KCRW 2025 in Review
Published January 24, 2025
Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson famously penned, “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” While I am not typically one to argue with centuries-old wisdom, what happens when that which you love is not actually lost at all? What happens when that you love slowly transforms into something you no longer recognize? When you love something for what it was, what it still appears to be, and what you desperately hope it will be again? When you love something for what the masses perceive it as but you yourself know is no longer true? What then? Is it better to hold on to that love, or will it organically continue to fade as the apple of your eye evolves beyond all recognition?
I think that it would be fair to say that my relationship with Kansas City Restaurant Week (KCRW) is quite complicated.
For years, I have adored Kansas City Restaurant Week. Those magical ten days in January where eateries all across the metros advertise brunch, lunch, and dinner specials intended to be “affordable, adventurous dining” has long been the unofficial kick-off of the new year for all of the city’s foodies. For me, it has always been an exciting time to shake off winter hibernation, get back out there, re-visit some of my favorite spots, and check out places that are new to me. As an added bonus, these small businesses use this week as an opportunity to invest in a local non-profit organization. Prior to this year, you would have been hard-pressed to find anyone who professed their love for KCRW louder than me. I have always shared the good news with all who cared to listen.
But then, Kansas City Restaurant Week arrived last year. While restaurant participation was at historic highs, it was impossible to miss that diner participation seemed to be significantly lower than previous years. This disparity forced me to really dive into a look at the root causes. It took very little time to identify the primary culprit. As another poet, Marshall Mathers, so eloquently put it, “Snap back to reality. Ope, there goes gravity.”
The reality is that over the past few years, KCRW has failed to consistently provide the incredible value(s) that it once did. More and more, too many restaurants have offered “meal deals” under the KC Restaurant Week banner that really are not deals at all. In one specific case last year, a restaurant actually charged more for their KCRW promotion than the meal would have cost in the same timeframe during any other week of the year!
As you can imagine, the realization that far too many participants were operating in poor faith left a sour taste in my mouth. Yet still, I love this time of year. I love what KCRW is supposed to represent. I love all the local eateries that do actually capture the spirit of this promotion. I am thankful for all the new restaurants this promotion has introduced me to over the years. Additionally, I understand how vital the foot traffic from KCRW can be to so many local, small businesses.
So I chose to participate this year, but I did so with hopeful trepidation. With the wool now removed from my eyes, I was determined to research the best values and opportunities. I wanted to expand my own horizons while patronizing places I love, exploring new spots and offerings, and rewarding those that offered great deals.
After weighing a number of options, below are reviews of the places that I ultimately decided to visit. I didn’t hit a homerun on the value every time but I took advantage of the much more affordable lunch deals at a mix of places I love, places I haven’t been in far too long, and places or offerings that were new to me. This year, I decided to assign letter grades to each place. I awarded grades based on the overall quality of the meal, the level of service received, and the overall value. In regard to the latter grade, this is a comparison of the KCRW price of the meal I chose to order to what the price of the same meal would have been outside of the promotion. It is not a reflection on what kind of value the restaurant typically offers.
All places below are listed in the order I visited them.
Garozzo’s Ristorante
526 Harrison Street, Kansas City, Missouri
Meal: Lunch
There’s no two ways about it, Garozzo’s Ristorante is a Kansas City institution, and it has been for over 30 years! The walls are lined with the photos of local and national celebrities alike who have made it a point to pop into this Columbus Park eatery over the years. Why so much fanfare? Of course it’s the dish that Garozzo’s invented and has since grown into a staple on Italian menus across Kansas City - the Chicken Spiedini. The iconic dish is made of skewered chicken breast pieces that are marinated in a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, and select herbs before it’s rolled in Italian bread crumbs and grilled.
Given the options available for lunch, I had to opt for the iconic Spiedini di Pollo. I chose to have it served “Samantha-style” which is on a bed of fettucine noodles and topped with creamy alfredo sauce. The chunks of chicken were as perfect as they always are. Tender, juicy, and bursting with flavor from the marinade and seasonings. The noodles were an ideal Al dente preparation and the alfredo sauce was so wonderfully smooth. The artichoke hearts mixed into the pasta were a nice surprise that added some fun textures.
