papa murphy's

★★★★(4 stars)

yea, it's a chain restaurant... but i figured i'd give it the old veg*n review anyways. their sauce and crust are vegan, so it makes it easy for me to eat there without resorting to salad.

we got the gourmet vegetarian, which has spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and chopped tomatoes. it also comes with onions, but we subbed black olives as neither one of us really likes onions. we just asked for cheese on one side - including some parmesan sprinkle they put on top. so half was vegan, and half was fine for my ovo-lacto vegetarian husband.


after we got it home, we baked it for about 5 minutes, then i sprinkled half a can of drained sauerkraut on top of my side. if you like sauerkraut, this makes a great crispy cheese-like topping (obviously it doesn't really taste like cheese). the husband loves sauerkraut on top of his cheese, but his side was way too overloaded already.


to be honest, it's not the best pizza in the world... i mean, it' s good, but it's not phenomenal. but i gave it 4 stars because 1. it's cheaper than other pizza take-out, 2. it tastes way better than frozen pizza, and 3. it's so easy when you don't feel like slaving in the kitchen making homemade pizza. i would probably would give it 3 and a half stars, but i don't feel like figuring out how to make a half star in html.

website:
papa murphy's

locations:
lots of places - see the website

ming garden

★★★★★(5 stars)

this is my new found favourite cheap chinese take-out place. we moved up north of kansas city at the end of 2007 and found this place almost immediately. the only bummer is that we can't get delivery, but no one delivers to where we live, so i can't blame them.

they have the best veggie chinese food. they even have these fried veggie spring rolls with cabbage and mushrooms that inspired my recipe for kraut rolls. and they have the hot sauce. i have no idea why they call it hot sauce, because it isn't hot at all, but it is the best f*ing sauce i have ever had. every time i go, i grab handfuls of the packets (i know - tsk, tsk). it's the perfect combination of asian sauce and vinegar twang. if you are a vinegar lover, this stuff will change your life. i'm sure you can find it at other chinese take out joints, so look for it. ok, moving on.

the husband always gets the general tao's tofu, and i tend to always get the tofu and mixed vegetables. the tofu pieces are always the most perfect sized cubes, and often i get several deliciously crispy ones. they have tons of veggie options - more than any other cheapo chinese restaurant i've been to in kc. their menu also lists the elusive veggie and bean curd soup, which i haven't tried yet, but i'm giving them bonus points for having. the servings are huge - i can get like 4 meals out of my order (which is usually: dinner, post-dinner, breakfast, pre-lunch - yea, it's that good).


website:
none

locations:
4311 ne chouteau trafficway
kansas city, mo 64117
816-452-0338