Restaurant Review: Gram & Dun

I'm slacking on posting my restaurant reviews, but I can assure you I'm not slacking with crossing them off the list.

In fact, I've already managed to eat at six eateries. SIX!

That's pretty good if you ask me. Glad you asked.

First off the list to share with you all is Gram & Dun.

We went while ago now, and have since been back. It was so yum-in-the-tum that I'm taking it upon myself to do free marketing for them and tell everyone I know.

Location? Plaza, so location gets an A+ in my opinion. It took place of the former Baja 600, which I wasn't a huge fan of considering it was exactly the same as Jose Peppers only more moolah.

Their website says they have the "best patio in town," and I just might agree. This American gastropub is definitely doing things right.

Casual and sophisticated at the same time, offering an awesome place for people to relax and enjoy the vibe.

If you don't go for lunch or dinner, at least go for drinks. The atmosphere really is pristine.

Open is a boring word, but it's a great word to describe the atmosphere. They have large doors that open up onto the patio giving the feel of sitting outside, even when you're inside.

This was 90+ degree and we weren't even hot. I couldn't believe it myself. I definitely thought we would bake, but I was proven wrong.

Fam & Friends

Here's the deets:

Restaurant: Gram & Dun
Location: Plaza
Atmosphere: casual + sophisticated
Price: Mid Range ($$)
Ordered: PBR Can Chicken (Banana Bandino and the Gram & Dun Bar for dessert to share. oh.my.gosh.)
Service: Superb
Verdict: RAVE

KC Restaurant List 2012

Remember when I posted my list of Restaurants to Try last year?

Well, operation Restaurant List 2011 went pretty well and I'm ready for a new eatery adventure.

I couldn't believe how many new or undiscovered spots there were to include in the new list.

Right here in this place I call home.

With the help of a few coworkers, we came up with places we had never heard of, restaurants we knew of, but had forgotten to try, spots that recently opened, and places we simply had no clue about.

Any time we go out to lunch during the week, we have decided we will hit somewhere on the list. Don't you just love trying new places?

Within a few weeks of compiling the list, I already have several to report about. Stay tuned.

Here she is...

Restaurant List 2012
Snow Co. - Downtown
(This was included on the list because my coworker has never been. I wrote about it here.)
Mildred's - Downtown or Midtown
(Again, coworker has never been, but one of my faves. I'm partial to the chicken salad sandwich on rye.)
Little Freshie (hand crafted soda fountain and espresso bar) - Downtown
(Fresher than fresh Sno Cones anyone? Go. We went last week. Get Blackberry Lavender. You wont be disappointed. )

Gram & Dun - Plaza
Tannin Wine Bar & Kitchen - Crossroads/Downtown
Seasons 52 - Plaza
Chez Elle Creperie & Coffeehouse - Downtown
Lill's on 17th - Downtown
Coal Vines - Plaza
Zocalo - Plaza
Carmen's Cafe - Leawood & Brookside
Extra Virgin - Crossroads/Downtown
Bar Louie - Downtown
Haus - Downtown
FÜD (Vegan) - Downtown
Succotash - Downtown
Westport Cafe & Bar - Westport
Mestizo - Park Place
The Brick - Crossroads/Downtown
Urban Table - Prairie Village
Cafe Trio - Plaza Outskirts
Blue Stem - Wesport
The Boot - Westport
Le Fou Frog - River Market/Downtown
Hamburger Mary's - Crossroads/Downtown

Grünauer - Downtown

Cafe Gratitude (Vegan) - Downtown

YJ's Snack Bar - Crossroads/Downtown

Spring in January

Hey friends! How was your weekend? Can you believe the weather forecast for this week in Kansas City?

Amazing. I never thought I would be taking so many walks in January. Crazy.

We are putting some serious miles on the stroller. And Jake is in dog heaven with how many walks off the leash he is getting.

On our walk last Friday, we passed a small child and his mom as I heard:

Mom: That's a pretty dog, isn't it [child's name]?
Kid: Yeah, he looks like an oreo. But only double stuffed.