For my other course, I opted to kick things off with the Insalata Casa. Choosing the salad over the cannoli was a tough choice but the right one for me on this particular day. The freshness of the ingredients were present in every bite. The textures and flavors were everything one could hope for in such a salad. As an added bonus, there was seemingly bottomless bread and butter included with the meal. The bread had a wonderfully thick crust but was so warm and doughy within. The butter melted so effortlessly on each slice.
However, if there is a critique of an otherwise wonderful meal, it’s that the lunch was not a significant savings. During Restaurant Week, diners expect a savings of, at minimum, 25% (and in years’ past around 35% was the standard). With KC Restaurant Week in the rearview, the same lunch I enjoyed can be had for $21.50 meaning that this promotion only represented a savings of 7.5%.
Quality of Meal: A-
Level of Service: A
Meal Value: C
Lula Southern Cookhouse
1617 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri
Meal: Brunch
In less than three years, Lula Southern Cookhouse has become a destination for Kansas Citians seeking out southern comfort food favorites. Shortly after they opened, their fried chicken landed among my Top 5 in the city for good reason! The pieces are so tender and flavorful, perfectly crisp without being greasy. It’s that exceptional fried chicken that got me through the door for Kansas City Restaurant Week.
One of the pricier fried chicken dinners in KC, the $20 lunch and brunch special already represented a slight savings on the two-piece Southern Fried Chicken meal. However, when I arrived for Saturday brunch, I felt compelled to try something with more of a breakfast feel, and had to remind myself that KCRW is all about exploration and trying new things. While I did not majorly deviate from my two favorite things on the menu (the Southern Fried Chicken and the biscuits), I did at least opt for actual brunch dishes.
For the opening act, I chose the Biscuits & Gravy. Unfortunately, the Biscuits & Gravy were misnamed as it was (as described) a singular biscuit. The gravy was creamy and rich with a quality almost reminiscent of a fine custard. The biscuit was flaky, airy, and exemplary as always. As a matter of personal preference, I am always disappointed when a place does not split the biscuit in this dish. Luckily after halving the biscuit myself, there was just enough gravy to get some on both pieces. That would be my only knock on an otherwise great dish.
For the main course, I chose to pay the upgrade fee to experience the Chicken & Waffle. I am not exaggerating when I say I cannot recall a chicken and waffle that I enjoyed to the extent that I enjoyed Lula’s version. The fried chicken was as it’s always been; juicy, flavorful, and altogether wonderful. The rice waffle was spongy and had a depth of texture that played well with the chicken. The chili syrup was a revelation and made this dish. Every inch of the chicken and waffle was soaked with this topping that gave the whole meal a sweet heat. While spiced, it would be fairer to say that the chili syrup was bursting with flavor more than it would be to say that it was spicy or hot.
From a value perspective, this grade is tough. The meal was phenomenal! And had I opted for the Southern Fried Chicken, the meal would have likely represented a savings of roughly 30%! However, while the Southern Fried Chicken and Chicken & Waffle are the exact same price on the regular brunch menu, for this promotion the meal I selected did carry an upcharge. While I loved this meal and I’m glad I made the choice I did, the fact remains that it only represented a savings of about $2.
Quality of Meal: A
Level of Service: B+
Meal Value: C+
Chappell’s Restaurant & Sports Museum
323 Armour Road, North Kansas City, Missouri
Meal: Lunch
Chappell’s Restaurant and Sports Museum is often mentioned first and foremost for their unbelievable collection of sports memorabilia, with the bar and restaurant piece often being an afterthought. However, this Armour Road eatery boasts a strong menu of bar food and is widely known for their delicious breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches, their burgers, their appetizers, and their ever-popular steak soup.
With the winter weather, the soup was always going to be my starter. The classic steak soup and the chili were both options but it was a variation on their classic, the peppered steak soup, that caught my eye. After the bartender strongly recommended it, I went for it and glad I did. The hearty classic had the unmistakable zip of black pepper that added another layer of depth to the typically fantastic flavor. The hot, robust soup was a wonderful start to the meal.
For the main course, the Tenderloin Supreme with a side of curly fries was the choice. The large handheld is served on an oversized, griddled brioche roll that perfectly houses the breaded pork loin patty. The soft but crispy breading holds within it a juicy filet that has wonderful flavor from the Italian breadcrumb mixture used in the breading. Topped with all the veggie fixings, it is the creamy, yet sassy, horseradish sauce that puts this sandwich over the top. The seasoned curly fries were everything one could ask for them to be.
