Lidia's of (Kansas City)

[Dana]

Last weekend, our daughter graduated from law school at KU. She wanted to go to Lidias' in KC for dinner on Friday night, so 8 of us (in-law's, etc) had a late dinner there. Our table was ready for us even though we were about 15 minutes early -right down to the high chair I'd requested. I really love the decor there, the 3 huge blown glass grape clusters that from the light fixtures are just awesome. The old, exposed brick walls really give a feeling of history to the place. I ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio, a Nebbiolo and a Vino Nobile, as I knew there would be meat eaters as well as fish eaters. I ordered a salad of arugula, pear, walnut and gorgonzola with a white wine dressing that was just delish. My daughter's MIL ordered the Ceaser, which she liked very much. The special was halibut with creamy polenta and morel sauce, which was just exquisite, and enjoyed by 3 of us. Four had the bistecca(20 oz!), which they loved as well, all perfectly med-rare. My SIL got the pasta tasting, which he always gets, and particularly enjoyed the orechette with sausage. I tasted his ravioli with ricotta and pear, which I will be attempting, as soon as I perfect the salad!!! We were all so full, the we split 3 desserts, one of which was a lemon sponge cake with strawberries and strawberry sorbet, that was to die for, smooth and full of strawberry flavor. It was a terrific evening.

[ronnie_suburban]

Sounds excellent, Dana. Congrats on your daughter's graduation from Law School. My sister graduated (bachelor's degree) from KU.

Do you and your family dine at Lidia's often? Is it strictly a special occasion-type place?

=R=

[chicagowench]

I'm glad to hear someone who had a positive experience at Lidia's KC. We've been twice- once was 'eh' and the other time was truly horrendous. Undercooked risotto, gummy pasta, and a liver dish that had not been properly deveined or degristled. Have you tried City Tavern, which is also in the Freighthouse building?

And congrats to your daughter! Quite an accomplishment.

[avant-garde]

My wife and I dined at Lidia's this past weekend and were very disappointed by the whole experience. Wait...she did have a good mojito and one of our glasses of wine was pretty nice. But the rest of the evening was so horrible. By the end of the night we had spent over $115 for about $40 worth of food, wine, and service. Did I mention the table next to us was about a foot away? I could hear every word of their conversation. ANNOYING!!!

I had a bowl of soup that seriously did not taste homemade. My wife also got a salad of arugula with walnuts and gorganzola, which actually met our expectations. The waitress made it sound like we got soup or salad with our entree, but we actually had to pay full price in the end. UGH!!!

For the entrees: I ordered the salmon with lentils. First, there was about $5 worth of salmon on the plate and about .80 cents worth of undercooked lentils and (literally) two leaves of baby greens. That was "the salad." $9.99 for the dish still would have given them plenty of profit - it was $18! I was livid. My wife ordered the seafood special which came out with undercooked yukon gold potatoes and onions. That's it. A piece of fish and undercooked potatoes. $28!!! Good thing I was buzzed by that point or I might have thrown a fit. The only thing I knew how to do at that point was pass on dessert. I really wanted it, but who knows what we would've gotten?

One of the other things that stood out was how our server encouraged us to go out to the garden in front to see all the herbs they grow on-site. It looked like they hadn't tended the garden in weeks. It just didn't look very nice. Herbs dying, flowers dying. Not really a big deal, but if you're going to add that bit to your service repertoire, tidy up things a bit.

So the good news is that Lidia's can get the wine and mojitos right. The weather was also very beautiful when we left the restaurant, which is another reason why I wish we hadn't had such a bad experience. We enjoyed our last visit, but it's clear someone different is running things now.

The next day I was seriously upset that we had spent that much money for such a lackluster evening. For what we paid for two small courses of food, I could have gone to Houston's, ordered dessert, seen the plaza, filled the car up with $3 gas, and still picked up a half gallon of ice cream on the way home for the next day.

Not going back...

[Dana]

I completely forgot I had started this thread!!! We don't get to Lidia's often, (daughter moved to western KS) but have been a few times, and I'm going back with her next month. So sorry for y'all who have bad experiences there. We've had nothing but a great time with great food every time. I'll report back again in June after our next visit - hopefully with pics.

