Plaza Noshing

Yesterday was a gathering of S6 (Dusty, WangJang, Big Bird, Juno, -Big Joe, +Gomo) at Cafe Trio.  That's my group of unmarried, hopelessly single friends. Actually that should be a Fab Four description, the two young ones still have hope.  Big Bird suggested a venture to check out one of his favorite places on the Plaza, Cafe Trio.  Dusty and Gomo had to go pick up Big Joe at the airport.  So it was a rare occasion the southerners were willing to go north.  I ceased the chance to go check Cafe Trio out.  Plaza is not a cheap adventure, but I was excited to go eat there and check the place out.

Before, it was pretty hectic getting to the late dinner... I had a large catering order I had to complete first.  This week has been full with special orders and catering.  Good for business, bad for my laziness.  That one was crazy because it was for every single item on my menu.  I totally underestimated the time it would take to complete it and then deliver it.  The coordinator was pretty peeved when I talked to her on the phone because they were suppose to be out of their meeting soon and I was running 40 minutes late.  But by the time I got there and set up, she was okay.  The people were still in their meeting and weren't out by the time I delivered, set it all up and left, so all was good.  Though, I think I forgot to provide them napkins, but flew out of there before she noticed.  Let them figure it out.

I was pretty stinky and gross and running late by the time I was on my way home.  Very typical D.  I really really wanted to shower before picking up Gomo and kidnapping Juno.  Very untypical D.  But it was the fastest shower I took in my life.  One of our members, Juno, has been keeping to himself these days, so it's been usually S5s going out instead.  Makes me sad for him, even though he's the one who chooses it and wants the time by himself.  I just know what's best for him.  So I decided to go and kidnap him.  He needed the fresh air and for a person who loves eating out and trying good foods, he's never been to some of the local gems in KC.  But we did end up getting there pretty late because of the detour.  Oh well, very VERY typical D.

Cafe Trio replaces the old Frondizi restaurant above Jardines on Main Street.  It's a beautiful location on the edge of the Plaza.  We sat on the covered, heated patio, and we can see all of Plaza.  Only thing that would've made the patio better was if the lights were still on or if the weather was nicer.  I don't think I'd say it was the best meal on the Plaza, but it definitely is a great overall experience.  We started on some spinach artichoke dip with pita bread.  Yummy!  Creamy and chunky, with cheese toasted on the top.  I tried one of Big Bird's crispy spring rolls with peanut dip.  Crisp and flavorful.  To drink, I had the Jimi Hendrix, because I've been wanting Hendrix gin for a while.  Gin, ginger syrup, cucumbers and grapes.  It was crisp, aromatic and smooth, but no one appreciated the subtle flavors as I did.  Pret~ty strong.  I shared with WangJang the daily special pizza, a seafood ensemble on a thin crust, and their mac and cheese entree.  OMGah... best macaroni and cheese I've had.  Probably because they put this amazingly crispy bacon in there.  I think it was deep fried.  Not at all soggy or chewy in the mix of all the cheesyness.  Dusty still said that Capital Grille had the best mac and cheese... but it's a lobster mac and cheese, and I still believe this was better.  Actually I just ate a little bit of everyone's dishes, family style.  Except Dusty's salad.  The chili was great too.  And very spicy.  Another Capital Grille comparison was the Juno's ribeye.  Rumor was that the steak at Trio was the best in the city, but it still was no comparison to the porcini delmonico.  A story of a meal reserved for another day.  Maybe it was an overcooking issue, but it still had a great flavor.  Desserts were both good.  Trio of brownies and a bailey's creme brulee.  Creme brulee was not as firm as they normally are, but a nice rich flavor.  Nothing was bad.  Overall, I think Cafe Trio takes much thought and care to the food they serve.  Probably a four star review.  $23 plus tip for pizza and a cocktail.  They have a wide options from cheaper to more expensive meals.  $15-30.  Cocktails average $8-10.  Definitely not a cheap meal but won't blow your wallet if you're good about it.  It was a fun night, filled with great food and great company minus the Big Joe.  But Gomo did a good job as a stand in for him.

Oh shoot, I need to get the leftover steak out of my car for lunch!  Can't waste that...

Seafood pizza

Mac and cheese

Corner is some leftover peanut sauce on my plate.

 

This morning's attempt at making monkey latte.  He looks distressed that he's not really a monkey.

Taco Tuesday

I don't know why, but Tuesdays are always connected to Tacos... So Ms. Ordinary came and brought a peace offering for leaving me on Saturday of Ricos Tacos Lupe el pastor tacos.    They were pretty good... not as greasy delicious as El Camino Real el pastors.. a little cleaner taste being on the Boulevard.  But a consensus of better beef.  Maybe just more flavor.  The yelp review was not on spot.... Salsa pretty good, but I like it chunky.  If you like the cleaner taste of street tacos, I guess this would be a great place for you.  As for me, I like greasy spoons and hope one day I don't have to ask for a slice of pineapple.

Steak and el pastor

Rico's Tacos Lupe

::Update::
So after a long day of working and then running around doing errands, finally caught some dinner late at good ol' Rainbow Cafe with Mrs.Tasty.  I picked her up because the Mr. was deep in test taking and she was super bored.  So I made her run my errands with me.  It's always nice to have a partner in crime.  And she's never seen the cafe where I get my coffee beans. 


It's a dark coffee shop, where people can spend hours doing nothing but talk about politics and the finer qualities of a good bean and roast.  He's been wanting to buy some sushi boxes from my mom and trade them for coffee beans.  The way prices are going these days, I might have to take him up on it.  More work and earlier rise from me, but it should be worth it.  


Every time I go to the shop there's some very strange person just hanging around.  A couple times there was this cigar smoking guy just having an espresso and smoking a "cigar" in his car.  Weirdos flock to coffee shops and sushi bars.  FOR Real.  My Cafe would be the perfect place for all of them to gather.   Anyways.  One of the best cup of coffee you'll ever have is here, because he's super into coffee.  More than I am or ever will be.  RevoCup.  


After going to Oriental Market, we headed to Chung's Rainbow Cafe.  I wanted to try the deep fried seaweed noodles rolls.  They were pretty good.  Noodles were tender.  Outside was a good soft crunch.  Then had the sweet and sour beef and spicy noodles (ttang soo yuk and jjang pong).  They were not as good as usual.  But best thing was we ran into one of our church pastors and he bought us dinner!  El Pastor indeed!  So my total for eating out yesterday was = $0.  

food: 0pts vs. d'&mrs.tasty: 1pt

Carnage (forgot to take one before)