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LOCALLY GROWN, DELICIOUSLY PREPARED!
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Sinful
soul
Breakfast
Catering
WELCOME WAGON
BY
JON AT H A N BENDER
The Burg & Barrel taps into Overland Park.
N
& Lunch
WWW.FIGTREECAFELS.COM VOTED BEST DESSERTS 817 NE Rice Road, Lee Summit | 816.347.0442
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FAT C I T Y
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Breakfast: Mon-Fri 7-11am, Sat 7-12pm, Sun 8-1:30pm Lunch: Mon-Sat 11-3pm, Sun 11-1:30pm 409 W. Gregory, KCMO (816) 444-1933 • www.theclassiccookie.com
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THAN JUST
DELICIOUS
BREAKFAST & LUNCH
SANDWICHES SOUPS & SALADS 1821 WYANDOTTE (CROSSROADS)
920 MAIN
(DOWNTOWN)
Murder on the campaign trail...
Whistle Stop Homicide
eighborhood bars come and go, appearing out of the ether and then vanishing again as suddenly as radio DJs or flavored vodkas. The challenge each of these taverns must surmount: quickly figuring out what a neighborhood needs, then letting the neighbors know you’re there. The three-week-old Overland Park pub Burg & Barrel (7042 West 76th Street) exists in that elastic space between sports bar and neighborhood watering hole. (On the terrestrial plane, it’s off Metcalf, between Mr. Fix It and a pawnshop.) The dark wood and wainscoting resemble, as you might expect, barrel staves. The TV screens are flat and tuned to muted basketball, while music emanates from a neon digital jukebox. The de rigueur Big Buck Safari and Golden Tee arcade games flank the restrooms. On a Sunday afternoon, the bar stools are full of the Governor Stumpy’s set (sans children). The new place feels familiar. The Burg is for burgers, while the Barrel is a nod to the bar’s whiskey and craft-beer selections. The former consist of Angus beef and are properly juicy. (You’ll require extra napkins; be sure to ask before the server leaves.) The menu also makes room for smoked Cajun turkey, chicken, fried soft-shell crab, salmon, pork loin, and a black-bean burger. The fries are skin-on and hand-cut (tots, onion rings and sweet-potato fries round out the starches).
Blue Moon Burger rising As for the beer, if Boulevard sells it, it’s on tap here, alongside Rogue Dead Guy Ale and Flying Monkey Amber Ale. The Burg & Barrel makes a stout float (Boulevard, vanilla-bean ice cream, chocolate sauce) for those who prefer dessert in a glass. The whiskey menu goes 17 deep, with a healthy offering of Jack Daniel’s alongside Rittenhouse Rye and Buffalo Trace. Those who like honey in their whiskey won’t be disappointed here. Burg & Barrel is open 11 a.m.–2 a.m. daily. “Hoppy Hour,” as it’s called here, runs 2–6 p.m. Monday–Friday and noon–5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There’s also a reverse happy hour 10 p.m.–close. After all, if you live nearby, you can always walk home.
E-mail jonathan.bender@pitch.com
SUGAR SHAKERS
Tickets now available at The Central Ticket Office:
816-235-6222 www.kcmysterytrain.com
B R O O K E VA N D E V E R
The Mystery Train
A
ccurso’s owner, Anthony Accurso, knew that he needed an edge to compete in The Pitch’s Sugar Rush, held February 27 at the Guild. So he called in his secret weapon: his grandmother. Angel Barelli opened her kitchen last week to the restaurant’s two chefs, Michael Clough and Joseph Jackson, and showed them how to make her recipe for sour-cream-topped, New York-style cheesecake. Jackson added a Concord-grape reduction and a peanut-butter cream sauce (and put honey in the sour cream) for his new version of the dessert. Clough and Jackson also worked up a s’mores dessert (a brownie with marshmallow meringue, a tempered chocolate bar and graham-cracker streusel) and a flourless chocolate cake topped with a mascarpone-pear sauce and a piece of salted peanut brittle. Together, the three desserts earned Accurso’s top honors at Sugar Rush. “We did our best to make a show out of it,” Accurso says. “To get first place, our first time out, we were pretty proud.” —J.B.
Great American and European Dishes with Fresh Ingredients!
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Monday-Saturday: 6:30am-8pm Sunday: 6:30am-2:30pm 6740 W. 75th St., OP, KS 66204 913-236-0003 www.cozyscafe.com
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