the klub (mound city, mo)

★★★★ (4 stars) 

the husband and i took an early anniversary trip up to big lake state park in northwestern missouri.  when we travel to rural parts of the country, i always try to scout things out ahead of time, food-wise.  luckily, i saw a restaurant at the location we were staying with great veggie options.   however, when we got there, we learned about a recent flood that had done some damage to some of local places - including the restaurant.

the nearest 'town' was about 15 minutes away, with a population of just over 1,000.  there was a pizza shop attached to a gas station, and a steakhouse.  oh yea, and a mcdonalds. things were looking pretty bleak.  i pulled out the droid and found the only other restaurant in the area.  granted, it looked as scary as the pizza/gas station joint, but maybe better than our other options.  it was call 'the klub' and ended up being quite a rural foodie dream. although when we pulled up, it was a corrugated steel building and scared us shitless, we forged ahead (and there was a full bar luring us in).
 
after we sat down, the server started to run down the specials, which (as most vegans know) are typically meat based, but she piqued our interest when she mentioned the wild mushroom marscapone cheese ravioli with a creamy port sauce.  uh, what?!  as it turns out, the owner is actually a chef, and makes almost everything homemade.  he uses local foods whenever possible.  i asked if he could make a vegan meal off the menu, and they were happy to!

we ordered the bruschetta (no parm) to start. as the husband and i were enjoying an anniversary cocktail, i glanced out the window and saw a women come shuffling out of the restaurant/shed kitchen area.  she ran over to the fence line, looked among the many plants and picked a sprig off a purple one, smelled it, and ran back towards the kitchen.  i told the husband that i thought it was odd, only to be delighted when our bruschetta was served about two minutes later with a fresh sprig of purple basil.  i almost died.  an herb garden in the back of restaurant...  in mound city, mo?  and it was to die for.  after the first bite, i realized i needed to be documenting this place for all the vegetarians and vegans in rural northwest missouri.  (so half the bruschetta is gone).

the salads came next and were okay (not glamorous), but i could tell they were fresh.  and my balsamic vinagrette was definintely homemade.  even if it was just a plain jane salad, they make a point of using local produce, so that's some deliciousness on a whole other level.

 our meals?  the husband ordered the mushroom marscapone ravioli (he's a vegetarian), and they made a fresh veggie pasta with homemade marinara for me.  perfect veggie fare for our anniversary.  the honey's pasta and sauces were homemade, and it's wild mushroom season in missouri, so i'm sure it was local.  although they told me my noodles were't homemade, the chunky marinara was and had some great seasonal veggies.  additionally, when they served the bread with our meals, they made a point to tell me they used olive oil instead of butter on the bread.

although the klub isn't a dedicated vegetarian or vegan restaurant, they sure did step up to the plate.  the food was good and the attention of the kitchen to our special diet was great.  it was like finding a diamond in the rough rural terrain of rural missouri.  one anniversary dinner disaster averted! 


website:
the klub


location(s):
1710 nebraska street
mound city, mo  64470
660.442.4043

el mezcal (lawrence, ks)

★(1 star)

i think the only thing saving this place from zero-stars is the unlimited chips and salsa (which wasn't bad), and the fun tattoo vending machine in the lobby area....

as i mentioned in my last post, the husband and i went to lawrence for a mini-vaca over valentine's day. as with most mexi joints, we tend to love the fajitas (and it tends to be one of the few things i can eat). so we were super excited with all the fun stuff listed... peppers, mushrooms, zucchinis, broccoli, etc.


to our surprise, when our sizzling plates arrived, they were overflowing with... pineapple. and i'm not a fruit-in-my-salsa kind of girl. don't get me wrong - some people would have probably enjoyed it. but i don't, and i think i should have been warned. not only was pineapple omitted from the menu, it was the MOST prominent ingredient. look at the picture below - that was just one plate's pineapple pile.


also, my tortillas weren't cooked or steamed... or something. they were all stuck together, so i basically couldn't even peel them apart. i ended up just eating my fajitas with a fork, which wasn't bad, if i didn't have to pick out all the pineapple. the service sucked. i think he came by our table twice, and we had to flag someone down to ask for everything else.... like drinks, napkins, boxes, the check, etc.... it just kept on. all the time i was thinking 'one-star, one star...' the margaritas also sucked some ass... and i wasn't expecting much since i'm not a margarita connoisseur. but i do know if one tastes like shite, and this one did.

so we gave up, and bought a fake tattoo in the lobby to cheer us up.

website:
el mezcal

locations:
1819 w 23rd
lawrence, ks 66046
785.832.8775

india palace (lawrence, ks)

★★★★(4 stars)

the husband and i went to see a few bands in lawrence (about 1 hour from kansas city) for valentine's day. it was awesome, and so was all the food we had. we went to india palace the first night, and still had leftovers two days later when we got home.

most indian menus have a decent veg section, so i had a hard time picking out what i wanted. as a vegan in the midwest, it's really exciting to have more than one or two things to choose from when i go out to eat (one of the reasons i started this blog). to start with, they give you a basket of papadum (lentil crackers) that were so freakin' yum! i was thinking about the chickpeas and tomatoes (chana masala), but opted out because i eat a ton of chickpeas. i think i'll try that if i go back. however, i got a super yum dish of lentils (dal). i can't recall what the husband got, but he was just as pleased with his.

service was... just service. it wasn't over the top, but it wasn't bad either. and after several bad diy attempts, the server did finally take our picture for us. :)




*just an update based on a comment - i was assured my dhal was vegan and did not contain ghee. however, you can never assume this and should always ask.

website:
no website, but this site has their menu

location:
129 e 10th street
lawrence, ks 66044
785.331.4300