Ha! Kids are so cute!! I can't wait until Carson says really cute and the darnedest of things.

As mentioned last week, we joined friends at J Gilberts for Restaurant Week on Saturday. I had heard a ton of positive feedback about this place. My verdict: It was good, but I honestly expected more. Will I go back? Yes. I always give places a second chance. Why? Because I believe in second chances.

I think it is mainly because I compare all steakhouses to Capital Grille. And it might have been due to the pre-set/limited menu and the amount of the same dishes being prepared in the kitchen. I have worked in quite a few restaurants and know how happy "specials" make chefs and cooks.

Carson slept the entire time at dinner. It's so easy to take him places right now.

Now...getting out the door? Not so much. If there's one thing I have learned to change about myself since becoming a mommy, you have to be flexible. Which is really hard for an extremely planned person like myself. At any moment, your plan can change. Scratch that, you don't really get to have plans with a newborn:).

Right as we were walking out the door for dinner, Carson spit up all over his clothes and we had to change him. Right as we put him in the car seat (in the new clothes), he spit up again. Needless to say, we were late. I swear, we are late everywhere we go these days. I promise we will be on time again someday. 

Speaking of dinner, I tried a new recipe last week worth mentioning. It will definitely be making friends with the other recipes in my cookbook. The best part? It was pretty easy to make.

Spinach Lasagna with Pesto and Mushrooms. This was really tasty. The hubs loved it. It made a huge pan of it, so be ready for left overs. Good thing lasagna is super yummy as leftovers.

I made several modifications per the reviews and personal preference:

- Added shredded chicken because I love me some meat
- Added some crushed red pepper
- Used more mozzarella cheese in place of the shredded provolone (I couldn't find shredded provolone)
- I used fresh spinach as the recipe calls for, but next time might try frozen as the reviews suggest, easy peasy.

Hope everyone has a great week! Off to enjoy our daily stroll in this beautiful sunshine spring weather.

I could get used to this.

Restaurant Week

It's Restaurant Week in Kansas City and I am actually going to take advantage twice this year.

I always seem to forget about this week and end up missing out on some of Kansas City's finest spots. Not to mention, many of the participating restaurants offer mouth-watering dishes from the top chefs in the metro.

There's more than 100 participating restaurants and lots to choose from. Check out one blogger's Top Ten List for 2012.

I tend to overlook many of the pricier places on the list or would only opt to go there for a special occasion. Since the hubby and I rarely get out to eat for a nice meal, Restaurant week is right up our alley. With pre-set menus and affordable prices, it gives people like us a chance to get to restaurants we normally wouldn't go. It's quite genius.

Yesterday, a friend and I tried a new place downtown called Snow Co.

She had heard about it from co-workers so we decided to give it a whirl. To our surprise, they were a Restaurant Week participant and offered a great lunch deal: Two lunch combos for $15 that include a salad and sandwich of your choice. Lunch for two, for only $15 dollars? What a great deal.

Before I talk about what we ate, I'll give you a rundown of the atmosphere. Located at 18th and Wyandotte, this swanky spot could easily get overlooked. They consider themselves a "cafe and cocktail lounge" offering only fresh squeezed juices and homemade syrups in their cocktails.

Modern and comfortable is what they are going for and it is definitely that. So much that some people walking by might miss that they serve food. Very open, living room-like atmosphere, with a trendy touch.

Well, the food was superb so I'm helping get the word out! We were the only ones in the restaurant, but our waitress was very pleasant and friendly.

I had the Mayo-Free Chicken Salad Wrap and my friend had the Turkey & Havarti on Ciabatta. We both asked for them hot and they accommodated our request with no problems. We both had rave reviews. I can't wait to get back and try out their drink flights.

So, get yourself to this spot and give it a try. Also recommended is its neighboring eatery: Mildred's Cafe. Great sandwiches, salads and of course, coffee.

Saturday, we are hitting up J. Gilberts for Restaurant Week with friends. I have heard SO many positive remarks about this place. Excited.

