Ethnic Lunch Spots on Quivira

Anyone who lives or works in the South KC/Overland Park area knows all too well that it very difficult to find good authentic ethnic eats in the area (no, Jose Pepper's and Pei Wei do not count!). As someone who works in South KC, I am always eager to try new authentic ethnic eateries when someone tells me about them. I have done a blog post on the Caspian Bistro already, and am always looking for good (reasonably priced, if possible) ethnic food in the Southland.

All of that being said, this post is about two awesome ethnic eateries in the Southland: El Fogon (Mexican Deli & Taqueria) and Choga (Korean).

First, we will visit Choga, an authentic Korean restaurant. I have never been to Korea, but the food is just like the food that the grandmother of one of my childhood friends always made for us. It also came highly recommended by a Malaysian coworker of mine, and when we got there we ran into a number of Korean co-workers. All of that being said, I am fairly confident in labeling it authentic without ever stepping foot on the continent of Asia.

The lunch menu at Choga offers smaller portions than their dinner menu, at more lunch friendly prices. I went with the Yang Nyum Kalbi (grilled beef short ribs marinated in Kalbi sauce), as it came highly recommended. The short ribs came off of the bone (as shown in the photo in the lower right) and they were quite tender and very tasty. It may not appear that there is much meat on the tray, but the serving size is actually quite satisfying. I would definitely recommend this to someone going to Choga.

Every lunch comes with: Kimchi, steamed white rice, house salad, Japchae, fresh fruit, and two pan fried beef dumplings. The Kimchi (traditional Korean, fermented cabage) was not quite as spicy as I am used to, but still had very good flavour. It was also slightly different that all sides came on your tray, except the Kimchi, that came on one dish for the whole table (but sharing is the Korean way). The steamed rice was perfectly sticky-icky. The house salad was made with fresh greens and a nicely flavoured vinaigrette. The Japchae (stir fried sweet potato noodles) was new to me and did not taste anything like sweet potato, as I had expected, but was more like a traditional rice noodle that had some added pigment. The fresh fruit that came with my lunch was watermelon, as it was in season at the time. The two pan fried beef dumplings were fantastic.

My coworker had been to Choga for dinner and was telling us about the newly installed in-table grills and vent hoods, the concept of this is somewhat lost on me, I believe it is something you have to experience to fully understand. It sounds like a Korean hybrid of hibachi and fondue, I will have to go sometime for dinner to get a better understanding of it. I will surely post pictures after I do, but as you can see, they are brand spanking new.

Secondly, El Fogon, a self titled "Mexican Deli and Taqueria". El Fogon has authentic Mexican fare, I can attest to the authenticity of El Fogon. They serve street tacos, burritos, tortas, authentic Mexican desserts, and authentic Mexican bebidas (drinks, such as jamaica and horchata). We all know that I have an unhealthy love affair with authentic Mexican street food.

El Fogon is a deli style restaurant, in that you walk in and walk up to the counter to place your order. I loved the Mexican decor, Spanish music playing over the speakers, and soccer on the TV. It seems like it is a family operation and the whole menu looked great! I went with the tacos, they offered 5 different varieties (Carne, Pollo, Chorizo, Barbacoa, and Al Pastor), and at only $1.50 each I figured I could afford to try them all. The tacos were very good, not the best I ever had, but that is not at all an indictment on the tacos and more of a statement of the amazing tacos that I have had in my life.

The tacos came bare, they have a table of condiments that allows you can put what you want on them, I went with the traditional Mexican fixins (cilantro, onion, and squeezed lime, as if there were any other way to eat a taco). The corn tortillas (the only tortillas to have, in my opinion) were hand pressed and delicious. You can always tell if a tortilla is hand-pressed or made on an assembly line by the markings on the tortilla itself, not to mention the difference in taste (those who don't like corn tortillas are probably just forming their opinions after trying store bought corn tortillas). Anyways, on to the taco meats; all of the meats were solid options, but the Chorizo had to be my favorite. This is odd, because Chorizo is not usually my favorite street taco meat, but El Fogon's Chorizo is delightful! I do love salsa verde on my tacos, El Fogon's salsa verde had good taste (however, if you are a major heat seeker, you may want to try another salsa on your tacos, but the verde is good for me).