[moosnsqrl]

I completely forgot I had started this thread!!! We don't get to Lidia's often, (daughter moved to western KS) but have been a few times, and I'm going back with her next month. So sorry for y'all who have bad experiences there. We've had nothing but a great time with great food every time. I'll report back again in June after our next visit - hopefully with pics.

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Dana, I don't know when in June you're going but there are some special events you might want to be aware of (whether to attend or avoid if you just want a normal Lidia's experience). See the Heritage Food tour thread and/or Lidia's website for specifics.

[Dana]

I saw that on her web site. We won't be there till the next week - probably Tuesday. I think Lidia is going to be there over the previous weekend. I would loved to have gotten her to autograph my book(s). Is that a yearly event?

[Zeemanb]

Sorry to hear about anyone having a bad experience at Lidia's. I go there quite a bit, and with the exception of an overcooked veggie or raviolo that have gotten stuck in a big mass on a really busy night, my experiences have usually been outstanding.

Don't think I'll get to make it to any of the upcoming special events, but I DID notice the new menu includes an appetizer with sweetbreads and an entree with chicken livers. I guess I can stop winging stuff at the kitchen staff now.

[chicagowench]

I'm actually relieved to hear of others having poor experiences there. We had two dreadful meals there and haven't been back since (sloppy service, wrong appetizers, overcooked pasta, gristle laden liver), and I was wondering if we'd just hit them on incredibly off nights or what.

[moosnsqrl]

I'm actually relieved to hear of others having poor experiences there.  We had two dreadful meals there and haven't been back since (sloppy service, wrong appetizers, overcooked pasta, gristle laden liver), and I was wondering if we'd just hit them on incredibly off nights or what.

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I'm truly surprised to hear that, cwench! If I had to guess I'd say we've eaten there upward of 100 times in the 8+ years they've been open and I've sent 2 things back (excessively bitter rapini - I know, I know, it's SUPPOSED to be bitter, but...) and some calamari that had gone 1 minute too long and was rubbery. Other than that, my food and all that I've been able to cadge from dining mates - surely amounting to hundreds of dishes in all of that time, have always been impeccable. Just based on my experience, I'd have to call your visits anomalies.

[avant-garde]

I'm actually relieved to hear of others having poor experiences there.  We had two dreadful meals there and haven't been back since (sloppy service, wrong appetizers, overcooked pasta, gristle laden liver), and I was wondering if we'd just hit them on incredibly off nights or what.

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I'm truly surprised to hear that, cwench! If I had to guess I'd say we've eaten there upward of 100 times in the 8+ years they've been open and I've sent 2 things back (excessively bitter rapini - I know, I know, it's SUPPOSED to be bitter, but...) and some calamari that had gone 1 minute too long and was rubbery. Other than that, my food and all that I've been able to cadge from dining mates - surely amounting to hundreds of dishes in all of that time, have always been impeccable. Just based on my experience, I'd have to call your visits anomalies.

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We had good experiences there the first two times we went, which is why we were so excited to go again. But this last one was a stark contrast to those visits. What made me the most upset was that both of our starch items (lentils for me - yukon gold for my wife) were undercooked to the point of not being pleasurable. The soup was very mediocre, too. These chefs should be tasting!

Granted, it's our fault for not sending these items back, but you know, I have a hard time complaining to a server who had nothing to do with it. I also don't feel as though I should have to work to get a good meal. Especially in a place like Lidia's.

Even if they beef up their quality control, they still need to work on value. $28 for a piece of fish, two yukon gold potatoes, and a few strands of onion and tomato is unacceptable. There wasn't even a hint of a sauce. For $28, I would have preferred some asparagus, white truffle oil, or saffron broth. I also would have liked it to be explained that the salad and soup are not part of the entree. Perhaps that is my fault for assuming. But again, value.

[moosnsqrl]

We had good experiences there the first two times we went, which is why we were so excited to go again.  But this last one was a stark contrast to those visits.  What made me the most upset was that both of our starch items (lentils for me - yukon gold for my wife) were undercooked to the point of not being pleasurable.  The soup was very mediocre, too.  These chefs should be tasting! 

Granted, it's our fault for not sending these items back, but you know, I have a hard time complaining to a server who had nothing to do with it.  I also don't feel as though I should have to work to get a good meal.  Especially in a place like Lidia's. 