A rarer and rarer find for KC Restaurant Week, Chappell’s stands apart in that they offered a three-course lunch. The decadent wedge of carrot cake with a thick, velvety cream cheese frosting, was served with a side of whipped cream and drizzled in sinfully sweet caramel. It was a wonderful winter dessert.
From a value standpoint, Chappell’s gets a lot of love for offering a meal that highlighted the strengths of their menu. While dessert is not always on the menu, the best estimate is that the meal represented a savings of approximately 20%. However, Chappell’s mostly gets credit on the value side of things for offering a three-course lunch. Years ago, this was common during Kansas City Restaurant Week but these days its rarer and rarer. The ability to get soup or salad, a sandwich and choice of side, and a dessert for $20? This is what KCRW is all about!
Quality of Meal: A-
Level of Service: A-
Meal Value: B+
Beer Kitchen
435 Westport Road, Kansas City, Missouri
Meal: Lunch
For as long as I have called Kansas City home, the keg-laden awning of Beer Kitchen has been a Westport landmark. Since they opened in 2011, this spot in the epicenter of the famed bar district has been a destination for weekend brunch seekers, lunch and dinner diners, and bar goers alike. At this point, it’s hard to imagine the neighborhood without them. Finding myself in the area, and having not stepped inside in far too long, I found myself drawn to the corner bar for their KCRW lunch special.
Beer Kitchen offered perhaps the toughest choice I had to make all week as I was left to decide between an appetizer or their decadent Croissant Bread Pudding for dessert. At the insistence of the server, I opted for the Crispy Thigh Fries for my first course. The strips of buttermilk-battered chicken thigh were tossed in Nashville hot sauce, topped with grilled shishito peppers, and served with comeback sauce for dipping. What was most surprising about this particular dish is that the breading was so light, closer to a fish fry than something you would typically find on chicken. The strands of fried chicken were crispy without being too flaky or greasy.
With Nashville hot being all the rage as of late, many places loosely use the term without capturing that signature flavor and spice profile. With Beer Kitchen, this is not the case. The strips offered a pleasant slow burn that was about as mild as one could ask for them to still be considered “Nashville hot”. Bold, without being spicy, any heat was quickly quelled by the spot-on comeback sauce.
For the main event, I opted for the Smokestack Burger. The beef patty was served on an egg bun and piled high with smoked beef burnt ends and crispy jalapeño straws, on top of smoked gouda and a whiskey BBQ sauce. I chose to add a side of Belgian-style fries to the sandwich which was served a la carte.
The towering sandwich had great flavor and a wonderful mix of flavors and textures. Definitely a two-handed sandwich, the mix of toppings and juiciness of the burger made this a sandwich that could quickly turn into a mess if not too careful. The sauced burnt ends went a long way to hold the entire sandwich together. The heat of the pepper straws contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the barbeque sauce and the smokiness of the burnt ends and the gouda. While I greatly enjoyed the impeccably prepared fries, the burger was so large that I regretted my side order. The appetizer and the sandwich were more than enough.
From a value perspective, it is important to remember that the grade given is the typical value of the meal weighed against it’s KCRW one. It does not necessarily reflect the meal typically being a bargain. On a given day, this sandwich and appetizer would have cost $29 and I was able to enjoy it for $20. It was a fantastic, exceptional meal and at a savings of 45%, Beer Kitchen definitely understood the assignment!
Quality of Meal: B+
Level of Service: A-
Meal Value: A+
La Bodega
703 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri
Meal: Lunch
Nearly seven years ago, on a trip to Barcelona, I had my first exposure to tapas, and other Spanish dining traditions, and fell in love. (While I understand that Catalonia is a unique region with its own culinary specialties and traditions, the dishes with which Spain is most often associated were of course quite prevalent there). And having fallen in love with the flavors and dining style of this region, it is rather remarkable that I just never got around to visiting La Bodega, until Kansas City Restaurant Week gave me cause to do so.
By no means is La Bodega a new restaurant. They have been a fixture in the neighborhood since 1998! A long time entrant on my Kansas City bucket list, the opportunity to try something new, and a peek at their offerings for KCRW, had it near the top of my list to visit last week. After they were one of a handful of small businesses to suffer from an unfortunate rash of break-ins, visiting this place and showing my support became even more imperative than it already was.
