Weeknights and eating out are fairly common for us, like most other suburban families. Be it exploring a new joint downtown, or going ahead to the neighborhood favorites, we make sure we are sampling something from someone else's kitchen. Its nice to sit back, relax and have someone cook for us and even serve you at the table. And don't worry about dishes and cleaning up the table. Last week I was attending the launch of THE BLOG GUILD downtown, and the Man and our daughter were spending some quality time, while running errands. So we decided to head out to dinner after all our individual plans for the evening had concluded.
The man had been talking of going over to CHAR BAR and this seems the perfect opportunity as we were almost in the neighborhood. So Thursday became a barbecue dinner night for us.
The large parking lot was indeed a blessing as most places downtown have a huge struggle with that. you often have to park at a nearby lot and walk up to the restaurant of your choice.But CHAR BAR had a personal, and fairly large parking lot of their own. Which meant we had to walk less.
The decor was like a typical gastro pub but I loved the brick walls all round. Gave it an old school rustic charm I felt. It was pretty spacious, with outdoor seating and even some option of some outdoor games to keep you busy while you wait for your food. Or if you just want to indulge in a game bout with your buddies while chugging on some local brews. Smoked Meats and Amusements, as their website claims.
When it comes to menus, the first thing we look for, are the options for kids. We opted for SMOKED MAC CHICKEN NUGGETS for our daughter. Rather than being nuggets, there were more more big chunks of country fried, smoked chicken pieces. It came with a flight of sauces or dips to dunk your chicken in: Buffalo Mayo, Spicy BBQ, Buttermilk Chive and Carolina Gold.
The Crust had a good crunch to it and the smokiness are all prevalent. Maybe a bit too strong for kids. But for a typical Barbecue loving toddler Kansan, it was right up the alley. The picky eater was surely digging in. Bon Appetit, Mommy said in her mind !!
We started off with LOBSTER DEVILED EGGS. If deviled eggs were not decadent enough, then you add lobsters to it. I felt the presentation as way too sloppy. It looked like a thirteen year old, was having a first go at making deviled eggs, in terms of presentation. They would have looked better if the boiled egg yolks had been piped in, using a curly or star piping tip. Would have looked more professional. And the sauce was hastily smeared below. It looked very sloppy and unprofessional. But taste wise, they were pretty decent. The pea shoots added a nice crunch.
I had been sipping on some wine, at THE BLOG GUILD LAUNCH, so I opted for a beer to pair with my eats. ODELL'S MYRCENARY DOUBLE IPA. The man was driving so stuck to his iced water. And boy did the Beer pack a punch. It was not your regular lighter beer which you can chug all night long, without even realizing anything This was strong and had a few layers of taste , when it hit your tongue. I am surely gonna be looking for this beer whenever I eat out next.
For our main course, we opted for the BBQ TRAYS with a choice of three meats. They came with a side of pickles and Texas Toast, a choice of sides. We decided on CRISPY JO- JO POTATOES for our side, which came in a nice mug. the LO made a dash for the mug the moment it arrived at our table. For our meats, it was BLACK ANGUS BRISKET , PULLED PORK BUTT and HAND CRANKED SAUSAGES .
As Kansas City is the city of Barbecue, you always tend to compare the fare with the other local favorites. The brisket was the best of the three and had a nice smoke ring on it. The Pulled Pork was a tad bit dry and the sausage was just about so so. Had we just opted for the Brisket, it would have been a smarter choice on our part.
The service was great and our server kept checking in on us, without being intrusive. I had a mind to try my hand at the outdoor amusements in the backyard, but it was already getting late on a weeknight. Maybe next time. Want to check out their brunch fare, maybe on a cool crisp Fall Morning. Cant believe how short this Summer is turning out to be.
CHAR BAR
Website: http://charbarkc.com
Address:
4050 Pensylvania Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64111
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post and the dinner was paid for us in full. The opinions expressed are those of mine.
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