I'd add is Blue Bird Bistro. It's been several months, but it's a charming spot, everything is good, and bread is provided by the excellent bakery Fervere next door.

Geo, I haven't tried much in the way of Mexican breakfast, which really is a shortcoming. Any recommendations? Either way, we ought to scope it out when you're back in town.

Haven't been to Bell St. Mama's yet, though I'm reminded that RJ's Bob-Be-Que is glaringly absent from this list, and they put on a killer breakfast, now offered Wed-Fri in addition to the weekends.

Blue Bird Bistro
1700 Summit St
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 221-7559
http://www.kansascitymenus.com/bluebirdbistro/

Fervere
1702 Summit St
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 842-7272
http://www.fervere.com/

RJ's Bob-Be-Que
5835 Lamar Ave
Mission, KS 66202
913-262-7300
http://www.rjsbbq.com/

Aaron,

For a little slice of Old KC, you can't beat Ortega's at 27th and Bellevie. Really cute place, decent 3rd generation KC-Mexican food, lots and lots of families here, with, on Sunday morning, a line out the door, each person bearing their own pot or other container to fill up with menudo. An excellent version of that soup, I must point out.

Other places:

Some folks swear by (not "at" :^) Jerry's Woodsweather for breakfast. Another smoke-filled 50s place is Dagwood's down on The Boulevard. Wonderfully cheerful professional wait-staff. Get the hashbrowns extra crispy. And, if you're going to the City Market on a morning, the City Diner is worth a visit as well. Not great breakfast, but solid, dependable food.

Geo

Ortega's
2646 Belleview Ave
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 531-5415


Dagwood's Cafe
(913) 677-0747
1117 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, KS 66103

City Diner
301 Grand Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64106
(816) 471-5121‎

Yeah, I drive past Dagwood's all the time, with no great excuse for never having visited. It has the appearances of a classic, for sure, though appearances can certainly be misleading.

I'll definitely have to give Ortega's a look.

Best get to Ortega's before 11 o'clock when the 10-o'clock mass crowd arrives!

Geo

Aaron,

I'm back as of a week ago. Hit Ortega's last Sunday, and I needed their wonderful menudo, if you get my drift. Hit Dagwood's this morning. My housie had the chicken-fried steak, which they serve with their sausage gravy. Quite a hit. It really is a classic 50s diner. The extra-crispy hashbrowns are superb.

Let's get together. After 15 yrs, I've just discovered that Bo Ling's has a Chinese menu. Duh.

Geo

Grinders West in Xroads district, downtown KC. Just tried the bfast for the first time Sat morning. Now one of my top 5 bfast places in city. The omelette options are above any selection (quality, not quantity) I've seen in the city. I built one with egg white, feta/goat cheese, shallots, spinach, shrimp with a tasty pesto aioli on the side. They have a decent arrange of specialty cheeses. It was under $8 if I recall.

And a solid bloody mary bar.. you get a large glass of ice with a generous vodka pour and you mix the rest. Has various olives, peppers, hot sauces, celery, ground horse radish, etc. 5 bucks each.

Also dug the sound of New Order/Joy Division in the morning.

Do it.

Sounds good, but did they have real hash browns? That's become my Ultimate Criterion...

Geo

I don't know what's real to you but I like them browned pretty well through, which they were. They were above avg.

Yeah, I like 'em crispy, too. By "real" I meant hash browns, as opposed to warmed-up frozen 'home fries' or some other bogus potato, which so many places use now instead of genuine hash browns.

Sounds like I need to give this place a try...

Geo

Ah, the hash browns aren't frozen from what I could tell but could be. They seemed to brown them in olive oil.