It was a bitterly cold winter day as I walked into the restaurant, so the Soup of the Day (although I am spacing on what the exact offering was) seemed mighty tempting and was nearly my selection. However, it was too long since I had enjoyed Spanish cuisine and I adore Papas Fritas (in fact, I adore almost anything made from potato). The generous portion of chunked potatoes were lightly fried, well-seasoned, and had a collection of bold, but fleeting flavors, that made their presence known without losing the flavor of the potato. The cumin aioli gave the papas fritas a rugged edge that I can not recall experiencing with prior versions of this dish. It was an absolute revelation!
For the main course, I had to opt for the Tapas Sampler. While I did not know what to expect, what came out was a large plate with a singular serving six different small bites. The Pincho de Pollo Chorizo was a skewer of delightful roasted chicken with chunks of Chorizo that added a light punch.
The Tortilla Española was, for lack of a better term, a combination between a quiche and a lasagna where the tortillas were the noodles. The sauce had a nice zip to it and it was a more muted bite on the plate but a nice one.
The Dátiles con Jamón y Chorizo was the waiter’s announced favorite. The chorizo stuffed date was very fruity with a texture almost like a cooked yam. There was a number of well-balanced textures. It was crisp, chewy, and mealy, all at once. The subdued sweetness of the date was ever-present as I continued to unfurl new flavors with every chomp.
The Manchego Frito was a breaded and fried chunk of manchego. Fried cheese is always going to be great on some level but this was particularly exceptional. The semi-hard cheese managed to maintain it’s integrity and shape through the frying which made this a far less gooey bite than the fried cheeses most are accustomed to. The zesty cheese had a tinge of saltiness that combined with the breading gave it a toasty flavor. The sweet drizzle of honey on top only added to the depth and brought the marvelous bite altogether.
The Higos y Queso de Cabra was a slice of bread that was topped with creamy goat cheese and a fig reduction. The surprisingly soft bread and the soft goat cheese nearly melted into my mouth. The fig reduction gave a nice sweetness and tartness that just worked with the other flavors at play. As simple as this dish may have appeared, it was likely my favorite thing on the sampler.
The Brotxeta was a skewer of grilled shrimp, wrapped in pancetta, served atop a white cream sauce. This was a well-balanced bite with tremendous flavor where everything existed the highlight the qualities of the flame-kissed shrimp. Mission accomplished.
From a value perspective, it is hard to gauge the value and understand how the portions of this compared to a typical tapas lunch. However, based on the menu offerings, it seemed to represent a savings of, at least, 35%. Additionally, this unique offering seemed to capture the spirit of what Kansas City Restaurant Week should be - giving new restaurant goers the chance to sample a number of offerings to better determine what they like best when they return. This offering was a stroke of brilliance that will likely have me back very soon. Although, based on the paella that was ordered one table over, that may have to be my next order!
Quality of Meal: A
Level of Service: A-
Meal Value: A-
One thing that has always been true of Kansas City Restaurant Week is that the best values have always been in the lunch specials. There are multiple instances of places that offer reasonable or excellent lunch deals, but don’t differentiate from those deals enough in the dinner hour to justify the price being doubled. Additionally, as more and more of the dinner deals are becoming $55, and not $40, it becomes more difficult for many to enjoy multiple Kansas City Restaurant Week dinners during this period. The ability to try two to three lunches for the price of a single dinner was a large factor in my selections this year. That is why I enjoyed four lunches and one brunch. This was the first year I can recall where KCRW passed without me enjoying a single dinner. But with many of the offerings being a $55 version of the lunch special, can you blame me?
Overall, every meal I enjoyed was fantastic, and it was a wonderful start to the Fountain City Foodie calendar year. It was so great to try new places and experience new dishes at some old favorites. And most importantly, at a time where so many restaurants are closing, it was so important for me to get out and support some venerable establishments.
Still as every year passes, no matter how much I enjoy each dish, the current state of Kansas City Restaurant Week is a cruel reminder of how truly great it used to be. The KCRW brand once meant something - that you were getting a great meal at a great value and giving back to the community at the same time. Nowadays, finding the best values is a daunting homework assignment in itself that few have the time or energy for.
I can only hope that someday soon, KCRW will be the amazing value for diners that it once was. Until that day comes, I will continue to support local and cherish what this time of year has meant to so many of this city’s foodies and be diligent in regards to which businesses I visit during this declining promotion.
Did you participate in Kansas City Restaurant Week this year? What was the best thing you tried? Did you run across any places offering poor values? As always, share it in the comments!
