Chicken Wings & BLTs

Just like most of you, I have a rotation of a few restaurants that I frequent more often than others. These are the restaurants that I go to just because its Tuesday; not necessarily to try a new menu, meet a new chef, or anything like that. Every once in a while I will realize that I have not blogged about one of these places simply because its almost like second nature to go there, it is so good, yet so familiar at the same time. This post is about one of those places.

The Peanut is one of those places that seems like almost everyone knows about it (which probably subliminally contributes to the fact I have not blogged about it until now). Radio show hosts, KC Star columnists, and even ESPN beat reporters talk about The Peanut's wings. This post is not for the 90% of you that regularly read my blog, you are the type of people that have already been to The Peanut (probably more times than you can count). This post is for the 10% that have not partaken in the gloriously unsophisticated, yet culinarily accomplished, dive bar that is The Peanut. 

One of these 10 percenters (as we will call them today) was my mother, who just so happens to LOVE bacon. She loves hard, crispy, crunchy bacon. If it is a limp soggy piece of bacon, don't even bother, she is not having any of that. 

My mother travels all the time, and is often subject to hotel breakfasts, so she stays at Embassy Suites as often as possible (because they always have crispy bacon). So this is where we stayed on the night before catching our flight back from our recent trip to Puerto Rico (as it was right by the airport). Don't get me wrong, I love Embassy Suites just as much as the next guy (I stay at Hilton brand hotels whenever I can), but this bacon was beyond crispy. This bacon was so over-done, it was like it had just come out of the crematory. I was ready to hold a remembrance service for this bacon right there at the breakfast table.

When we got back, I knew I had to take her somewhere and get her some good, crispy, not burnt bacon. So for her birthday, I took her to The Peanut. This is a far cry from the party we threw her last year at Tasso's (that you can go back and read about, if you have not), but she said that she could only handle a party like that "once every 60 years", so we obliged and kept this one low key.

We ordered her the best BLT in KC, the double version. The crispy, peppery, Kansas raised bacon on perfectly toasted whole wheat bread. Top that off with fresh lettuce, tomato, and mayo does indeed yield the best BLT in KC.

Not only does The Peanut have the best BLT in KC, but they also have the best wings in KC. However, all good things take time, The Peanut's wings are no exception. The menu warns of the minimum wait that accompanies the wings, but don't let that scare you off (the wait is well worth it). The tenderness of the wings leads me to believe that the time that it takes to get the wings is used by the cook to slaughter the gigantic pterodactyl-sized chickens, soak the wings in buttermilk, then flash fry them to get the outside crispy but not dry out the inside. Cover them in spicy buffalo sauce and dip them  in bleu cheese and you have an addiction that is rivaled only by hardcore street drugs.

My wife and I usually split a dozen wings, which would be enough food to stuff a normal human stomach. However, once I have eaten about 6 or 7 of those bad boys, that is when the addiction sets in. I cannot ever stop there, I usually order another half dozen for myself.

If you need something to wash down those wings (or that BLT), The Peanut has plenty of beers on tap, or in the bottle. They have all of your standard domestics, year-round & seasonal Boulevard beers, and year-round & seasonal New Belgium beers, just to name a few. Sam Mellinger will tell you how well Tank 7 goes with the wings. My wings pairing recommendation varies by the season, but its hard to beat a New Belgium Dig in the spring.

If you were wondering how my mom liked her BLT; she finished it and even had room for half of a wing.

And if you are one of the 10 percenters that have yet to try The Peanut, there is one in almost every area of town: Downtown, Main Street (South of the Plaza), Lee's Summit, and JoCo. My personal Peanut is the Downtown version, but Main Street is the original.