Kansas City Holiday Traditions
Review of Waldo Pizza and looking back at Waid's
Openers
As the second full year of the pandemic ends, it feels like there is more around the corner, but I see lots of positive signs based on what I’ve been reading. In terms of Kansas City’s local restaurant and food scene, it looks like we will see lots of disruptions, temporary closings, shortages and more over the next 2-3 months. I think that we’ll see a big improvement in things when the winter winds down. I’m looking forward to dining in more restaurants in 2022 and exploring the amazing local food scene. Expect lots of new restaurant reviews on my website, regular newsletters, new resource guides, and a podcast coming soon.
I have a long list of local restaurants I want to try out, but I’d also like to randomly try other places. I’d like to do a big overview of local bakeries and my own take on the “Kansas City Taco Trail.” I’d like to hear from Kansas Citians what they’d like to see covered in the local food scene. I know that Kansas Citians love to talk about food and share their experiences. The Facebook group Kansas City Eats: A forum for KC restaurants and food has almost 50,000 members. Given our love of dining out and supporting local businesses, I really think that our local food scene will recover in 2022 and we will see some amazing new places to eat or get food. On that last bit, I’ll be adding a big resource in 2022 on local farmer’s markets, CSAs, and local farms.
I’d like to talk about the c uisine and restaurant concepts that Kansas City doesn’t have or isn’t represented well. That will be the subject of a future newsletter. I’ll explain why I’d like to see more Nepali and vegan soul food restaurants.
Have a Merry Christmas and a fun New Year’s!
~ Chuck Munson
Holidays in Kansas City
Do you have any special restaurant traditions during Christmas and New Year’s weeks?
Kansas Citians probably mostly dines with family during Christmas, but they do engage in quite a but of restaurant dining around Christmas. One tradition that I’ve noticed over the years is people going out to coffeeshops with visiting family and friends before and after the holiday. It would be interesting to hear from coffee shops if they experience their busiest weeks in late December.
Plenty of Kansas Citians go for a drive around the Country Club Plaza around Christmas, even though the shopping district’s famous lights are the big Kansas City event Thanksgiving night.
One of my infrequent holiday traditions, which I’ve done in another city beside Kansas City, is get a holiday restaurant dinner with friends. Afterwards, we drive around and look at Christmas lighting displays in neighborhoods. One popular destination for my family and friends are the neighborhoods along Ward Parkway south of Gregory. Most of the houses along a dozen or so streets participate in themed light displays. The trees are even decorated along these streets.
Quick Review – Waldo Pizza
While Kansas City doesn’t have a signature style of pizza, we love our local pizza restaurants. A book or two could be written about Kansas City’s love affair with pizza. You could start with the mid-20th century pizza joints like Shakey’s, Zepi’s, Paul Schaal’s. Then there was the explosion of large chains like Pizza Hut and Godfather’s. But independent restaurants and local chains have held their own and are thriving these days.
One of my favorite pizza restaurants over the past decade and a half has been Waldo Pizza. It has two locations, the original in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, and a second one in Lee’s Summit. They have been slinging the pizza for over 30 years. The original location has all the pizza joint charm with unique decorations and several expansions. It has awesome pizza choices, specials like the lunch buffet, and an amazing staff. If I were taking an out-of-town visitor to a local pizza place, Waldo would be one of my top choices.
Waldo’s style of pizza could be described as “standard pizza house style.” There are no special gimmicks, just lots of options, executed well, with fresh ingredients. The fact that Waldo Pizza has an extensive vegan and gluten free menu shows that just about any dietary issue or taste preference can be met. As a vegetarian of 30+ years, I’ve never been a fan of vegan pizza, but Waldo does vegan pizza right. And the vegan and gluten-free portion of their menu isn’t just topping for one style of pizza, they also have vegan and gluten-free pasta, salads, sandwiches, and desserts.
They offer three different vegan pizza crust styles: original hand-tossed, St. Louis thin crust, andEgg-Free Gluten-Free Crust. A variety of vegan “meats” and “cheeses” are available, as well as sauces. In addition to the common vegetable toppings, they offer almonds, black beans, argula, eggplant, sauerkraut and much more. If you don’t want to mix up your own, they offer specialty pizzas like Vegan tex Mex+, Vegan Cheeseburger, and Vegan Ratatouille.
