It was Kim's turn as host and she chose a new Prairie Village spot. BRGR Kitchen + Bar in Corinth Square at Mission and 83rd street. It was hopping. When you walk up you are greeted with a great outdoor patio with a fire place and garage-type doors opening to the bar area inside. The main dining room is comprised of shiny concrete floors, wood tables, warm brick walls and metal accents. We ran into a group of friends partaking in some drinks on the patio. It was a bit chilly outside last night so I'm sure we found more room then we would have found if the sun was shining. It actually feels more like a casual wine bar than a burger restaurant.
The place is a lively neighborhood hang out. Both happy hour and family friendly. All ages are represented from local retirees enjoying a night out to babies snoozing in strollers. Oh, and you can find a couple four legged friends curled up on the patio, too. We started at the bar (of course). Beer galore. Cheap to expensive. By cheap I mean Old Style, PBR. Classic beer. The majority of us settled on Blue Moon. The Dirty Martini's were quite Dirty.
Despite hearing that the wait for a table could be upwards to 90 minutes, we were seated after about 25 minutes. We ordered our signature appetizer: Mac n Cheese. The menu includes a build your own so we opted for adding some garlic and bacon to our version. Tasty but not a contender for our top Mac n Cheese in KC. We will continue on our quest. We are M&C snobs. Despite this, we did practically lick the bowl clean.
The menu is enormous. Almost overwhelming but it encourages repeat visits to try all the different types of burgers and other comfort entrees. The prices are very moderate. You can hold on to some of your cash while you enjoy some American classics. In fact, the restaurant seems to take classic American fare and reinvents it in a funky humorous way.
We all ordered burgers: Jucy Lucy, The Pittsburger, Mangia, BRGR classic and Philly. We also ordered the trio of fries which included truffle fries, sweet potato fries and onion straws. The truffle fries were seasoned with cilantro which is a weird accent that worked. Burgers were solid. Cooked to order and several options. The Pittsburger was absolutely decadent topped with slaw and fries. Too much to finish. The condiments are home made and the ketchup was very unique. We had a minor ketchup landslide when Michelle poured some on her plate. It is definitely not thick like Heinz. The ketchup is no doubt controversial. People definitely have their opinions about this popular condiment. The water was a chilled bottle of tap water for the table served with tiny glasses. Quaint but I guzzle water and we had to constantly ask for more water.
Surprise of the evening? Walkng into the bathroom and finding a man at the sink. Oh, wait. It is a communal unisex bathroom à la Ally McBeal. You share sinks but the individual stalls have gender assignments. Not sure how we feel about this. Why should men see how we reapply our faces when we escape to the lou?
We weren't necessarily wowed by the food. It was more that we were impressed with the whole package: great location, wonderful addition to PV, the space is fun and cozy, and the food hits the spot. I think we will all be back and I envision some happy hours lounging on the patio. We highly recommend you check out BRGR.
