the farmhouse

★★ (2 stars) 

over the summer, i met my friend kim for lunch at a newer restaurant in the river market called the farmhouse.  i hadn't heard of it before, but was exited when the website said it focused on using crops from local farmers.  yay - sustainable and responsible food love!  i knew they'd be great for a vegetarian which usually means you can veganize quite a bit.

after i sat down, the server came over and i asked about a particular beer.  there were only like ten to choose from, but the server didn't seem to know anything about it.  i thought this was odd, since when i walked in he was actually behind the bar, but really not a big deal.  i ended up getting the beer and started to ask about the egg and dairy content of a couple items.  to my surprise, there weren't a lot of vegetarian options and only one could be made vegan (besides the salad).  isn't this a farmer based restaurant?  oh well, the one item i could have was the chickpea fritters (minus the parmasean), although the garlic aioli sauce had mayonnaise.  i asked about the different salad dressings, thinking i could sub one of them for the aioli.  no dice.  every dressing had eggs or cream in it!  i finally relented and just figured i could live with the herb oil that they are drizzled with.  when my chickpea fritters finally arrived (they took forever!), they had the pamesean shavings and the aioli served on the side to boot.  after pointing out the issues, he took them back and later came back with non-cheese fitters, but also brought me a new side of aioli.  i guess you could say he didn't get it.

the fritters were okay.  kim had a blt, and said it was okay, but wasn't a stand out sammie.  it looks like the menu will change based on seasonal produce, but i wouldn't go in thinking they have a lot of vegan options.  and maybe my server was just having a bad day, but this visit certainly didn't entice me to go back.  which is too bad, really, because i'm all about supporting local farmers.  maybe i'll give it another shot, but based on this experience, i have to give it two stars.


website:

the farmhouse


location(s):
300 delaware street
kansas city, mo  64015
816.569.6032

nick and jake's

★★ (2 stars)

let me start by saying that my expectations weren't that high when i planned to meet some friends for dinner. i knew it was a shot in the dark, but kansas city is packed with bar and grill joints and many of them have decent vegan or vegetarian options. nick and jakes - not so much.


for vegetarians, there are quite a few options that involve cheese and eggs... many appetizers and pasta are vegetarian friendly. for the vegan, humus or salad are almost your only options (or sides). their noodles contain egg, according to our server, so pasta is out. at the time i took these pics, they had a portobello burger with sauteed onions (non-vegan bun), but it has since been removed from the menu. their salad dressings are also non-vegan, so you have to go with the olive oil and vinegar. and the prices aren't that great, really - especially when all you can eat is salad with vinegar or a combination of side dishes. my vegetarian husband got a peanut pasta (also removed from the menu), and said it wasn't all that great. mine wasn't all that great either.


the plus side is that the atmosphere is nice. service is just okay. unfortunately, the dishes a vegetarian can eat are just mediocre, and a vegan will struggle. there are plenty of other options in kansas city with more variety and taste - i suggest you go there.


website:
nick and jake's

locations:
overland park
6830 w 135th street
overland park, ks
913.681.8535

parkville
6325 lewis street, suite 110
parkville, mo
816.584.8535

czar bar

★★½ (2½ stars - see last paragraph)

kansas city has a handful of hip music venues with veggie fare on their menu. i had never been to the czar bar, but i was excited to try their menu - especially when i saw their veggie burger was "served on a vegan friendly bun." there are a couple of other veggie friendly options, including hummus, crispy eggplant strips and the unexciting house salad.

i met my friend kim for dinner one night and as usual, double checked with the server about the vegan veggie burger. to my surprise, the veggie patty contains egg and isn't vegan. i'm not sure i get it - to me, promoting the vegan friendly bun sort of implies that the patty itself is vegan. what am i going to do, just order a bun? strike one. slightly dissuaded, i thought i'd go with the crispy eggplant strips instead. nope - they use an egg wash to bread them. i asked if they could not use the egg wash for mine, but no dice - they are pre-breaded. strike two. it was a really cold and rainy day, and salad just didn't sound comforting, so i went with hummus.


the hummus itself was okay, but nothing to write home about. i'm glad i got it at the happy hour price or i would have been really disappointed. i usually don't have high expectations for bar food, but kansas city has quite a few vegan friendly places with great food. (mccoy's, record bar, etc. - i'll be sure to get reviews up soon.) basically, czar bar isn't very vegan friendly, but an ovo-lacto vegetarian has a couple options. the food and prices are just mediocre, so i can't really think of anything veg-food-wise that would put czar bar at three stars. therefore, i'm giving it two stars, with an extra half star for the staff member that kept going back to the kitchen to check on ingredients for me. thanks guy.


website:
czar bar

location:
1531 grand boulevard
kansas city, mo
816.221.2244

tasty thai

★★(2 stars) or ★★★★(4 stars) **(see note below)

this is absolutely one of the worst reviews/experiences i have had to date. the husband and i decided to get some our favourite thai food, only to find out (after a 20 minute drive) that it was closed for remodeling. not ones to give up easily, we decided to explore another thai restaurant that was a couple exits away.

tasty thai's service flat-out sucked. we stood at the door for at least 5 minutes before a host even arrived to seat us. after about 5 minutes of waiting for our server, he arrived and took our drink orders. he came back about 10 minutes later to take our dinner order, and hadn't even brought our drinks! what!? when i mentioned that we'd like our drinks first, he left, took a phone order and did other various things several minutes before he came back with our drinks. to make it worse, he didn't seem apologetic or even aware that he wasn't doing his job.


the food was mediocre. we did like the appetizer we ordered, which was a bunch of fried tofu pieces with two different peanut sauces. the entrees, though, were just mediocre. mediocre at best. normally i can't wait to take home leftovers to extend my thai food experience, but i was just blah about taking home my leftovers. the husband was equally underwhelmed with his meal...

and our bill was pretty pricey for not-so-good food and terrible service. needless to say, we won't be going back.

9/24/10 update:  they opened a tasty thai in liberty, which is the closest town to where we live.  we have avoided it for at least 7 or 8 months, but finally gave in to giving it try one night after friday happy hour.  to our surprise, the staff was super friendly and totally aware of our vegan situation (i.e. fish sauce).  they basically stated they could make almost 90% of their food vegan for us (except for the curries), and was super attentive to our needs.  and we had this crazy good appetizer of fried taro.  anyways, this place was definitely four stars in terms of food options and service.  my two stars still stands for the one up on prairie view.

website:
tasty thai

locations:
7104 NW Prairie View Rd
Kansas City, MO 64151
816.584.8801

1912 star dr.

liberty, mo 64068 

816.781.7800 

1912 Star Dr.

1912 Star Dr.