Want a vegan pasta plate or sandwich? Try their Vegan B.Y.O. Sandwich or Vegan Philly Chicken Sandwich. Choose pasta types like cavatappi, penne, spaghetti and add sauces and toppings
Of course, Waldo Pizza has all the options for meat eaters. I’m going to share some of the more interesting options for meat eaters. Specialty pizzas include BBQ Pork Pie, "BFD" Breakfast for Dinner+, Pesto Chicken, The Greek+, and the Ratatouille. Meat sandwiches include Meatball Sandwich, Turkey Pesto Sandwich, Chicken Provolone, BBQ Sandwich, and more!
One of my favorite reasons for going to Waldo has been there amazing lunch buffet. It’s been several years since I’ve enjoyed it, for reasons we all know about, but the Waldo lunch buffet was popular, delicious and affordable. It was an all-you-can-eat special featuring trips to their salad bar, fresh pizza (including dessert pizza), and pasta.
While the salad bar may have looked very modest, it was packed with some great options. One special element: their house ranch dressing. The dressing was a destination in itself. I heard that the restaurant was offering their ranch dressing for sale as of 2020 or last year. Not sure about the status of that product offering, but their Ranch Dressing is superb.
I also really love Waldo Pizza’s staff. Over 15 years of visiting their restaurants, their staff have always been friendly and helpful.
Waldo Pizza Express has opened in Blue Springs inside the Cosentino’s Price Chopper.
7433 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64114
https://www.waldopizza.net/
Preview of Part 3 of “Kansas City-area restaurants you’ll never eat at again”
Chuck Eats KC has published two articles highlighting the history of Kansas City’s bygone restaurants. A third update is in the works. This newsletter will be previewing restaurants from upcoming updates to this series.
Waid’s
The local Waid’s restaurant chain was a beloved stop for Kansas Citians looking for comfort food. The chain started in 1953 and the last location, on W 103rd Street, closed in 2013. At the chain’s height, it had 14 locations. I vaguely recall visiting the 103rd street location a couple of times as a teenager in the early 1980s. That was probably with family. What I liked about the restaurant, in addition to the good food, was that it had the vibe of fast casual chains like Applebee’s or Perkins, but with more of an indepedent, family-owned atmosphere.
I understand that the chain, in later years, became a popular meeting spot for small groups. My father used to get together there with alumni from one of the local corporate offices that he worked at.
Hungry for breakfast? Waid’s offered Waid's French Toast, Biscuits and Gravy Combo, Grilled Ham Steak, Pigs N Blanket, Louisiana Omelet, Southwestern Omelet, and many other diner breakfast favorites.
Lunch or dinner? You could enjoy their Blackened Chicken Salad, City Market Chef's Salad, Salmon Croquettes, Country Fried Steak, Pork Cutlet, English Pub Burger, Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Chili Dog Deluxe and much more.
Memories from our readers
Best food of comfort food. I remember salmon croquetes, meat loaf. Really like to get recipes to recreate at home.
I went there many times late '70's with my best friend and our dates then wives.
Photo of the Week
Best Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in Kansas City: A Tasty Guide
Have you seen our comprehensive guide to vegetarian and vegan dining in the Kansas City area? Our guide debuted in January 2020 and it is being updated regularly. We list restaurants which primarily have vegetarian/vegan options. We also include a listing of food trucks and restaurants that have more than a few veg options on the menu.
Chuck Eats KC Podcast Coming in January 2022
This blog and newsletter will be joined by a podcast in January 2022! That’s right, expect restaurant reviews, food talk and interviews in the podcast. There are lots of amazing people around Kansas City doing fun things with food, so let’s talk to them!
Openings, Closings and Coming Soon
· The vegan hot dog cart Dead Beet Eats is opening a place at Cultivar KC
· Hurts Donuts at Ward Parkway Mall evidently closed for good in recent months. When we visited the store this past weekend, it was totally empty inside.
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