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Delaware Cafe


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Delaware Cafe is getting a face-lift, physically and internally. The former sous chef pastry of bluestem, Joe West (eGullet member "JWest"), has been hired as the new Executive Chef.

The restaurant is slated to open this Thursday, May 23 (correct me if I'm wrong, JWest). It will serve lunch and dinner. From what I hear, the menu will focus on seasonal, sustainable, and local products.

“Watermelon - it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.”

Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

ulteriorepicure.com

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ulteriorepicure@gmail.com

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Delaware Cafe is getting a face-lift, physically and internally.  The former sous chef pastry of bluestem, Joe West (eGullet member "JWest"), has been hired as the new Executive Chef.

The restaurant is slated to open this Thursday, May 23 (correct me if I'm wrong, JWest).  It will serve lunch and dinner.  From what I hear, the menu will focus on seasonal, sustainable, and local products.

The current lunch menu (soups, salads, sandwiches) won't be changing for a while but the dinner menu certainly will have more of an emphasis on la cuisine de la maitre.

While honoring classical french technique the food will show glimpses of progressive American cuisine as well. With the lunch and dinner being two completely different food services, we look forward to meshing the two together to avoid confusion of our identity at Delaware Cafe; which is a fun and casual spot for highly focused food.

http://www.starchefs.com/news/press_releas...hp?news_id=1790

"cuisine is the greatest form of art to touch a human's instinct" - chairman kaga

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Congratulations Joe, have fun and knock their socks off. I will be up sometime this summer and you are now on my radar.

It is good to be a BBQ Judge.  And now it is even gooder to be a Steak Cookoff Association Judge.  Life just got even better.  Woo Hoo!!!

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Delaware Cafe will be serving Dinner starting Thursday, May 29. A spontaneous Saturday brunch featuring fresh city market ingredients hand selected by the kitchen staff will begin in the near future as well.

"cuisine is the greatest form of art to touch a human's instinct" - chairman kaga

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  • 2 weeks later...

JWest: What's cookin' over there at Delaware Cafe? Hope that your opening week went well.

What are the hours? The website is still undergoing a facelift.

“Watermelon - it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.”

Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

ulteriorepicure.com

My flickr account

ulteriorepicure@gmail.com

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Current Hours:

LUNCH: Monday-Friday 11AM - 2PM

DINNER: Thursday-Saturday 4PM-10PM

BRUNCH: 10AM-2PM

HAPPY HOUR: Thursday - Saturday 4PM-7PM

"cuisine is the greatest form of art to touch a human's instinct" - chairman kaga

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Current Hours:

LUNCH: Monday-Friday 11AM - 2PM

DINNER: Thursday-Saturday 4PM-10PM

BRUNCH: 10AM-2PM

HAPPY HOUR: Thursday - Saturday 4PM-7PM

Thanks for the update. Hope to get there for dinner sooner than later but will be heavily disguised. :wink:

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

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Our current hours are:

Lunch: Monday-Friday 11AM-2PM

Dinner:Thursday-Saturday 4PM-10PM

Brunch: Saturday 10AM-2PM

My kitchen staff and I will be at the Farmer's Market hand picking ingredients for our Spontaneous City Market Brunch that we do on Saturday Mornings.

Also,

On Saturday, June 7 ONLY, we will be offering 40% off of the entire Dining Room Dinner Menu (not bar/patio menu) in appreciation to all of our current and new guests for our re-construction of the restaurant (as well as new staffing, including myself). First Courses range in regular prices from $8-$12 and Second Courses range in regular prices from $17-$22. The Dinner menu includes dishes like "Mac N Cheese" served as Cavatelli Pasta, Fontina, and Truffled Breadcrumbs; as well as Sea Scallops with Spring vegetable Succotash, Confit Bacon Potato, and basil Pesto. We also feature Piedmontese All Natural Beef and Berkshire Porkloin. Our Bar/Patio Menu offers plates from $6 to $17 as well.

Hope to see all of you at the restaurant,

Joe West

Executive Chef

Delaware Cafe

300 Delaware St

Kansas City, MO 64105

"cuisine is the greatest form of art to touch a human's instinct" - chairman kaga

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  • 2 weeks later...

We were fortunate to take advantage of the fabulous deal on Jun 7 and I have been trying to post about it but every time I sit down at the computer, thunderstorms swoop in and force me to power down before I even get through the first course.

Briefly, then, here is what we had and I would recommend any of these without hesitation:

Arugula, radish, pecans, bleu cheese, olives and a killer dressing w/honey (I was concerned about it but ended up loving it)

Grilled romain hearts w/really yummy house-made butter croutons

Chicken pate - Nick loved this; I didn't taste it but I ate rather a lot of it with my eyes - it's visually stunning.