I had the Jamaica, a traditional Mexican drink made from the leaves of the Hibiscus flower, to go with my tacos. It was a tad sweet for my taste, but was the closest to the Jamaica that I had in Mexico that I have been able to find this side of the border. This is most certainly not the last lunch I will have at El Fogon!

Tour de BBQ

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of taking part in the Tour de BBQ with a buddy of mine. Tour de BBQ is a 62 mile bicycle ride, benefiting the University of Kansas & Children's Mercy Cancer Centers. I love riding my bicycle, I love eating BBQ, and I really hate cancer (I mean really, really hate cancer, I don't think you fully understand the hate I have toward cancer), so this ride seemed like a natural event to take part in. It was extremely cold at the start of the race and didn't warm up much as the day went on, but it was a fantastic ride anyway!

The ride:

A 62 mile ride, 6 BBQ stops, 8 hours to complete (although we did not need nearly that long).

It was 39 degrees when I walked out my door and got on my bike to ride down to the Power and Light District (where the ride began) at 6:40. All I could think about when I was zooming down the hill, and the wind was so cold that it was making my eyes water, was "I wonder how much convincing it would take to talk Dan (my buddy) into just coming over and hanging out instead of riding today", but our hatred for cancer prevailed. 

The ride began a tad late (at about 7:15 AM, which does not change this post at all, but wanted to make not of it so no one judged us for riding the first few miles super slowly).

The stops:

The Stack (Mile 10; 7:40 AM): The Stack, formerly Smokestack BBQ (started by the same family as Jack Stack), provided BBQ chicken wings. The Stack is now under new ownership that has completely overhauled the entire menu from the restaurant's Smokestack days. I have yet to visit this restaurant, but I can tell you that their chicken wings are awesome! I am not a huge BBQ chicken wing guy, if I am going to be having wings, I prefer them buffalo style, but the stack is working on changing that. The rub, combined with the small bit of caramelized sauce on the outside of the wing, were perfect. The wing was juicy and if I return to The Stack anytime soon, it will be hard for me to order anything but the BBQ wings.

Gates (Mile 15; 8:00 AM): I do not know what Gates provided for the ride, as they either forgot that they were providing BBQ for the ride, or we just rode too fast and got there before the BBQ was ready. Lots of "Hi, may I help you?!" jokes were made and Gates received no red star from Tour de BBQ (these jokes will only makes sense to those who frequent Gates, if you don't get them, go to Gates and you will understand).

 
Jack Stack (Mile 23.4; 8:34 AM): It is a well known fact that I think that Jack Stack has the best beans EVER (not just in KC), I would swim in a pool full of Jack Stack beans if I could, but today the Jack Stack sausage was the star of the show. The sausage was great, as always, it is no secret that Jack Stack has great BBQ. If you have not been to Jack Stack, join the 21st century and go give it a try.

The Burnt End (Mile 33.25; 9:20 AM): I had not tried The Burnt End before Saturday, whom ironically did not supply their namesake burnt ends, but instead provided shredded chicken sliders. Their shredded chicken was very tender, pickles were very good, and the sauce was a tomato based sauce (not dissimilar to Jack Stack's). I would definitely recommend adding The Burnt End to any SOJOCOer's BBQ rotation.

 Dickey's BBQ Pit (Mile 42.5; 10:00 AM): I did not partake in the BBQ at Dickey's solely on principle. I do not know if Dickey's is any good or not, I have never had it. However, on a tour of KC BBQ places, I was not going to include a TX chain in my day. Sorry, to anyone who loves Dickey's, my inner KC BBQ elitist keeps me from trying it.

R.J.'s Bob-be-que Shack (Mile 55; 11:00 AM): Yet another stop on the route that I had not tried before, R.J.'s was surprisingly awesome! The pork sliders were great, crunchy ends on the tender strands of tender pork combined with a tangy sauce (my favorite sauce of any of the stops) was a perfect combination. I will definitely be returning to R.J.'s with my wife SOON! Also of mention: everyone at every stop was as nice as could be, but the people at R.J.'s were in a league of their own (it is unknown if they were R.J.'s employees or Tour de BBQ volunteers, but just wanted to make not of it).