About food...typical of me.

What about you? Are you venturing out for Restaurant Week?

17 Weeks and Still No Time

Wowza, I am so behind on blogs it's not even funny. I don't know what's going on in all of your lovely lives.

I am really trying to keep up, I just can't find the time! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, it's driving me nutso! I really don't know how I ever had the time before, but hoping that some day I will have the time to commit to my blog again. Praying that work slows down soon!

Anywho, a quick update on a few random things:

This human being growing inside my belly
I promise to get better about posting pics of my expanding belly. I'm 17 weeks today and feel as if I'm growing faster than ever. Boy, I am so not ready for my body to change...mainly for my ass to get fat, my clothes not to fit and my husband to not think I'm hot anymore. Don't get me wrong, pregnancy is a beautiful thing and I couldn't be more excited for the little bambino to come, but I would be lying if I didn't question these things.

Here I am at 15 weeks:

And 16 weeks...

Some outfits definitely make the belly appear larger. I feel like these are two of those:)

If you're wondering, I haven't purchased any maternity clothes yet, just the "Belly Band", which allows me to wear my normal pants unbuttoned. The band holds them up and keeps them from falling off. None of my pants can be buttoned anymore:(

Source

My lush of a husband
I think Brian is reverting back to his college days. Seriously, it's like, "Krista gets prego and I get a perma DD." He's actually said this very statement before. While I love driving the three of us around (yes, three, I'm trying to get used to saying three rather than two:), I don't think I was fully prepared for how he really has been taking advantage of the whole pregnancy thing -- going out with the boys and not coming home. I will so get him back one of these days.

Two weekends ago, the hubs went on the annual float trip sans Krista. See a pattern here...Brian and more drinking. I didn't know how I would be feeling, and sleeping in a tent just didn't seem ideal to me, so I opted to stay home. Anyways, I was sad to miss good times with great people, but I'm pretty sure Brian did enough drinking for the three of us, yes I included baby since he or she can't drink either.

BRGR
We had dinner with my uncle and cousin last week and tried BRGR in Prairie Village. A modern burger joint with a comfortable atmosphere. I have heard great things about this place and how it is similar to Blanc. I love me some Blanc, so I had high hopes.

I had the turkey burger, what I also order at Blanc, and I thought Blanc's was better. However, the fried pickles and zucchini strings were to die for! Brian ordered the Road House and really enjoyed it. I'd definitely recommend this place.

Ok, enough about the food, let's talk about the strange bathrooms. As I was entering the bathroom, I immediately turned around and walked out when I saw a dude washing his hands at the sink. Then, I realized it was a unisex bathroom. I was so confused! Has anyone ever seen this before? I sure hadn't and it was very strange to me. A guy entering as I was washing my hands did the exact same thing.

Two stalls for girls, two stalls for guys

The women's stall had a cute changing station:) 

Strange Dreams
I have been having the strangest dreams since being pregnant, I have no idea why this is happening, but it is so bizarre.

Last night's dream included Molly (the runner up on this season's of America's Next Top Model - yes I'm guilty of watching), but she wasn't normal in my dream. She was a crazy person and kept stalking me and Brian. She chased me around the grocery store and then broke into our house. This doesn't sound that strange, but it was freakin' weird, especially since the finale of this show was weeks ago so I can't believe I was thinking about it when I fell asleep.

Another dream, last week, Brian and I were on the verge of getting a divorce. At one point, there was a fat girl that he was cheating on me with, but then all of a sudden she changed to a hot girl. Anyways, this girl was his girlfriend and he expected me to just be ok with it. Well, obviously I wasn't and was trying to get him to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Anyways, I wanted to work it out (without the girlfriend in the picture of course), he wanted to have his cake and eat it too. I didn't like the dream at all but it was a little more tolerable when the cake was fat and not hot. So, as we were talking about our situation, I was pretty much begging him to stay and work it out. All he said was, "Nope, I want a divorce, peace out."

