KCRW 2023: A Preview
Published January 11, 2023
PLEASE NOTE: The meals and deals highlighted in this article are available as part of Kansas City Restaurant Week 2023 which will take place from Friday, January 13 - Sunday, January 22, 2023. These prices, menu items, and / or combinations may not be offered outside of this event. All restaurants in each category are listed in alphabetical order, not by any form of ranking.
Happy New Year! In Kansas City, the arrival of a new year means that the highest holiday of the Fountain City Foodie Calendar will soon be upon us - Kansas City Restaurant Week (KCRW)! Every year, this 10 day window where the Kansas City restaurant community comes together to highlight their menus and offer exclusive deals, temporary menu items, and familiar favorites at affordable prices. For many, Restaurant Week provides an opportunity to sample many of the city’s fine-dining restaurants and get a two or three course meal that is both pleasing to the palate and the wallet.
Billed as “affordable, adventurous dining”, Restaurant Week is always the premier dining event on the Kansas City social calendar. This year, from January 13 - 22, over 200 restaurants will come together, welcome the city’s diners, and share their best menus with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit Cornerstones of Care.
One notable change this year is that inflation has hit #KCRW2023, just like the rest of us. The price points have climbed as the lunch specials are now $20 and dinner specials range in price from $40 - $50. In spite of this, the vast majority still represent great values.
For me, Kansas City Restaurant Week is always a great time of “disKCovery” and often a chance to re-visit or to try new higher-end restaurants at a more affordable price point. That being said, with so many options (SEE THE FULL LIST HERE), these are some of the deals I am most excited about and the places I would highly recommend as fellow Fountain City Foodies make the most of #KCRW2023. For those who read my review of my KCRW experience last year, some of these recommendations will not come as a surprise.
Given, that it is a full ten days, there are enough recommendations here for you to eat at a new place each day of the event!
For years, visiting Rye - KC for some fried chicken and pie has been the one constant on my KCRW journey.
The Brunches
While Kansas City Restaurant Week is primarily known for their Lunch and Dinner specials, there are a growing number of places that do offer the Lunchtime pricing and format for their weekend brunches. And on a cold weekend day in January, who doesn’t love a good brunch with friends? This can be a great way to get out and explore a local eatery at a phenomenal value.
Beer Kitchen
435 Westport Road, Kansas City, Missouri
Brunch Hours: Saturday & Sunday, 10:00am - 2:00pm
Beer Kitchen is always an excellent entrant on the KC Restaurant Week slate. Not only is the Westport haunt popular across the city, but they have the distinction of offering a $20 deal for lunch, dinner, and brunch. All are great options but for the sake of this list, I chose to highlight their brunch offering. As the name suggests, Beer Kitchen has an excellent bar program. While they are known for their impressive beer selection, their cocktail line-up is just as impressive. For their brunch special, the first course features either their baby doughnuts, or their biscuits and gravy (both a country sausage and shitake mushroom vegetarian options are available). For the main course, the menu features four different options that are among their most popular brunch offerings. Whatever you choose, you can’t go wrong.
What Should I Order? There really is no wrong combination here so my only advice would be balance. If you’re going to choose an entree that is savory, I would suggest the baby doughnuts to begin. If you choose sweet and plan to go for the ever-popular Krunchberry Waffle, maybe start with the buttermilk biscuit and gravy. To get that biscuit with a dish like “The Super Bowl” (my favorite) would be awfully redundant.
Char Bar Smoked Meats and Amusements
4050 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri
Brunch Hours: Saturday & Sunday, 10:00am - 2:00pm
My regular readers probably think that Char Bar gets a lot of love from this site, and they do - for good reason! Char Bar is not only one of the better barbeque places in town, but they are just a terrific restaurant in general. They have the distinction of landing in my Top 12 for BBQ, fried chicken, and burgers. And yet, with all that prowess, they’re also a great place to brunch! The menu, drink program, and mix of indoor and outdoor space makes Char Bar an ideal spot to spend a few hours on a weekday morning and / or afternoon. Like many of their meals and sandwiches, the brunch menu offers a number of delicious, innovative, eye-catching plates. Many of these feature the smoked meats that Char Bar is revered for.