The Afterparty (Mile 62; 11:45 AM): 

Upon return to the Power and Light District, we were treated to a band and given drink & meal tickets, as if we needed more BBQ at that point (although I did not need it, I still partook anyways). The band was singing a mix of past hits and original songs about running and triathlons, it was a good fit for the crowd in attendance.

The Ride Home:

After getting cold from being sedentary while eating my final BBQ, having a couple beers, and watching the band, my muscles had time to get stiff from lactic acid settling in. Combine this with a full belly and an uphill ride home; the ride of less than a mile from the Power and Light District to my condo was much harder than the previous 62 miles I had ridden that day.

Final Thoughts:

All of the BBQ that I had was great! The roads were not closed for the ride, but the route was reasonably marked. It was extremely cold, but we had a good ride anyways. I would recommend taking part in this ride next year to anyone who loves riding bikes, eating BBQ, or hates cancer. They even have 15 mile and 35 mile rides for anyone who is not quite as intense as my buddy Dan and I are.

30 Cannolis in 30 Days

Jasper's has long been recognized by many (and Zagat) as the best Italian restaurant in Kansas City and also, one of the best in the country. Chef Jasper has also cooked for the First Lady of the United States. All that being said, it should come as a surprise to no one that Jasper's finds itself on a blog named "Eating Awesomeness".

The reason for this blog post, however, is not for Jasper's amazing homemade pasta dishes. It is not for their delicious Carne or Pesce. It is for their celebration of National Cannoli Month by creating 30 different cannolis in 30 days, during the month of September. I stopped in today and picked up the cannoli of the day, the Banana Foster.

The cannoli is a traditional Sicilian dessert, translated literally to "little tube", that is filled with a sweet creamy filling. The Banana Foster was rich, decadent, and full of complex flavours (the most prevalent of which being, of course, the banana and vanilla flavours from the filling). The filling also had small chunks of banana in it. The fried pastry part of the cannoli was perfectly crispy and crunchy, not underdone or chewy at all (as some cannolis I have had in the past, not at Jasper's of course).

There is a full week left in National Cannoli Month, if you have not yet, I suggest that you stop by Jasper's (or Jasper's Marco Polo Italian Market, which is located adjacent to the Jasper's dining room) and pick up a Cannoli of the Day.

On this day in cannoli history: Local hungry man, Randy Santel, attempted to set a world record in cannoli eating at Jasper's.

Different Post (Tuna Melt)

I know that I normally blog about restaurants and places that I eat, rather than what I eat at home, but this post is something a little different. With the weather cooling off, I have been hungry for something a little warmer, yet something that can be made rather quickly (as the last thing we want to do after a long day of work and a hard workout is spend an hour smelling food before its ready to eat). If you are looking for something warm and salty after a long workout on a cold day, then you may want to give this Rachael Ray tuna sandwich a try.

This recipe was introduced to us this past spring by my wife's friend who kindly brought us this meal after my wife's ACL surgery. We loved it so much that my wife asked for the recipe and has made it multiple times since then. She has made some different variations of the below recipe, and I have to say that my favorite involves swapping out the ciabatta for some Farm to Market pretzel bread buns. The soft pretzel bread, lightly toasted, combined with the savory tuna, salty capers, creamy melted cheese, and wonderful arugula is sandwich perfection. (Pictured to the right with Spinach-Cucumber-Feta Salad tossed with Tasso's Greek dressing)

Please post feedback regarding whether or not you would like an occasional awesome recipe post on here, along with the awesome restaurant reviews, or if I should just stick to eating out. Below is the recipe and nutritional info for the sandwiches. My wife also uses buns instead of loafed ciabatta and broils the sandwich in the oven (open faced), rather than using a panini press. Be adventurous and make it your way, because I always say "Eating is equal parts food and adventure".