Brian now thinks it's funny to throw in the words "Peace Out" when we are saying bye to each other.

The Beer Kitchen

This ol' blog sure is collecting some hefty dust lately. And I'm beyond behind on keeping up with all of your lovely blogs.

Life just gets in the way. That's just life.

I'll eventually emerge from this state I'm in and bounce back to the blog world.

Until then, I'll quickly tell you about my fabulous weekend dinner with the girls at The Beer Kitchen - a new, casual, fun spot in Westport (where 180 used to be).

My brother recommended this place and we could not have been more pleased. The one and only, Katie, was in town to shop for her wedding dress, so it was only appropriate we took her to a place she has never been. It was a new spot for all of us.

I was craving comfort food so I ordered none other than the Mac N Cheese. It was rich. It was creamy. It was delish.

Why do I always order Mac N Cheese at restaurants? What am I, 10?

The other items ordered at our table were a burger, the turkey turkey sandwich (yes, it's called The Turkey Turkey), and a salad for the girl who had to be all healthy and crap. Oh, and a jumbo order of french fries for all of us to share.

 Aren't those pickles freakishly green?

 

Thanks Smack, Katie and I will sit here with our Mac N Cheese while you eat your rabbit food.

We had a blast. Our early dinner turned into 4 hours of catching up, reminiscing about old times, and chatting about the exciting things to come such as Katie's marriage to Barry! We couldn't be happier for this girl who has been through a lot with this boy. She just couldn't seem to get away from him. They're soul mates:)

 Bethany & Katie

 The group

Me, Lang and Smack

Now go try The Beer Kitchen! You won't regret it.

Hawt Dog

Happy Tuesday friends!

I tried a new lunch spot today and thought I would tell y'all about it. I didn't even know it existed until the gal I was meeting for lunch suggested it.

Dog Nuvo - A Gourmet Hot Dog Establishment

"Bringing America's Classic to a new level," Dog Nuvo offers gourmet dogs (natural casing and 100% All Beef) topped with hand crafted ingredients such as mustards, krauts and pickles. They also offer encased meats such as Heritage Chicken, Venison and Duck seasonally.

I had the Chi Town dog (pictured in the middle up top). Here's the description from the website:

Dragged through the garden! Our dog with that Crazy Neon Green Relish - a la Nuvo, Hot Peppers, Sweet Onions, Grape Tomatoes, Pickle Ribbons, Stone Ground Mustard and, of course, Celery Salt. Served on a Poppy Seed Challah.

It was quite delicious, for a hot dog. Somewhat hard to eat, but nothing a fork and knife couldn't handle. I thought the actual dog was a little measly, but I enjoyed the flavor of all the toppings with the dog. The gal I was with had the Mac N Cheese dog (not listed on the site for some reason), but she had rave reviews. We shared the Truffle & Asiago potato chips, which I would recommend.

My overall review would be to give it a try! It's not a place I would go for a date or anything, but something a little different and perfect for a casual work lunch. I'm looking forward to trying The Thai Dog, Le Poodle and The KC (smothered with Burnt Ends). Oh, and did I mention it's super affordable? Only $4-$6 depending on what dog you desire.

Located at 18th and Main downtown, in the TWA building (where Souperman once resided). You can get your dog to go or sit down and enjoy the wait staff.

Good Eats & a {Free} Bottle of Wine

We had a fabulous weekend, but dang, they never seem long enough. Can someone please add a day to our weekends, similar to how George decided to add daylight to the afternoons back in 1895? I'm pretty sure most people would not criticize this action.

If you had any doubt in your mind whether or not I knew who coined Daylight Savings, I'll put your minds to rest. I definitely didn't. Hello Google.

So, back to our weekend. We spent all day Saturday Spring cleaning and finishing up some much needed things around the house. One of which included taking down the last strand of our Christmas lights. Yes, I realize it's March 14 and I know what you're thinking. Don't judge. I'm sure our neighbors have already done plenty of that.