SEE THE MENU
What Should I Order? Aside from the cheesy hushpuppies, the Icky Sticky is likely the best appetizer on the menu and it is offered during weekend brunch. The loaf of cinnamon, burnt rum, and salted pecans drenched in caramel is heavenly. If you’re looking for something barbeque-inspired, the burnt-end benny is incredibly popular. However, don’t sleep on the fried chicken and waffle. The mix of maple syrup and gouda gravy makes this a sensational blend of sweet, savory, crunchy, doughy, and overall wonderful.
Rye - KC
Multiple Locations
Brunch Hours: Saturday & Sunday, 9:30am - 3:00pm
Regular readers likely know that I visit Rye during KCRW every single year! It is just so hard to pass up the opportunity to have their amazing fried chicken and decadent selection of pies at such a bargain price. The special is virtually the same every year - get some of the city’s best fried chicken and get a slice of the amazing pie for free. Or at least, that’s been my experience. While the brunch and lunch menu are mostly identical, choosing to go to Rye for a weekend brunch does offer the opportunity to purchase one of their delightful, mammoth cinnamon rolls to share with the table, or to have a breakfast cocktail. Rye is a great spot for mixed drinks. If you do go for lunch or dinner, the Old Square, an old-fashioned adjacent cocktail featuring Rye and Cognac, is one of the best house cocktails in town.
What Should I Order? I already gave it away but I would go with the Two Piece Fried Chicken Lunch / Brunch deal. The fried chicken comes with greens so skip the salad and choose pie as your other course. In order, my top 3 pies on the Rye menu are 1. MoKan (Features Chocolate, Missouri Walnuts, and Kansas Pecans), 2. Banana Cream, and 3. Dutch Apple.
If you do opt to visit Char Bar for lunch or dinner, instead of brunch, the cheesy hushpuppies are one of the best appetizers in KC. Of course, you can always order them at brunch too!
The Lunches
As mentioned, most lunches still follow the classic two-course format, typically offered as an entrée plus a dessert or appetizer. Occasionally, you will find one with three. However, these deals are now $20 each. For many, mid-day can be the best time to escape and actually eat out or try a new place. The places highlighted for lunch were either because of their operating hours or because the lower price point for lunch reflects an incredible value compared to the same spot’s dinner options. Every once in a while, the lunch and dinner can be almost identical but lunch comes at half the price!
Blind Box BBQ
1321 W. 62nd Terrace, Shawnee, Kansas
The bread crumbs on top are one factor that makes Blind Box’s cheesy corn the best in the city.
What Blind Box BBQ has always offered is quality Kansas City barbeque in a nice sit-down setting with a terrific cocktail program to boot. The menu offers a balance of long-held barbeque favorites and a number of fantastic, menu items, that while barbeque-influenced or adjacent, are not typically found in a BBQ joint. For those who love to try Kansas City BBQ, the three-course lunch deal provides an opportunity to try many things that Blind Box has become known for. Both of the platters offered include beef burnt ends which are not only a KC staple, but one of the stars of Blind Box’s line-up.
What Should I Order? If it were me, I am going with the Maple Sriracha Wings as Course 1 as the wings at Blind Box are terrific and these scream sweet and heat. For the meal, I would go for the Smokin’ Spread because the burnt ends and smoked turkey are two of my favorite meats on their menu. No matter what you order, choose the cheesy corn as your side. Blind Box BBQ, without question, has the absolute best cheesy corn in Kansas City. Order it and find out why!
Brew Lab
7925 Marty Street, Overland Park, Kansas
Is it a brewery? A taproom? A bar? A scratch kitchen. Overland Park’s Brew Lab is somehow all of these things, and none of them. Offering a wide variety of house-brewed beers, tasty appetizers, and delicious entrées in a fun environment, Brew Lab is a hot spot that lives up to the hype. What makes their KCRW lunch special particularly eye-catching is that there are three courses and the first course is a miniature flight (three four-ounce pours) of any of their beers. The second course features three of their most popular appetizers followed by a sandwich or wrap and side. An appetizer, entrée, side, and the equivalent of a craft beer for $20? That’s tough to beat.