Ingredients:

2 (5 5/8 ounce) cans good quality tuna, drained
1 (14 ounce) can water-packed artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, thinly sliced
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 large shallots or 1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 cup baby arugula
1 large lemon
olive oil, for liberal drizzling
pepper
1/2 lb deli-sliced provolone cheese
1 loaf ciabatta, split lengthwise horizontally

Directions:

1. Heat panini press or cast iron skillet for pressing sammy.
2. If using a skillet, you will need another heavy skillet to press with or a brick, wrapped in foil.
3. Flake tuna in bowl. Add chopped artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, parsley, shallots and arugula.
4. Dress with lemon juice and liberal drizzle of oil.
5. Mix to combine salad thoroughly, season with pepper to taste.
6. Arrange half of the cheese, overlapping the slices, on the bottom half of ciabatta.
7. Top with salad in even layer then arrange remaining cheese and top with bread.
8. Cut the loaf into 4 sections and press a few minutes to melt cheese and heat through.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 1 (294 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amount Per Serving
% Daily Value
Calories 399.0

Calories from Fat 183
46%
Total Fat 20.4 g
31%
Saturated Fat 10.9 g
54%
Cholesterol 69.5 mg
23%
Sodium 964.1 mg
40%
Total Carbohydrate 20.0 g
6%
Dietary Fiber 7.7 g
30%
Sugars 2.7 g
10%
Protein 38.1 g
76%

Tour de Lawrence

In honor of school starting back up, I have decided to write a beginner's guide to eating (and drinking) in everyone's favorite college town: Lawrence. I was blessed enough to spend my college years in Lawrence and would like to impart some of the knowledge that I learned in my 4 short years there. In dining, much like in life, I did not learn all that I know in just 4 years, but have continued to learn more each time I return to Lawrence. I will try and make this post follow some logical order, but no promises.

Places to have a great dinner:

Nearly every time my wife and I go to Lawrence (whether it be for a football game, basketball game, or just on a whim on Saturday night at 9PM decide to go to Lawrence with an Australian coworker), we have to at least stop in to Free State Brewery. Whether we are there for dinner, drinks, or just stopping in to fill up a growler with beer from a newly tapped keg, Free State never disappoints. Starting out with the spinach artichoke dip is a must! From there, you cannot go wrong with any entree. My wife loves the chicken avocado wrap, while I will almost always get something from the Daily Savory Specials menu. From the Cuban pork sandwich, to the salmon, every menu item I have ever had has been phenomenal! If you live too far away and cannot make it to the brewery, do yourself a favor and pick up one of their 6 packs from your local liquor store, you will be amazed. The fact that they have 6 packs in stores makes me try a new seasonal each time we go. My favorites: Oktoberfest, Lemongrass Rye, and the Hop Jack Ale.

Another great brewpub in Lawrence is 23rd Street Brewery. Also a great restaurant. Also has great beers. This restaurant was once owned by K.C. Hopps (under the name of 75th Street Brewery), but it has since been purchased by a local and renamed (appropriately so, as it sits on 23rd Street and not 75th Street). You cannot beat the pub chips on the patio on a Sunday (fishbowl special day), with a fishbowl full of great beer that is brewed in house. You can also take home a growler from 23rd Street.

Set 'em Up Jacks is probably the best place in Lawrence to go catch a game. They have the biggest screen in town! It is a great low key place to watch the game or grab a wrap and some sweet potato fries. They were even the last place around to sell out of Boulevard's Chocolate Ale, so we made a special trip to Lawrence just to have a couple (or 4) glasses of it.

Tortas Jalisco is an authentic Mexican restaurant on the north side of town. This is one of those places that I found on a trip to Lawrence after I graduated. They are the Lawrence home of my beloved street tacos, and they are quite good too!

Back to Mass Street. If you have a craving for Asian food, then Zen Zero is your place! Zen Zero has a lively atmosphere and awesome Thai food. The noodles from the wok, the noodles in broth, and the curries are all amazing. Admittedly when I was in college and had a much less distinguishing palate (and sometimes still do to this day), I loved to order the Thai style sweet and sour chicken. I know that this is a super boring option, but the veggies that come in the dish are always fresh and go so well in the sweet and sour sauce. You can also get my favorite Asian dessert drink at Zen Zero, the Boba (Bubble) Tea!