To explain, we have a very high peak on our house which requires the hubs to step onto an extremely tall ladder and get on the roof to access the electrical units. Well, with the lovely weather we have had this winter, the Mr. simply didn't want to risk his life with the strong winds and snow/ice on the roof. And any weekend the sunshine graced us with its presence, we were either busy or out of town. It is what it is. So sue us.

On to the worthy part of this post! Saturday night we hit up not one, not two, but three new hot spots at Town Center. I'm lovin' that I can mark off places on my restaurant list!

We started at RA Sushi for a quick drink and appetizer with the Lines. Brian had some sort of sushi roll and I had the RA'ckin shrimp. It was delish. What a fun and trendy place. LOVED the decor. It was smaller inside, but the quaintness provided a perfect setting for good conversation. I.E. I am really loud, but nobody even noticed.

Next stop, Trezo Vino to meet the group. What a fun dinner! Not sure why it always goes this way, but we sat girls on one side of table, boys on the other. I swear, we are like the two opposing forces of magnets when a group this size gets together.

The girls are pulled toward conversations of gossip, reality tv, blogs, babies and shopping, while the boys gravitate to sports, sports, sports and probably comparing the nagging styles of us wifeys. I'm not certain of my assumption, but I have a feeling I hit the nail right on the head.

A few items at our table that received rave reviews included: Ahi Tuna tacos (I even liked these!), Thai Chicken Flatbread, Crab cakes, Lobster Mac N Cheese, Fennel Sausage Flatbread and Rabbit Pappardelle Pasta.

Oh and Matt's Trezo Tower dessert that I literally had a moment over. All I could do was stare and drool. Sigh.

One story for you all. Sorry, this post is already pretty lengthy, but just bear with me. My meal was the last dish to hit the table. In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone else was practically finished eating by the time it was placed in front of me. Not a big deal, I had friends and vino to keep me occupied.

Well, after about 5 minutes of sitting empty handed, our waiter comes out with a free bottle of wine "compliments of Trezo Vino." Score! We were all pretty stoked. As the waiter corked the bottle and poured our glasses, he said something like, "Thanks for writing the article."

I was definitely confused, but didn't think much of it. As we were leaving, the manager stopped me and Cal and asked who made the reservation. He then goes into a spiel and gives his gratitude for the article, as it suddenly comes to me. Light bulb!

When I tried to make the reservation online, it said they were booked solid. So, I picked up the phone hoping we could somehow get in. I was ecstatic when they said they could squeeze us in at 8:00. I made a mention to the Business Journal article that had just dropped earlier in the week and how it must be helping business, and hung up the phone.

Well, somewhere along the lines, the manager confused me with the reporter. He mentioned that he googled her and thought we looked alike. Ha! I gave him the truth, but how funny is that! There is a development reporter named Krista Klaus for the KCBJ, so maybe he thought I was her? 

I only have one question, would I still have been offered the complimentary bottle of wine if they knew I wasn't a Business Journal reporter? Hmmmmm...either way, it was a good laugh!

We ended the night at Aloft's hotel bar W XYZ Bar. We heard they had a must-see patio, so we headed over to see what the buzz was about. Definitely a smaller hang out, but swanky and $3 beers. And the patio was really cool. It just needed to be a bit warmer to really enjoy.

We were excited about cheap beer:)

And the last picture I have to share with you all...

Gotta love that the hubs works in construction and provides us fun props for our ride home. Big shout out and thank you to Mr. Bowen for driving. He gave up alcohol for lent, major kudos to this guy!

Hope you all had a great weekend! 

The Taj Mahal of Steakhouses

There's this restaurant that me and the hubs like to go to occasionally. It's a nice atmosphere, the service is superb, and the food always more than pleases my palette. And their Cosmo will make you wish you never tried it. It may be a pricey cocktail, but it's that good.

This place is only one of the many steakhouses in Kansas City, but in my opinion, it's the best. I haven't even tried many of the other popular spots, but I'm convinced I have found my favorite.

It's also the place we had dinner the night The Better Half proposed and our 1st Anniversary.

