bo lings

★★★★★(5 stars)

a couple weeks ago, the husband and i decided to go to bo lings chinese restaurant for dinner. there are several locations in the area, and i've been to four of them. i admit that they are all very good, but i absolutely loved the server during this particular visit. he was quick, funny ("go team!") and all together on top of things. of course, i forgot my camera, so you'll have to make do with camera phone quality.


we started with a yummy appetizer of crispy eggplant, which is egg wash free. it's served with a divine soy and ginger dressing which i could have slurped down. there was a lot - too much for two people, but we managed to put it away anyways. :)


for my entree, i decided to try something new and went for the tofu family style. note: both the tofu family style and tofu w/ black bean sauce are made with chicken broth, but if you request, the will substitute water. you really can't taste a difference. as usual, generous portions and spot-on flavour. the husband got vegetable lo mein, and said it was delish as well. its made with egg noodles, so it's only for vegetarians who eat eggs. my all-time favourite dish is the sichuan green beans, which i've tried to recreate at home.


overall, bo lings serves some of the best chinese food in the city. my only complaint is that the tofu could cut cut a bit smaller so it's not as tofu-y in the center. i'd guess that i cut each piece of tofu into about 3 separate bites. and the best part is they've got a great selection of vegetarian and vegan options. you can see all the options on their website. oh, and don't eat your whole meal because their take home bags are pretty awesome.

website:
bo lings

locations:
*see website for addresses
plaza
overland park (x2)
lenexa
zona rosa
city market

blue nile ethopian cafe

★★★★ (4 stars)

blue nile is located down in the kansas city river market area, right near the huge farmer's market that is hot spot on weekend mornings. the market area is definitely something that most food-lovin' kansas citians enjoy. besides all the great produce, there are a number great places to eat down there, including blue nile.


i never had ethopian food before this visit, but i had wanted to try this cafe for a while. it's a quaint and unassuming little restaurant, and known for being vegan-friendly. i had been under the impression that ethopian is similar to indian food, but i'm not sure i'm totally convinced of that now. this spices were different, and a lot of the entrees weren't always in the form of a sauce base like you would find with a dahl or curry. our server was very polite in teaching us that you typically order a entree, and then scoop up the food with a spongy injera bread. we ordered the vegetarian combo, so we got to try a little sample of each eight veggie entrees (all are vegan).


to start with, i really loved almost all of the veggie options. each one had a distinctive taste - some were more vinegary, and others were more savory. none of them were extremely spicy, and admittedly, i would have like to have one or two with a little more kick. but in general, each one was unique with out being to extreme. now, for the bad news. i didn't like the injera bread. at first, i was kind of giddy about trying the spongy bread - i tend to get excited when i try something for the first time. but after about one roll of the bread, the texture started getting to me. i found myself using tiny scraps of bread and huge helpings of the dishes. i know this isn't blue nile's fault - i'm sure everything was as it should be. however, since this is a personal review, i feel i have to add that in there for anyone trying ethopian for the first time. honestly, if i were eating it with naan or pita bread, i think i would have loved every last bite.


i almost forgot - we ordered the veggie sambusa appetizers, and they rocked! unfortunately, there were only two to an order... but so worth it. the flavor was right on.

also, be sure and go when you have some time, because it isn't exactly the speediest place to catch a bite. i'm giving blue nile 4 stars because the service was good, the dishes were good in general, and they definitely have a nice selection of vegan options. the combo platter is especially nice for a group of 2 or 3.

website:
blue nile cafe

location:
20 e 5th street
kansas city, mo
816.283.0990

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

nara

★★★★(4 stars)

i'd say nara gets a healthy four stars, partially just because they offer so many veggie options. i'm judging based on their happy hour menu, and there are least 5 different vegan options. for happy hour in kansas city that doesn't consist of french fries or chips and salsa, that's saying something.


i'm happy to say that nara, which features neo-japanese food, offers a first class veggie roll. i can't say how refreshing it is to find a kansas city sushi joint that offers something more than the avocado roll. there are a few, but i could count them on one hand. they also have hummus, edamame, spring rolls, seaweed salad and a veggie robata (which is glorified miniature veggie-skewers). and that's just their happy hour - which mind you, is at super-cheap prices. the rest of the menu has a smattering of vegetarian options, but i haven't investigated what all is vegan - i'm sticking to happy hour for now.