Jefferson's Restaurant is somewhat of a chain, but the Lawrence location was only the second location to open, so we will give it a pass for today's purposes. It has always been known for its walls that were completely covered in dollar bills, multiple bills thick in some locations. That all changed when the previous owner got into a little tax trouble and the restaurant came under new ownership, the old owner took all the old bills, but the walls are slowly getting recovered. The menu is still the same, and dispite claims that it is not as good, it is 100% as good as it always was. The hot wings are awesome and so are all of the other southern favorites that are served up at Jefferson's. I love everything: the Jeffferson Burger, pulled pork, fried seafood, and the great big beer specials.

Pepperjax Grill has the self proclaimed best Philly in America. I cannot attest to that, as I am not a Philly fanatic, but I can tell you that they make an amazing rice bowl! It is very similar to a Chipotle fajita burrito bowl, it is made with seasoned, steamed, long grain white rice. The chicken (you can also get the Philly meat or a veggie bowl, if you so chose) is sauteed on the flat top and seasoned right in front of you, with the onions and peppers. The seasoning is similar to seasoned salt, but has some extra kick to it. Top it with black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream and you have a fantastic dinner on your hands! Pepperjax has also expanded to KC, just to feed the rice bowl cravings of former Jayhawks now living in Overland Park.

Wheat State Pizza is another local chain that got started in Lawrence, now they have restaurants all over Kansas. They have the best pizza in town, in my opinion. The crust is what makes the pizza, something about that wheat crust just enhances the other flavours in the pizza. You cannot go wrong with any pizza from Wheat State, but I highly recommend the BBQ Chicken on hand tossed wheat crust with any of their desert pizzas as a finisher.

Yellow Sub is a sub shop (thank you Captain Obvious) that gets its name from the popular Beatles song. Yellow sub was the first branch of what later became the Planet Sub chain. Are you seeing a pattern here? If you can make it in Lawrence, you can make it anywhere. Yellow Sub has great great sandwiches that they put on daily fresh baked bread that they toast when you order your sandwich. If you like Planet Sub, go check out where it started (although the real original Yellow Sub was town down, along with The Crossing, to build the new Oread Hotel, may they RIP).

Places to grab a drink after dinner:

Quinton's is a great place to go get a sandwich before a KU basketball game. It is also the best place in town for a college kid to grab a drink after dark. I have spent many a night feeding singles into the jukebox upstairs at the ice bar.

Sandbar is a bit of a locals spot, so it will get super busy and be "one in, one out" at 9PM, but will be dead by 1AM. Go for the Shark Attack and the Dirty Banana (the specialty drinks) and stay for the hurricane (the specialty... well... I don't really know how to describe the hurricane, you just have to see it for yourself). If you are lucky, you may even spot former Jayhawk basketball star and NBA veteran Scot Pollard. 

Fatso's, 4 words: Long Island Iced Tea! Fatso's is also a good live music/DJ venue. Random story: We also watched a door guy get fired (mid-shift) at Fatso's one night. He was on his phone and not paying attention to time. For some reason he turned the OPEN sign off and shut the door an hour before closing time, the manager came over and ripped him a new one and sent him packing and then had no one to work the door. Only in Lawrence.

Red Lyon is your place to go to down some Guiness and some popcorn while catching a soccer game with the Mass St. Mob (Sporting KC Fan Club, Lawrence Chapter). They get most of the major games, you may however be on your own if you are trying to watch your favorite German Bundesliga II team.

Jazzhaus is one of the more chill atmospheres you will find on Mass. Street. They have open mic nights, jazz jam band nights, and then just straight chill nights. Order a Stoli Blueberry & Sprite and thank me later, it tastes exactly like a blueberry muffin.

Louise's Downtown is another chill bar in downtown Lawrence, grab a schooner (giant goblet-shaped glass that holds about 3 1/2 beers) and shoot some pool.

Henry's Upstairs has the best Sangria around, bar none! They will also occasionally have other specialty drinks on special (for instance, a hot apple cider and brandy in the fall), I have not had one that was not fantastic.

Eighth Street Tap Room is another place you can go for specialty drinks. There is a drink that you order there solely by brushing off your shoulders and then holding up the number of them you want. I do not know what exactly is in this drink besides Gin, but ordering it is probably one of the most interesting things I have done in a bar. Do not however try to order any type of "car bomb" drinks at this bar, they have a sign on the board that says "Car bombs kill people, we do not make them here".