What Should I Order? When it comes to the flight, you know your own beer preferences better than anyone. However, I am a believer that every flight should push you to sample one thing you would not normally order. Be adventurous! As great as the appetizer options are, my one must is to order the Bavarian Pretzel Bites. They are impeccable. They are beyond perfect. Brew Lab is better at making pretzel bites than George Brett was at baseball. Seriously, don’t mess this up. And then to boot, both queso and beer mustard come standard so you don’t have to choose! Get the Pretzel Bites and the rest of your meal will take care of itself.
Grünauer
101 W. 22nd Street, Kansas City, Missouri
Often mistaken for German or Bavarian fare the incorporation of Austria’s flag into the logo, was well as the restaurant’s slogan, makes it clear that Grünauer is “A little Austria in the heart of KC”. Grünauer has long drawn diners to the Freight House for their central European comfort food favorites, and their incredible selection of draft and bottled European beers! After all, there are few places in the metro where you can find an actual one liter stein of Hofbrauhaus beers! While Grünauer is offering both lunch and dinner specials, their lunch offering of an appetizer or dessert plus a meal for $20 represents an excellent value and a chance for diners to step outside their comfort zones and try something a little bit outside the norm.
What Should I Order? You’re likely catching on to a theme which is that I am more likely to recommend dessert over an appetizer, salad, or soup at most places. Grünauer is no different. The Sachershnitten (Viennese chocolate cake) is divine. For the main course, I would recommend the Jägerschnitzel. Grünauer definitely knows their way around any pork cutlet or sausage dish. Though, looking at the menu, every entrée is sure to please.
Trezo Mare
4105 N. Mulberry Drive, Kansas City, Missouri
Last year, Trezo Mare was one of the places I visited for the first time as a result of their Restaurant Week deal. Now, it may be joining Rye as an annual Restaurant Week staple! This Italian restaurant in Briarcliff may offer the best bargain of the week. The ability to get a fantastic three-course lunch is too good of a deal to pass up! While Trezo Mare is available as a dinner option, the lunch deal seems to offer the best value. This year’s edition offers a choice of soup, salad, or fried calamari, an entrée, and a dessert for a bargain price. You can click the link that begins this paragraph to see what combination I elected to go with last year and my review. Regardless, you’re going to have a great meal at a phenomenal price!
What Should I Order? The only steadfast recommendation that I will make is - GET THE TIRAMISU for your third course. Now, I am admittedly a tiramisu fiend but Trezo Mare’s variety is about as good as it gets. Rich notes of espresso and cocoa, sweet mascarpone, dense and decadent yet, light and creamy. This is a dessert that dreams are made of.
I am only slightly obsessed with the tiramisu at Trezo Mare. Their KCRW Lunch Deal is about as good as it gets.
The Dinners
These are the places that will fill up the quickest but also the ones with the most options. While only a relative few offer brunch, and quite a few offer lunch, dinner is the most-offered meal across the board. Nearly every participant has a dinner option available. This is also the meal where the high-end and fine dining places are the most likely to be featured. The ability to get a three-course dinner for $40 - $50, especially the ones that usually cost two to three times that amount, cannot be passed up!
Brass Onion
5501 W. 135th Street, Overland Park, Kansas
Since they opened in Overland Park, the Brass Onion has been synonymous with excellence. The large, inviting space is known for their incredible service, terrific bar program, and an extensive menu of elevated comfort food favorites. This year, the restaurant is offering a four-course dinner complete with appetizer, soup or salad, entrée, and dessert. No matter which meal you choose, each one will begin with the amazing appetizer that bears the restaurant’s name - Brass Onion Dip. The warm, gooey, French Onion soup inspired dip is packed with bold onion flavor and creamy boursin cheese. Accompanied by crunchy crostini bread chips, this is the perfect app for a cold winter’s day. When it comes to the main course, there are a number of options but the Mr. B’s Fried Chicken is undoubtedly the star of the menu. The scratch-made desserts at the end of the night are sure to please. Regardless of what you order, this feast offers a tremendous value in terms of quality and quantity. Don’t be surprised if you ask for a to-go box at the end of this meal.
