Hoarders, Champagne and Lights, What More Do You Need?

Last Friday, SupperClubSix partook in some holiday cheer and celebrated the Season at Cafe Trio on the Plaza.  Once again, Maggie organized the evening complete with arranging for a driver to pick us up for our 2nd Annual Tour de Lights in a stretch limousine.  We could have been going to Prom,  except without dates, some 20 odd years too late and wearing jeans.   But prom nonetheless.

Most of us were dining at Trio for the first time.  The atmosphere of Trio is very charming and has a local restaurant feel with low lights and a woman playing a grand piano on the first level.  We were seated upstairs with a table overlooking the main dining room.  

We started the meal with our usual macaroni and cheese.  It is amazing to me that every place we go carries it on the menu.  The Mac Daddy was tasty but not the best that we have sampled.  We are becoming quite the Mac & Cheese connoisseurs.  It was kind of runny with more of bacon than cheese flavor.  Of course, we devoured it so I'm not saying it was inedible.  In fact, the waiter mocked how fast we plowed through it.  Easy.  You want a tip, don't you?  

We were generally pleased with everything we ordered but again the mashed potatoes needed a healthy dose of salt.  I say again because we seem to have two themes:  Mac&Cheese and Mashed Potatoes that need salt.  I ordered the beef tenderloin special which I enjoyed.  A couple of the group ordered the filet mignon and the scallops.   Definitely, a nice meal at a moderate price.  We need to go back in the Spring when we can sit on the patio.  However, the night was less about the restaurant review then ride around town.

The highlight of the evening?  Definitely, the Hoarder Christmas House (I'm sure my fellow Clubbers disagree but I'm writing this blog).  Seriously, does anyone watch Hoarders?  I do and I'm fascinated by this affliction.  I felt like we were seeing it up close.  All you Kansas Citians probably know the Prairie Village House.   The owner has been decorating his house for 40 years and has seriously overdosed in the decoration department.  Every window is filled with animated Christmas toys or figures.   It is insane.  However, by the sheer number of vehicles lined up on the street to walk up to the house to look in his windows, I'd say he is spreading holiday cheer.  Just not to his neighbors.

Our driver took us all over town.  He knew where the best lights were located and also hit a few addresses that we shared with him.    A few times, he got a bit too friendly with a few curbs causing me to spill my champagne (I'm sure the amount of champagne I consumed had nothing to do with it).  However, he had the patience of a saint.   Holly pulled out another set of decorated champagne flutes.  Debauchery did not ensue this year.  We were a much tamer group because a few members were under the weather and one had expended too much cheer the previous night at her company's holiday party.   It was a nice evening and the people of K.C. really rock the lights.  

So here concludes another year of great restaurants and even better friends.  Here's to a Happy New Year!  Stayed tuned for more reviews in 2010.

Reverse Happy Hour? We Are All In.

Pass the Wine, We Must Carry On

On Friday, we met for our last summer Supper Club of the year. Unfortunately, we were short two members. Michelle opted to float down some river with siblings and Kim made only a brief appearance with her sister opting for Indian take out. However, the show must go on so Maggie, Kathryn, Holly and I preceded to split two bottles of red (I think I enjoyed the majority of the Kenwood Pinot Noir as Kathryn was my ride), and tried to carry on without them.

Taste is located in Old Overland Park in the space once occupied by Tonic which was a bar and dining room. Taste is divided into two parts. The bar side is quite large and we enjoyed cocktails as we waited to be seated for dinner. The dining room side is lined with an exposed brick wall and eclectic decor.

The menu consists of tapas called "First Tastes" and then various entrees. The First Tastes are ample enough to either share or order as your meal. In fact, Holly ordered the crab cakes for her entree. The main entrees are a mix of seafood, beach and chicken. The Filet Mignon was excellent. We also ordered a seafood tasting of Seared Halibut, Mahi Mahi & Sea Bass and Brick Chicken which was chicken seared between hot bricks.

The general consensus was that the food was fine but nothing to rave about on our blog. As Maggie put it, "the food was ok, but the company was outstanding!!"

Our recommendation would be, "I wouldn't avoid it."

Intimate Dining for 6 Please

First, I'm dreadfully behind on blogging so this post will be devoid of all the details I would have remembered and Room 39 changes its menu on a weekly basis. However, trust me when I say, we all loved our dining experience and left quite happy.

Room 39 is located on 39th Street. Kathryn was our host for the evening and she chose this hip yet cozy restaurant for our June outing. The space has an unassuming store front. Inside you are greeted with a very quaint European cafe setting that could easily come across as pretentious but maintains its warm inviting charm.

As luck would have it, we were seated at a round table. No one was isolated at the corner of the table struggling to hear the conversation and when we get together you don't want to miss anything. Round tables are the way to go. The food was delicious and imaginative served with an artistic flair. However, it was the service that impressed us the most. Our waiter was extremely knowledgeable about what he was serving both as it related to the menu and the wine list. This became even more impressive when we realized the frequency in which the menu changes. He seemed very interested in the food and it translated into genuine interaction with us that was helpful and in no way intrusive.

We recommend adding this one to your rotation. Oh, and we started the evening with wine and cheese at Kathryn's house. We came to the conclusion that we tend to over do it and it becomes the predinner dinner. Thus, we are now only serving cocktails.

