Last night our Supper Club had perfect attendance and we all gorged ourselves to the point of near medical intervention but lived to blog about it. Michelle was our host. We gathered at her house, checked out her newly painted bedroom and indulged in some wine. Michelle honored the new rule: No appetizers. Just serve booze.
The restaurant that Michelle selected was Avenues Bistro located in Brookside at 63rd and Wornall. The rest of the Club had been to the restaurant for dinner or the Happy Hour specials but Michelle had yet to check out the place. Our reservation was at 7:30. When we arrived the space was packed with people. It is definitely an older crowd which appeared to be locals. The noise level was very high and you had to compete with the room to carry on a conversation.
Our table was not ready when we arrived. We weren't seated until about 30 minutes after our reservation time. However, the bartender makes a mean dirty martini so we passed time sipping our drinks. Now remember we skipped out on appetizers at Michelle's house where all we indulged in was wine so a few of us were getting hungry and loud. Okay, we were all loud and we are always loud but the hunger was getting to dangerous levels.
The waiting area in the front is comfortable when it isn't packed but we were elbow to elbow with other patrons making it hard to prevent martini spillage. The front room contains a long bar and a few tables. The main dining room is in the rear of the building opening up into a large space with both tables and booths. Previously the space was a dry cleaners and originally a grocery store. Should we be concerned about the residual chemicals of a dry cleaning business? When we were seated, we ordered another drink to consider the environmental impact of years of dry cleaning solvent fumes. I can't remember what we decided but I'm going back.
On weekends, Avenues Bistro has a reverse happy hour. We love reverse happy hours! The martinis were only $4. The tapas were just $5. Great value. The service was acceptable but the staff was not the most attentive. It was busy but there seemed to be quite a few wait staff so no one should have been over stretched.
The menu is divided into "tapas" and then entrees, salads and sides. We ordered three tapas: Lobster Mac & Cheese (continuing our Club's obsession with Mac & Cheese), Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus and Baked Brie. One word: Divine. Each tapa was so delectable and extremely heavy. Definitely stomach ache inducing if you were not sharing them with five other people. The asparagus was my favorite dripping in Beurre Blanc Sauce. Oh wait, I just realized we ordered a fourth tapa: Glased Mission Figs with Serrano Ham & Manchego Cheese. Another wonderful dish--at least it had some lettuce in it. Again, remember we didn't eat at Michelle's . . .
We ordered a variety of entrees including the 8 oz Filet Mignon Béarnaise, Veal Francaise, Braised Short Rib Stroganoff and a couple surf & turf's which included a filet and either lobster tail or crab legs. The veal arrived at the table slightly cold but was quickly returned warm after it was brought to their attention. Everything was wonderful and we were in full blown moaning and eye rolling mode.
The menu also has a Black Forest Jaeger Schnitzel which none of us ordered but I just like saying Schnitzel.
By the end of the evening, the main room began to clear out and the noise level became less noticable. At least to us. Perhaps we just got louder. However, it is nice to see a Kansas City restaurant packed and noisy. Dessert was out of the question. However, Maggie did order dessert to go for her husband (yeah right!) but our slightly frazzled waiter never returned with it and it was not included on our bill. We were too full, tired and happy to reorder.
The menu is quite extensive. Trying to narrow down my choice is actually a task which I appreciate. More reason to return and try other items on the menu. We all agreed that Avenues Bistro should be added to our regular restaurant rotations. I think this is great place for locals and the perfect place to treat out of town guests. --JMF
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