What Should I Order? For me, it’s the Mr. B’s Fried Chicken. Not only is this a fantastic bird, but the whole ensemble really sends the meal home for me. The whipped Yukon golden potatoes are flawless. They are smooth and creamy with a touch of gravy that ties this meal together. The corn bread with a small dollop of creamy, whipped butter is exactly what you want the cornbread to be. Now choosing between the carrot cake and the key lime pie for dessert? That might be the toughest decision you make this month.
Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room
1830 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri
If you ask around, there are many that will tell you this fine-dining establishment in the Crossroads is the best restaurant in all of Kansas City. The AAA Four Diamond Award winning restaurant (six years running!) is a combination of two concepts from James Beard nominee Chef Michael Corvino and his wife, Sommelier Christina Corvino. In the Supper Club, the menu changes daily with a variety of high-end offerings with a wide range of price points. As much as the Supper Club is a great place to get prime seafood or an excellent steak, it is also home to one of the better burgers in Kansas City. Nothing seems off-limits for the highly decorated chef. In the tasting room, a small number of patrons are introduced to a dining experience unlike any other with multiple course of small plates from that day’s tasting menu. For Kansas City Restaurant Week, this tasting menu experience is being offered at a greatly reduced rate. This is a prime example of a fine dining experience being made much more accessible as a result of this dining event.
What Should I Order? True to the restaurant itself, the dinner menu appears to be a set tasting menu. Be aware however that Corvino does require you to pre-pay for your meal and 20% gratuity (totaling approximately $54 per person) at the time of reservation. This fee is fully refundable if you do end up cancelling more than 24 hours out. While this may ward some off, it is an indicator of the demand. Spots will fill up quick!
Minsky’s Pizza
Multiple Locations
When it comes to iconic restaurants, Minsky’s Pizza is practically synonymous with Kansas City. Known for their gourmet pizzas, sandwiches, and salads, Minsky’s has been a family favorite since their founding in 1976. Nowadays, they have 17 locations spread out across the metro, and on both sides of Stateline. What makes Minsky’s entry into Restaurant Week so special is that it represents one of the most affordable options being offered. Not only are they offering both a $20 and a $40 dinner option, all of the options being offered are two person meals! A mini pizza and a salad for lunch for only $10 or half of a gourmet pizza, a side salad, and a dessert for $20 per person are just so hard to pass up!
What Should I Order? If you’re going for the $20 option, at the end of the day, you know what pizza toppings you like so go with your heart. If you’re going for the large gourmet pizza, the pizza that bears the restaurant’s name, the Papa Minsky, is incredibly popular. The sweet Minskitoni sauce balances out the savory toppings so well. Also, don’t sleep on the Five Star Cheese. The combination of mozzarella, provolone, Monterey Jack, Swiss, Feta, and Alfredo sauce is <INSERT CHEF’S KISS>.
What can I say? I love the fried chicken dinner from Brass Onion. The mashed potatoes are perfection.
So, what do I do with this info?
MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS! The best places are already filling up, if they haven’t already. This is an opportunity to support local restaurants and sample what they do best. This is a chance to try some of the higher-end places in Kansas City at an affordable price. So if there is somewhere you’ve been meaning to try or that catches your eye, make that reservation. Then once you do make it, keep it and arrive 10 - 15 minutes early.
While this is an amazing season of “affordable, adventurous dining” for Kansas Citians and an amazing platform for these restaurants to show off, it can be quite hectic as well. So, be a great guest, tip your servers well, and, if you must cancel, do so at least 24 hours out so that a restaurant can backfill your table. Some of the most in-demand places were full before they even released a Restaurant Week menu.
And after you have had your incredible brunch / lunch / dinner experience? Talk about it! Go back and support them outside of this event. Consider posting a review on a site like Yelp!, TripAdvisor, or even the restaurant’s Facebook page. Shoot out a tweet or post it on Instagram. Come back to this page and tell me about it in the comments. Share your experience with the disKCovery community! I for one, cannot wait to see what you discover during this 10 days of dining! And I know that our amazing restaurant scene cannot wait to serve you. Bon appetit!
What reservations have you made? Do you have anywhere that you have to visit every single year? How was your experience?