Just Roll Me Out on a Stretcher Please

Kim was our host for the latest gathering. It was a Friday evening in April and we gathered at her house for our predinner drinks. If you recall, the last time Kim hosted we had to divert our plans to sit out a tornado warning. Fortunately, the weather cooperated this go around so we were able to catch up and hang with Kim's ginourmous cats before heading to the restaurant.

Kim chose a Kansas City comfort food institution: Stroud's. Their newest location is off of Shawnee Mission Parkway and just minutes from Kim's house.

We were anticipating a long wait which is typical of the original Stroud's locations where you can expect an hour long wait. Immediate seating was available but we opted for a cocktail in the bar before being seated. The Royals were playing that night and the staff thought this explained why it was a slow evening. I hope so.

As expected the service was great and food was exceptional. The meals are served family-style. We ordered up a bowl of real mashed potatoes, thick cream gravy, green beans, cottage fried potatoes, chicken fried steak and of course, pan fried chicken. Oh, and dinner was topped off with warm from the oven cinnamon rolls. We were crammed around a corner booth. When our meal was served, there was barely room for our drinks on the table. However, given our priorities we found the space.

The fried chicken and chicken fried steak are crusty not bready. The mashed potatoes are pure buttery dense potatoes. We did notice the spuds could use a dose of salt but with the shaker handy everyone could salt to their own satisfaction. The bacon infused green beans are soft and mushy so if you like your beans al dente they aren't for you. You cannot go wrong with Stroud's but you must leave your calorie counter in the car. This isn't for the "no carb" crowd nor would we recommend following dinner with a night of dancing. You must go directly to the nearest couch.

Frankly, the too delectable to stop inhaling food was so heavy and coma inducing that we all agreed that it simply cannot be on your weekly (or monthly) rotation. Save it for special occasions and out of town guests or start training for a marathon. We left stuffed and miserable but in a good way.

Comfort Food with a little Zest

Last night SupperClubSix had full attendance for our seventh restaurant selection.  Holly was the host of the evening, treating us to a spread of cheese and wine at her home before we made our 7:00 p.m. reservations.  The last time we were all together was the infamous Limo and Lights night, so we had some catching up to do and a few of us had a doozy of a week.  Some more "doozier" than others.  Wine and good friends tend to ease the angst of the work week so we were sure to have generous helpings of both. 

Holly chose well once again.  She is 2 for 2.  I think I'm .5 for 2.  If that.  Zest is a new Leawood restaurant in Mission Farms (Mission Road and 106th) that serves comfort food with a bit of zest.  The menu is full of family favorites but all with a bit of a twist and upscale presentation. It is like Mom made the meal after she took a few classes in how to jazz up your favorites.  The owners are Mike Shreiber and Jo DiGiovanni--the original owner of the recently closed Joe D's in Brookside. 

Maggie was waiting for us at the bar and the place was bustling.  This is heartwarming to see given the sad state of our current economy and when each week brings the news of another local restaurant closing its doors.  At least two of the last six restaurants we have reviewed are no longer in business with rumors swirling that at least one other is struggling to stay open.  By the crowd in Zest last night, finding customers is not an issue for them right now.  The decor is trendy yet comfortable with both booths and tables.  We all liked the striped dining room chairs.  Maggie attested to the fact that the bar stools were quite cozy and there are even small nooks on each side of the front entrance for a private lounge--or as private as sheer curtains can provide. 

We were seated immediately in the dining room and ordered a round of martinis from the cocktail list.  Our waitress was gracious and agreed to snap several pictures of us.   For appetizers, we split an order of creole fried calamari and truffle gouda mac and cheese from the Pasta portion of the menu.  We all wanted to try the mac and cheese but not order it for our main course.  Perfect compromise.  We would recommend both choices and we devoured them. This isn't the first time we have split mac and cheese for an appetizer.  A couple of us preferred the mac and cheese served at the Delaware Cafe which sadly just closed.

Four of us ordered the meatloaf which consisted of a combination of ground sirloin, veal and pork served with wild mushroom gravy and goat cheese mashed potatoes.  Excellent--but some of us thought it should have been served a tad warmeer.  I still managed to plow through half of mine and ask for a doggie bag and I'm not a doggie bag type of gal.  (By the way, it tasted great cold when I sampled a bite this morning.)  Kathryn ordered the porter-braised pork shank which she enjoyed.  The meat appeared to just slide off the bone.   Maggie ordered the Cordon Bleu Chicken pasta which I believe was a special but really should be on the regular menu.  Our service for the most part was fine and friendly but there were a couple of requests that had to be asked twice. 

Kathryn selected a bottle of Pinot Noir Au Bon Climate '07 which Maggie and I were more than happy to share with her.  The wine list is extensive not to mention the wine rack that separates the dining area from the bar.

The table split an order of bread pudding with vanilla Bourbon sauce for dessert.  It was like a cinnamon roll smothered in sauce.  Outstanding but we were all miserably full after we finished it.  Maggie ordered the "Babysitter Chocolates" which the menu suggests to bring take home because good babysitters are hard to find.  She bought them for her husband Todd.  

Zest definitely received a resounding thumbs up from the group and many of us plan to return. It was not lost on us that comfort food might be exactly what the folks of Kansas City are looking for right now.