Chuck Eats KC - August 23

Openers

Did you listen to my first podcast which came out several weeks ago? The podcast has the same format as this newsletter, with extras, plus you can listen to Chuck Eats KC in the car or while exercising. I’m working on the next edition and I plan to release at least two podcasts a month. The first few podcasts will be available to all subscribers to this newsletter and to the public, but in later September it will be available to paid subscribers. So become a paid subscriber today!

If you can’t afford a paid subscription and are interested in audio versions of this project, I will be releasing shorter pieces to free subscribers. Paid subscribers may also get bonus short form audio updates and features.

Do you know of somebody involved with a local restaurant or the food scene who I can interview for my podcast? A chef, restaurant owner, talented line cook, amazing waiter, local farmer and so on? Please put them in touch with me via the website.

Listen Now

The Best Veggie Burger I Ever Ate

More Americans than ever are eating veggie burgers on a daily and weekly basis than before. This includes millions of people who still eat meat, but like the healthiness and flavors of veggie burger options. Much of this change in eating habits is due to new plant-based veggie burgers from companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger. More and more fast food and fast casual chains have at least one plant-based burger on the menu.

The global plant-based meat market in 2022 is estimated to be valued at $7.9 billion. While plant-based meats have been hit and miss for fast food chains, it looks like these options are here to stay.

I have been an ovo-lacto vegetarian since 1989, so veggie burgers have been a big part of my diet. However, in the early years of my new diet, veggie burgers were always something you made at home. Those frozen burgers you find in grocery stores didn’t become a thing until the mid-1990s. Finding a veggie burger at a restaurant, other than at vegetarian-focused restaurants, was extremely uncommon. In the late 1990s, you could find a decent veggie burger at the fast casual chain T.G.I. Friday's.

When I talk about veggie burgers, I’m talking about the format, not specifically about a meat-like patty inserted between slices of bread. Restaurants have long played loose with the definition of burgers, often calling menu items that are sandwiches with protein and don’t involve beef, “burgers.”

The best veggie burger I’ve ever eaten was the Portabella-bachi at the old Swagger restaurant on Wornall Road near 85th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. Swagger is no longer around, but this burger/sandwich was amazing. Tempura battered portabella mushroom, pepper jack cheese, Asian mustard, Siracha chili sauce, and wasabi coleslaw. All of this on Swagger’s fresh toasted buns. The wasabi coleslaw was the magic ingredient. The slaw was featured on a episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (more on that below).

This burger hit all the right notes for me because it had so many great flavors, a “protein” that had been grilled, fresh bread, a variety of crunchiness, and plenty of moisture. The lack of moisture in a homemade veggie burger or sandwich often make those creations very dry and boring. Like any regular meat-based burger, you gotta have toppings and sauces.

When I mentioned this essay to Dining Companion #1, their eyes lit up at mention of Swagger’s Portabella-bachi burger. It impressed them too, so much that they started reciting the ingredients without prompting from me.

Dining Companion #1 and I discovered Swagger after it was featured on Guy Fieri’s series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives!” I was a regular viewer of the series at the time and took note that it featured several restaurants in Kansas City that year. Swagger was what is commonly called a “neigborhood bar and grill.” It had a popular bar, but it had an ambitious menu with table service. Think Fric and Frac for something currently open. Swagger closed in 2014 as a result of a lawsuit and tax issues.

Missed Connections: Do You Remember These Restaurants?

My inbox has been busy lately with emails from Kansas Citians about local restaurants they remember. Some folks have hazy memories, so let’s help fill in those details. If you can help us recall these restaurants, I’ll do some research and write more mini histories of more bygone Kansas City restaurants.

• Do any of you remember a German restaurant named Meierhoff's? Harry T’s? Al Roubais?
• How about a Shawnee restaurant called Ping’s?
• Do any of you have memories of the Peppercorn Duck Club, Starker’s, or the Lobster Pot Colonial Steakhouse?

First Looks: Broadway Cafe

First Looks is a shorter review for the newsletter. A longer version will eventually be published on my website (often with updates).

I only started drinking coffee on a regular basis less than 15 years ago, so my appreciation for coffee, coffee culture and coffee shops is a recent development. As a freelancer, coffee shops (before the pandemic) were regular office spaces for me. I miss hanging out in them. Broadway Cafe has long been one of my favorite places. It’s a place where you can get the best coffee, get help from the great baristas, observe Midtown street life, meet friends, and catch up with random friends who wander in.

Broadway Cafe has been an institution in Westport for many years. Over 30 years! The coffee and the service are top notch. There are plenty of tables inside if you want to set up a laptop or have a chat with friends or family. They have their famous outdoor seating in front, which is usually filled up with people enjoying coffee and people-watching. You can get baked goods and snacks. They had locally made sandwiches before the pandemic, but I’m not sure what they have available these days.

But wait, there’s more! The coffee is provided by the company’s roasterie, which is two blocks away. The Broadway Roasting Company also provides coffee drinks and a space where you can sit and enjoy the coffee. Freshly roasted coffee in bags is available at both locations and online.

Broadway Cafe
4106 Broadway
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816)531-2432

Broadway Roasting Company
4012 Washington
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816)931-9955

Kansas City-area restaurants you’ll never eat at again

This series looks at bygone restaurants in the Kansas City area (including Lawrence, Kansas). The website has several articles where I do brief looks at bygone restaurants. I recently looked back at Yellow Sub on my podcast.

House of Toy

House of Toy was a popular Chinese restaurant in the Country Club Plaza. It was one of the few sit-down Chinese restaurants in Kansas City during the mid-20th century. Specialized in American Chinese dishes like chop suey, chow mein, Egg Foo Yung, and fried rice. The restaurant had a good selection of “American Dinners” including Broiled Sirloin Steak and Fried Ham Steak. House of Toy had a large selection of “Cantonese Specialties” including Char Siu Chow Don (roast pork and bean sprouts) and Hong Siu Shrimps (shrimp with water chestnuts, mushroom and vegetables).

Owned by Harry Toy and his brother Gong Ging Choi (Lem Toy). The brothers were originally from Canton, China. It was damaged by the 1977 Plaza flood and closed in the 1980s.

What our readers remember: House of Toy on the plaza where Mr. Toy and his family ran the place and were all present every day.

Openings, Closings, Good Byes and Coming Soon

• Plowboys BBQ is closing all of their locations, citing the desire of the owners to get out of the business. They will close on August 14th.
• Kari's on 39th is opening in the former Po's Dumpling Bar space at 1715 W. 39th Street.
• Pho Lan is closing due to family issues
• Café Europa is re-opening at 4928 Main St. in Kansas City, Missouri. Owner, Ben Cascio, is planning a second location at Leawood Town Center.
• Danny’s Burger Shack is opening a bricks and mortar location at 002 N Oak Trfwy in Kansas City, Missouri. Danny’s has been a food truck.

Picture of the Issue

Chuck Eats KC Podcast

The first episode of the Chuck Eats KC is now available. I’m hoping to put out at least two per month for paid subscribers. The first episode includes a look at my “Mexican restaurant rotation,” a review of Vivilore, and a look back at the original Yellow Sub restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas. Listen to the first (free) episode.

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