If you are looking for more of a dance party atmosphere, then Abe and Jake's is your place. Go there, grab a vodka/Red Bull and dance the night away. Do however watch out for the obstacles, as I call them, in the middle of the floor that could be a tripping hazard. Abe and Jake's always has good theme nights and contests. A friend of mine even met his wife on the smoking patio out back that over looks the Kansas River (for anyone who may be wondering which river that is running back there, random inside joke).

Places to eat off what you just drank:

Pyramid Pizza is always the first stop after leaving the bars on Mass Street, and for good reason. The pinched style crust dipped in honey is amazing.

If you get back to your apartment or hotel room and are still not satisfied after your Pyramid Pizza, or if you forgot to stop for it, Pizza Shuttle will deliver a large pizza, until the wee hours of the morning, for under $10.

The Burrito King drive through is another great option, whether it is 2AM and you are headed home (with your sober driver), or if its 8AM and you need some breakfast. Burrito King is a local favorite that is only closed for about an hour each day, I can never really figure out why anyone would close for such a short amount of time, but its awesome cheap eats either way.

The morning after:

WheatFields: A small little hippie bakery and cafe that serves amazing food is definitely the place to go. They have the best French toast that I have ever eaten in my life! It is made from their own freshly baked sour dough bread that is dipped in the most incredible badder that contains just a hint of cinnamon. Also great are the egg white omelet with spinach and feta cheese, any of their breads, and any of their coffee drinks (as they are made with Roasterie coffee).

No matter the reason you are in Lawrence, time of day of your visit, or the length of your stay, there is something for everyone in the list above. I also do not claim this to be a comprehensive list, if you feel that I have missed any Lawrence essentials, please make a comment below and I will have to make an update (if I agree with your comment). Rock Chalk!

Nica's 320

First off, I would like to apologize for not having any pictures of the awesome food from Nica's. It was dark in there and my phone doesn't have a flash on it (I know, I know, I know... lame! I know!).

When we walked into Nica's, it was rainy outside and very dark inside. There was a table of pseudo-hipsters at the table next to us. Clowns are being hanged from the ceiling. Then I started worrying that this may be one of THOSE places, where everyone there thinks they are too cool to be there and so on. But Nica's could not be more unlike that! The food was fantastic! The plates were huge! The wait staff could not have been nicer! And the clowns actually just add to the creole feel of the joint.

Nica's is a bit pricey, but you get a ton of food and it is actually a great value for what you get. My wife ordered "The Jerk" salad. The salad was huge and came with a large amount of jerk seasoned steak and chicken. It was drizzled with an awesome "Rasta-vinaigrette", but the best part of the salad was the banana chips.

As for me, the Dr. John had my name on it. This gigantic spicy-creamy risotto (or as it is written on the menu: rissoto. Which I believe is done this way to play up the "crazy" vibe of the restaurant, the menu actually is quite crazy, and the food is crazy good) is a very spicy dish, so beware if you can't handle much heat. The heat comes from candied jalapenos. It is filled with tons of meat (both in quantity and in variety), there is: andouille sausage, crawfish tails, shrimp, and chicken. All of the meats are incredibly seasoned and very spicy. The chicken was so tender that I was able to shred it with just my fork. The accents in this dish only pulled more flavour out of the main ingredients; the green onion, olives, and peanuts (I believe they were peanuts, but it was dark). I would have to say that my first scoop of the dish that had an olive in it was my favorite bite.

A small note about my the salad that came prior to my meal. It was a salad of spring greens with what tasted like a Thai inspired vinaigrette. But it was topped with the coolest little carrot curls. The presentation at Nica's is awesome!

Dessert: We were both super full after dinner, but when we had a dessert menu set in front of us and saw that a made-to-order beignet (pronounced: behn-yay, as our awesome waitress Torie helped me 3 times to get correct, and I am sure I still don't understand 100% how the "g" in there is pronounced) for just $3, we had to try one. We ordered the Cinnamon Apple Beignet, it was incredible, my wife put it on her dessert all-star list.

All in all, Nica's was amazing. There is a great, almost New York-esque, vibe and we will definitely be returning soon. Go check them out for some crazy Cajun fusion flavour.