Roasted, stuffed hen w/egg raviolo, macarpone and zucchini 'noodles'. You could give me just about anything with a runny egg raviolo on it and I wouldn't complain. The hen was perfectly cooked - I didn't get much of it, though. :angry:

Berkshire Pork loin, cippolini, peas, gnocchi - I threatened to lick the plate but mustered some self control (when I remembered we had ordered dessert)

A pair of souffles (45-minute lead time required) - I'm not a chocolate person and took only a small taste of it but the vanilla one was unreal - still fairly molten in the center and, with the creme fraiche provided melting over it, truly amazing.

More recently I stopped in for a "time killer" and enjoyed some frites w/truffle oil and a cocktail. They were doing a photo shoot for the website and I volunteered to stay and eat the evidence but the photog's friend snarled and bared his teeth so I left with my tail between my legs.

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

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  • 4 weeks later...
Delaware Cafe has been one of my favorite lunch spots in KC for years. I can't wait to try it for dinner the next time I'm in KC.

I've always liked the space but found the food less-than-inspired. I'm really delighted that it's finally going to achieve its potential. I've been trying to get down there for a market brunch but haven't made it for that yet. It feels too much like a work day if I arise and drive downtown. :sad:

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

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I had never heard of it in all my trips up to KC. But now that I know Joe is working the stoves, you can count on me checking it out soon. I just needed a reason for a trip. I have holiday time coming up real soon too.

It is good to be a BBQ Judge.  And now it is even gooder to be a Steak Cookoff Association Judge.  Life just got even better.  Woo Hoo!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Three of us did the spontaneous 5-course Friday night - all received different dishes for each course, so we could trade bites and enjoy 15 items in all - and there wasn't a clunker in the lot.

I did not take photos but will try to provide more detail when time allows.

I very nearly returned for brunch Saturday morning but didn't want my own purchases from the market to bake while I waited for them to open - that's the rub - if you arrive early enough to get the good stuff, and avoid the heat and crowds of City Market in late summer, you have a couple of hours to kill before the brunch service starts. Apparently the young chef requires more sleep than I did at his age. :raz:

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

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I very nearly returned for brunch Saturday morning but didn't want my own purchases from the market to bake while I waited for them to open - that's the rub - if you arrive early enough to get the good stuff, and avoid the heat and crowds of City Market in late summer, you have a couple of hours to kill before the brunch service starts.  Apparently the young chef requires more sleep than I did at his age. :raz:

That's because we're the ones getting the "good stuff" in the early part of the morning :cool:

"cuisine is the greatest form of art to touch a human's instinct" - chairman kaga

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I stopped in for a late lunch today. I always forget how charming Delaware is. I really enjoy walking down that street, moreso when it's not 100 degrees.

The space is great too, I'd not seen it before, but I really liked it. And it's huge! I could certainly see kicking back at the bar for a few cocktails some evening.

I ordered a soup and sandwich combo. Soup of the day was a black bean and sausage. The first bite really caught me off guard...I guess I had heard chorizo, or just assumed it because black bean soups so often are served with Latin flair.

I got a full hit of fennel...a much more Italian take on the black bean soup, and plenty of little white (navy?) beans too. Once my palate adjusted, I thought it was quite good. I'm a sucker for soup.

Oh, and it was garnished with a tasty little pizza cracker, whose flavors were a perfect accent to the soup. A very nice little touch.

The half BLT tasted good enough, but not nearly enough of the T for my taste. I was hoping to get good thick fresh tomato, with a little B and L accent. Bacon dominated instead, which usually isn't a bad thing, but there were two rather small, rather thin tomato slices that mostly disappeared in the sandwich.

The bread was a rather nice, airy foccacia. Again, a perfectly decent sandwich overall, but well short of August BLT gold (mmmm, which has me coveting the BLT I had at bluestem last year...need to get back for that.

Not a cheap lunch, at $9.50, but not out of line. The soup was huge--I'd hate to see the full portion! I had eaten more than I needed even before my waitress brought two complimentary chocolate chip cookies to end my meal, which was a very nice touch.

We'd planned to head down last Saturday for brunch, but circumstances conspired against us. All-in-all, seems like a very promising River Market spot.

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Delaware Cafe's website is now fully functional and aesthetically pleasing as well.

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

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  • 1 month later...

Congratulations to Chef West and his staff. For once I am forced to agree with Ms. Chapin - all of my visits to Delaware Cafe have been solid hits.

Youth Movement Thrives at the Delaware Cafe

Way to go, Joe.

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

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Congratulations to Chef West and his staff.  For once I am forced to agree with Ms. Chapin - all of my visits to Delaware Cafe have been solid hits.

Youth Movement Thrives at the Delaware Cafe

Way to go, Joe.

Congrats JWest. Just don't forget all us little people! :raz:

“Watermelon - it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.”

Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

ulteriorepicure.com

My flickr account

ulteriorepicure@gmail.com

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Good job Joe, I am looking forward to dinner soon. Lauren likes you, she really likes you.

It is good to be a BBQ Judge.  And now it is even gooder to be a Steak Cookoff Association Judge.  Life just got even better.  Woo Hoo!!!

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