Kim was our host for our latest evening dining out but she didn't make her choice alone. Instead, she emailed out pdfs of two menu redacting the names of the restaurants for us to vote. We had a near unanimous decision everyone but Kim chose Story the new bistro which opened in the Prairie Village Shopping Center. She never should have let us pick! After enjoying some wine at Kim's house, we ventured over to Story for our 8 p.m. reservations. Kim lives only blocks from the restaurant and being true Americans, we hopped in my car and drove to Story.Story is located in former retail space. The decor is all white and very modern. The layout and architectural design are unique. There is a rather large outdoor seating area but it was too sweltering to enjoy so we headed inside. There was a strange smell to the restaurant that was a bit reminiscent to mothballs despite the elegant atmosphere.
We were seated immediately. All the tables were covered with white linen. True to form we ordered our cocktails first and then perused the menu. We then perused the menu again and again. The service was definitely not attentive. We were there 20 minutes before our drinks arrived and our appetizer order was taken. This didn't put us in the most generous mood.
When ordering several appetizers, Kathryn asked that the split pea soup be split amongst all of us to sample. The waitress looked at Kathryn in annoyance and said the chef wouldn't like it. There may have been a bit of a discussion between the two while the rest of us stared at our drinks. Alas, the soup did come out split 5 ways. However, so did the other three appetizers we ordered. Not exactly what Kathryn asked but the presentation was great and each of the appetizers were delicious. We also ordered the Ceviche, carpaccio, tuna tartare and smoked duck empanadas. All were excellent. The english pea soup was unusual but most of us liked it. Kathryn had the braised short ribs with shallot rings. Although she found it a bit heavy for the summer, it is a dish she would order again in the winter. The rest of us ordered a couple different whitefish dishes including walleye. Very delicious.
Back to the service. Although we ordered fairly basic drinks, wine and a few martinis, we again attempted to order our second round of drinks and had to wait a long time for them to arrive. At one point, one of us went to peek in the bar to see if the waitress got lost. She did apologize for how long it was taking. Hopefully, the staff will improve because there were quite a few kinks.
For dessert we had small round fried-batter "doughnuts," dripping with vanilla cream and salted caramel. This was a favorite. We also ordered a spin on German Chocolate Cake. It was fluffy and layered with coconut creamy layer. Two of us thought it tasted like suntan lotion but admittedly we aren't coconut fans and the rest of the table enjoyed it. We commandeered the rest of the donuts.This review is a mixed one. Unfortunately, the Story didn't end well. Three out of five of us had some less than pleasant side effects the next day. We didn't drink enough for it to be a hangover and we all ate the same dishes so we don't really know what caused it. Some of us would definitely return and a couple us would definitely need to be wowed next time to keep it in a regular rotation.
