Came to Kansas City over the recent holidays to visit some friends, and Beer Kitchen came as a…read morelocal recommended place. Good food, good vibes, good beer selection, I was sold. So we loaded up and showed up one day around Noon.
Ambiance was really cool. It's in the middle of some sort of progressive looking shanty-esque suburb. The kind of place that does drag queen bingo. I was right at home. Inside was college sport bar, but with a nice, huge board on the wall of all their beer selection. It Was quite expansive.
Service was top notch, too. Nice server took care of us, made sure our glasses were never empty. The food came out at a good clips, and we got an unexpected bonus of free little beignet-like donuts with some delicious dipping sauces.
As for food, we started off with a jumbo order of the Truffle Parmesan Hand-Cut Fries for the table. We got to choose two from their extensive list of aioli dipping sauces. Fries were good. Dusted with the perfect amounts of truffle and parmesan. And the sauces were my oh my. I recommend paying the upcharge to just try them all.
I mentioned the time earlier, because we had no idea we were stumbling upon their brunch menu. Even more options to choose from! I got the Crispy Waffle Smash Burger (smashed hertzog beef patties, fried egg, smoked bacon, merkt's cheddar, caramelized onion, maple aioli, crispy buttermilk waffle).
This thing was really nice. Perfect waffle, not too small, not too big, and no oily or anything obtrusive. A nice bun option. Eggs and bacon sometime get lost against giant burger patties, but with these smash patties, the extra accoutrements really stand out and make this burger really stand out in my mind.
I also for the try the Smokestack Burger (smoked burnt ends, smoked gouda, whiskey bbq glaze, pickle relish, chipotle aioli & crispy jalapeño straws). Uhhh, as you can read, this thing was loaded with goodness. Fatty burger, smokey burnt ends, sweet boozy glaze, acidic pickles, and texture from that jalapeno. This was the perfect burger. I insist you order this.
Overall, my research did not reveal Beer Kitchen to me, locals recommendation did. Shows that you gotta use your street smarts instead of your book smarts sometimes. Best meal I had in Kansas City.