Roses on our table when we were seated

Ok, I'll stop gushing over it and get to the point of this post.

The Capital Grille. It never disappoints.

And it didn't today.

Source

I attended a work luncheon/presentation at The Capital Grille today. It was a 50 person luncheon, so I expected a preset menu with minimal options and prepared myself to be disappointed that I couldn't order my go-to dinner only menu dish: The Sliced Fillet.

Well, the sliced fillet wasn't an option on the limited menu, but there was one item that kept calling my name: the Lobster and Crab Burger. I was hesitant because this isn't an item I would typically order.

Wowza! I couldn't be more happy that I branched out of my comfort zone and tried something new*! It's a make your mouth water kind of burger. Yummy.

And my fav appetizer, the Pan Fried Calamari with Hot Cherry Peppers was served. Delish! Super spicy, but I love me some heat! As usual, the Grille impressed me. Even for a somewhat large lunch event, where I most often expect a buffet with a piece of rubbery chicken.

So I love Capital Grille. Try it if you haven't. It's grand.

*I don't typically like seafood. Only Shrimp or calamari. I know, I'm weird. I can't believe I loved this menu item! 

Five Feelings of the Weekend

We traveled back home this weekend to good ole Ta Town. It was a short trip, but time well spent with the fam. AND, we got to experience the un-heard of 70 degree weather in January.
Did I really just write January!? Yes I did. Well, too bad Kansans, better get ready for the storm of the century. So, they're saying. If you know me well, you know how I feel about all this snow.

Ok, time for a short recap. Five feelings (with stories) I took away from the weekend:

Appreciation
The primary reason we went to Ta Town was to get Brian's car fixed. After dealing with an annoying loud whistle for three months and a $900+ quote from a Kansas City car shop, we decided to call my daddy-o to the rescue. He's a genius when it comes to cars, so the option was a no-brainer. I guess my brother thought so too, since he made the trip home to also get some work done. The boys spent all morning and afternoon in the shop, so MUCH appreciation to my daddy for helping us out!

Embarassment
While the boys turned wrenches, Amy (bro's gf) and I decided to go shopping. Well, all the cars were being occupied at the shop and my mom was at work, so we only had one option of getting there: My very first car, the '92 maroon Honda Accord with 200,000+ miles, that my dad still chooses to rock out from time to time.

Don't get me wrong, she was a good car for my first 7 years of driving, I really loved her. But, she has taken a turn for the worst. Chipped paint, rust spots, sun damage, visible dents and mishaps that are still there from running into things in college...she's in bad shape. Her new name is The Beater.

Beater or not, she was our only option to get to the mall. I bit the bullet. However, it was quite detrimental to my life. I kept thinking as I clunked down the street slightly covering my face, someone from high school is going to see me and think, "wow, Krista has done really well for herself, she's still driving the same POS from high school."

We survived.

Delight
More like obsessed! I tried Orange Leaf for the first time. We stopped at one in Olathe on our way back into town, but Wichita has them too. OMG, amazingness! It's like Pinkberry on crack. There were about 15 different kinds of frozen yogurt to choose from and way too many topping choices. I had Passion Fruit, Strawberry and Cake Batter each loaded with different toppings (strawberries, kiwi, sprinkles, cookie dough). If you have one near you, go now!

Disappointment
The Cats were slaughtered by the chicken hawks. KSU is such a disappointing team this year. Luckily, we just went up to On the Border to watch the game and get some grub, so we weren't completely surrounded by the annoying chant. How do we go from a #3 ranked team to where we are now? Our hopes have been shattered. But, I'm still proud to be a wildcat.

WTF?
Is that even a feeling? Probably not, but once you hear the story, you'll understand. So, after OTB, we headed to a bar. This bar happens to be where you are guaranteed to run into people from high school. And just to be honest, there are people from HS that I would love to run into, and others that, well, I would just prefer not to. So I see this guy from HS that I would have loved to dodge, but when he comes up to me (and Brian and my parents), it was unavoidable. And keep in mind, he was little intoxicated.

