Chuck Eats KC - June 23 - Review of The Brick and Restaurant Parking

What Are Your Thoughts on Restaurant Parking

The Kansas City metro area has an abundance of parking. It’s amazing how much parking Kansas City has, both for good and bad reasons. This opinion may run counter to what Kansas Citians believe, as they love to complain about parking on social media forums. Trust me, when I moved back to Kansas City in 2003 from the East Coast, after being gone for 20 years, one culture shock was how much parking there is here.

One way this surprised me was that the average Kansas Citian doesn’t really have to know how to parallel park. If you drive and park in cities on the coasts, parallel parking skills are essential. But Kansas City is a land of parking lots.

But there are actual problems with parking, which can affect restaurants and their customers. I want to hear from you: where are there pain points when it comes to parking for restaurants or restaurant districts? Have you ever ditched a planned visit to a restaurant because of the parking situation?

There are restaurant districts like the Country Club Plaza, the City Market, and Westport that have free parking options and paid parking. During the day, the City Market offers some free parking, but the city charges for parking along the streets. The fee-based street parking may generate revenue for the city and discourage downtown worker from parking all day, but for some restaurants it’s hard for customers to find nearby parking.

The Country Club Plaza is a private district with public garages. Do you experience parking issues there? How about Westport? Do you experience parking issues in other parts of the Metro area?

Finally, dining habits have changed and many of you like to get take-out. Do restaurants and restaurant districts need more 15 minute takeout parking spots? Which restaurants are doing this well?

Review: The Brick

It’s been five or six years, but recently I got a chance to visit and dine at The Brick for a friend’s birthday party. The Brick has long been one of my favorite spots to see live music and eat high quality bar food. I’ve probably been visiting the Brick for shows and dinners for nearly 15 years. One thing about my recent visit that amused me was that virtually nothing had changed since my last visit, other than new art on the wall and an outdoor park-let seating areas. Nothing wrong with keeping the same vibe if you are doing everything right.

The Brick is located in the Crossroads District, just north of Grand and 18th Street. It’s my understanding that the restaurant and venue, which opened in 1999, followed in the footsteps of bars that catered to the staff of the Kansas City Star, which was long headquartered across the street.

The staff and service of The Brick has always been outstanding, both at the bar and in the dining room. I messed up my order on my recent visit, ordering a Patty Melt without remembering that it would come with a burger. I took a few bites before realizing that I had made a mistake (should have ordered the portabella mushroom sandwich). I explained my mistake the the staff and they got me a patty melt with a vegetarian burger very quickly.

It looks like the menu is very similar to the one I enjoyed years ago, so the following is based on my recollections of these dishes. Based on what I had recently, I’m assuming that the quality and execution of these dishes are similar.

Even as a long time vegetarian, I’m not a fan of potato french fries, but I do love sweet potato fries and I consider The Brick’s version to be one of the best in Kansas City. My go-to sandwich is their Grilled Portabella Mushroom sandwich. Their fries, nachos and other bar appetizers are good. An interesting sandwich worth trying is the Apple Butter & Brie. Sounds kind of fancy-pants, but this format curiously fits the bar bistro vibe.

I don’t drink alcohol, but years ago I spent some hours at the Brick’s bar. Hung out before shows, got dinner with friends, and stopped in for the vibe. The bar’s service is usually top notch. Plenty of drink options and good beers on tap.

The Brick has long been one of Kansas City’s best venues for live music. I’ve seen nearly two dozen shows here. The focus is usually on local bands and musicians, but I recall seeing more than a few touring acts. The Brick is more like a mid-size indie venue, but they have long been very aggressive in booking music on most nights. It looks like their music nights are less frequent than before the pandemic, so check their website and social media for the latest music schedule.

The Brick has daily lunch and dinner specials and “Brickfast” on Saturdays. My recent visit happened to be Burger Night, which turned out to be a great deal.

1727 McGee St, Kansas City, MO 64108
https://www.thebrickkc.com/

Openings, Closings, and News

• The Daily Limit Bar at Red Bridge Shopping Center has a new owner and is rebranding itself at The Limit Pub & Grub. Improvements, including a front patio, are in the works.
• Berries + Honey will open in September at Red Bridge Shopping Center. The concept will offer charcuterie boards.
• Antojitos El Paradise opened in May at 11308 Blue Ridge Blvd in Kansas CIty, Missouri. The food truck features Latin American options.
• One of our favorite growing pizza chains, Pizza Tascio, is opening a new location on July 1 in Waldo at 409 W. Gregory. We had pizza at their Overland Park location last week.
• Meddys is opening a location at 6301 Brookside Plaza in Brookside in August. They will feature Mediterranean dishes.

This Week’s Photo Bomb

Support Us Via Ko-Fi

You can support this project on Ko-Fi. This is an independent project about Kansas City area restaurants and food. We take nothing in exchange from local restaurants, so everything comes out of our own pockets.

Please support this project with a donation via Ko-Fi.

Mastodon and Tumblr

You can find regular posts from Chuck and Chuck Eats KC on Mastodon at @chuckmunson@kibitz.cloud and Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/chuckeatskc.

Chuck Eats KC Blog and Website

This newsletter is part of my blog and website. Please bookmark and share it.

Chuck Eats KC is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

###