unfortunately, the atmosphere is a little trendier-than-thou, but if you get there early and leave early, you can avoid that crowd *if* you want to. or sometimes it's fun to go during the peak hours and people watch the ryan-adams-wannabes. i'm certainly guilty of it. :) the service is really decent, and like i said, happy hour prices are worth it alone. it is super-clean, and perfect for a quick drink or bite after work.


website:
nara

locations:
1617 main street
kansas city, mo

genghis kahn mongolian barbeque

★★★★★(5 stars)

i've been here several times, but always forget to bring my camera! i finally remembered and now get to review the best little mongolian barbeque restaurant i've ever eaten at. i guess i'm spoiled, because this was my first restaurant of this type, and having been to several since, i've learned that really none compare. it's clean, it's quaint, it's super veggie friendly.

first, there are two different bowl colours - the blue for veggies only and white for the omnivores. although there is small sign noting the distinction, some people don't know and mix it up. but the grillers are apparently trained to note the difference, and they can always tell when it's a veggie only dish. this is important because they use separate sticks to grill the vegetarian/vegan dishes so you don't have bits of meat mixed in. so awesome!

the buffet is huge. for an all-you-can-eat vegetarian dinner, it is only $11 (lunch is $8.50). there are tons of great vegetables to choose from, including fried tofu. i always overfill my bowl because i just want to have it all. not to mention they throw in peanuts, all kinds of sauce choices and rice noodles if you want. i have never been to another mongolian buffet with so many vegetarian choices. and of course, they have a full menu too. a long time ago i had a mushroom pot off the menu, and i remember it being good. i can't say much else about the menu, except that it has a lot of veggie choices.

it's casual enough for a quick bite, but trendy enough for a date night. and it's a great place for the picky eaters, because you control the flavor. the prices are right, and of course, great for the vegetarian/vegan crowd. i also just discovered they have a second location in the northland. as i said, i've been wanting to review this place for a while because everyone in kansas city should try it at least once.

website:
genghis khan

locations:
midtown
3906 bell
kansas city, mo 64111

northland
8634 north boardwalk
kansas city, mo 64151

the pita pit

★★★★★(5 stars)

almost every time we go to lawrence, we eat at the pita pit. the first pic is a little older, but i was vegan at the time (just not running this blog yet). to start with, the pita pit is open late. like after-bar-show-ends-late, which is quite awesome because that is usually why i'm in lawrence in the first place.


they have a smattering of vegan and vegetarian friendly options - including fresh cooked falafel... all in convenient to-go wraps. the first time i went, they were really awesome in helping me make my falafel wrap vegan, steering me to which sauces would be acceptable. for the vegan, they have garden, hummus, baba ganoush and falafel pitas. i've tried them all and each was as tasty as the last. they also have feta and other cheese varieties for the vegetarian crowd.


for a quick-bite type of place, they are really clean and whip up those wraps in no time. they never skimp - my eats are always wonderfully overstuffed with yummy veggies. and you can pick between white or wheat pitas!

miss v's tip: try their hot sauce and hummus on a falafel pita... mercy!


website:
the pita pit

locations (2 local):
44 ne sycamore street
lee's summit, mo 64086
phone: 816.554.7482

1011 mass street
lawrence, ks 66044
phone: 785.856.2500

matsu japanese restaurant and steakhouse

★★★(3 stars)

my mother and i grabbed a couple rolls of sushi here before we went the museum. it was quite tasty. as with most sushi restaurants in kansas city, there are only 2 or 3 veggie-friendly rolls. i've also had the seaweed salad from here, and recall that it was quite tasty.

we went during off hours (like 2pm) so we didn't have a problem with service, but i have heard negative things. however, our server was quite friendly, and even offered to photograph my food for me (he mentioned something about being a photographer).


you can't really mess up an avocado roll, so i can't judge on that. and the veggie roll that i had was pretty tasty... i think there was one other option for veggies, but i don't remember what it was (nothing impressive). i like when i find sushi restaurants that have creative veggie rolls, instead of just your standard 'vegetable mix' and 'avocado.'

pricing was a little over average, but nothing outrageous. the side of the restaurant we sat on was nice, although the other side looked a bit shady. the bathrooms were so-so, and certainly weren't as clean or nice as you would think from the restaurant atmosphere.

overall, nothing to write home about, but i didn't leave disappointed. i certainly wouldn't drive out of my way to go there, but if i was in the neighborhood, i'd probably eat there again.


website:
no website

location:
427 westport road
kansas city, mo 64111
816.531.2602