So the fake convo begins...where are you at now? What do you do? Then, he asks me to put out my hands, palm side down (so he could check to see if I was married).

Me: Yeah, I've been married for two years now. That's my husband, Brian.
HS guy: Where did you pick him up at?
Me: [I didn't pick him up you d-bag] We met at K-State and then moved to KC after graduation
HS guy: Damn girl, you look really good.
Me: Well thanks. So, what have you been up to?
HS guy: [Interrupting me mid sentence] Man, you just look so sexy. Are your boobs fake or are those real?

First of all, my boobs are not some guy I went to HS with's business to be talking about. Especially in front of my husband. Sheesh. And second, I am less than endowed up top, so I highly doubt they looked fake.

And, for the record, I wasn't wearing a revealing shirt at all. They were very put away. Who seriously says that!?

I'm on a restaurant kick...or...I wanna be.

In my opinion, Kansas City has a lot to offer when it comes to restaurants.

With multiple areas around the city that offer innovative, unique, delicious and affordable dining options, the list is endless.

This city is obviously no NYC aka the most glorious destination in the USA for dining, but we have lots of areas to choose from: Plaza, Downtown, The Northland, Midtown, Brookside/Waldo, West Bottoms, Legends and the ginormous ever-growing Johnson County.

We're doing pretty good if you ask me.

I've lived here nearly four years and my taste buds don't have much to show for it.

We go out to eat every once in awhile, but we rarely try new places. We always tend to flock to our favorite spots, where we order the same things we always order and know we will leave pleased.

There's nothing wrong with that, but I have this unbearable desire to venture out and experience all the dining Kansas City, the city we live in, has to offer.

It does help that I work downtown. My co-workers and I have discovered some pretty amazing eats.

Some of our favs are: Happy Gillis, Farm House, Lulu's, Grinders West, The Mixx, Ingredient, Cupini's, Blue Bird Bistro, Blue Koi, Cafe at Briarcliff, Filling Station, Bristol, La Monde, Gorozzo's, Grand Street Cafe, Classic Cup, Trezomare and Kona (for Happy Hour).

Now, that's quite the list, but can you believe my list of Restaurants to Try is just as long!?

It's because I can't keep up. The second I try a new place, two more open

Restaurants to Try
Avenues Bistro - Brookside or Mission Farms
NoRth - Leawood
Michael Smith - Downtown
77 South - Leawood
Ra Sushi - Leawood
La Bodega (been here once, but not when I lived here) - Leawood
Gennessee Royale Bistro - West Bottoms
Justus Drug Store - Smithville
Julian - Brookside
Starker's - Plaza
Il Centro - Plaza area
J Gilberts - Overland Park
801 Chophouse - Downtown
JJ's - Plaza
Room 39 - Mission Farms or Midtown
Trezo Vino - Leawood
Blue Grotto - Brookside
Cafe Sebastienne - Kemper Museum of Art
Gaslight Grill - Overland Park
R Bar - West Bottoms
Blanc Burgers + Bottles - Mission Farms (Just went here this weekend!)
BRGR - Prairie Village
Tavern in the Village - Prairie Village
*List has been slightly modified after suggestions from great bloggers!

Any that I should add? How about ones that aren't worth it? Please tell me. My wallet would appreciate it:)

First adventure in Operation Restaurant List - dunzo!

We crossed off Blanc Burgers + Bottles. I had heard great things about it and have been carrying around the Groupon since September. I even blogged about it here.

See...major suckage on trying new places...even with a Groupon.

This place was super tasty! A little pricey if you are looking to kick back a few beers, but the overall experience was totally worth it.

I ordered the turkey burger. Oh man. To. Die. For. And don't even get me started on the truffle fries displayed in the cute little shopping carts. Delish!

Tip: Don't sit next to your girlfriend and put your husbands on the opposite side of the table if you don't want the waitress to think they are a gay couple. Oh yeah, she asked if they were "together". It was hilarious. 

Mmmmmm...now I'm hungry. I love food.