Even if they beef up their quality control, they still need to work on value.  $28 for a piece of fish, two yukon gold potatoes, and a few strands of onion and tomato is unacceptable. There wasn't even a hint of a sauce.  For $28, I would have preferred some asparagus, white truffle oil, or saffron broth.  I also would have liked it to be explained that the salad and soup are not part of the entree.  Perhaps that is my fault for assuming.  But again, value.

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Agreed - I'm not terribly shy about sending food back if it's improperly prepared, not fresh, etc but I don't feel anyone should have to work for a good meal (plus it throws the whole meal off if you're waiting for replacement food while everyone else is enjoying their foor; although I find you generally get some "sympathy bites" while you're waiting ).

I will encourage Dan or Cody (Exec Chef, Chef de Cuisine) to join us - sounds like they could benefit from hearing some of these things, since I know they are quality conscious. It never hurts to be reminded that every plate going out may be someone's first/only impression of their food.

[Zeemanb]

Wasn't sure whether this belonged in the offal-centric thread or this one, but ANYWAY........

Went to Lidia's Friday night, and the current menu has sweetbreads AND chicken livers. Not exactly an offal-extravaganza, but in this town you take what you can get. The sauteed sweetbread app. comes in a lemon caper sauce with string beans and diced peppers. Quite a big portion of sweetbreads for the money, and they were outstanding. The liver entree is prepared with lightly fried Campo Lindo chicken livers on top of a crispy polenta cake and covered with thinly sliced fried onions. I really love the dish, this is the second time I've had it, but it needs some texture and something acidic to brighten it up a bit. I generally ask for a small plate of tossed greens with vinaigrette to have alongside it.

If you want your sweetbreads on the crispers side or your liver more done than medium rare-ish, do mention that to your server. They serve the dishes exactly how I like them, but I can see where some folks don't like their organ meats on the pinkish side.

[ulterior epicure]

Zeemanb!

Thanks - I had seen the sweetbreads on Lidia's menu and was kind of surprised! Glad to hear you enjoyed them. I'm with you on the "pink." While crispy sweetbreads have their special place - it takes a special person to turn them out well... otherwise you're left with greasy jerky!

u.e.

[ulterior epicure]

For all you tomatoheads out there:

Join Lidia Bastianich for 

our annual

Tomato Dinner 

at Lidia's Kansas City

  Wednesday July 23rd at 6:30 PM

Join Lidia and the staff of Lidia's Kansas City for our annual 

TOMATO DINNER featuring local, organically grown tomatoes.

The dinner is $ 45.00 with an optional wine pairing at $ 25.00 per person.*

Menu:

Heritage Tomato Caprese with Arugula and Grilled Provola

Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup

Malfade alla Brucia with Buffalo Ricotta

Tomato Risotto with Rock Shrimp and Basil

Pork Chop Pizzaiola 

          An assortment of Desserts             

*Tax and gratuity are not included.

Reservations are required.

For more information, call  816-221-3722

It sounds like a fantastic deal. It beats risking Salmonella at the market! (Okay, maybe slightly off-coloured, but true!)

[moosnsqrl]

For all you tomatoheads out there:

Join Lidia Bastianich for 

our annual

Tomato Dinner 

at Lidia's Kansas City

  Wednesday July 23rd at 6:30 PM

Join Lidia and the staff of Lidia's Kansas City for our annual  

TOMATO DINNER featuring local, organically grown tomatoes.

The dinner is $ 45.00 with an optional wine pairing at $ 25.00 per person.*

Menu:

Heritage Tomato Caprese with Arugula and Grilled Provola

Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup

Malfade alla Brucia with Buffalo Ricotta

Tomato Risotto with Rock Shrimp and Basil

Pork Chop Pizzaiola 

           An assortment of Desserts             

*Tax and gratuity are not included.

Reservations are required.

For more information, call  816-221-3722

It sounds like a fantastic deal. It beats risking Salmonella at the market! (Okay, maybe slightly off-coloured, but true!)

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sounds good - with this squirrelly weather, I hope they have ripe tomatoes by then

[chileheadmike]

sounds good - with this squirrelly weather, I hope they have ripe tomatoes by then

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Not to get too off topic, but mine have set fruit and are going freakin nuts right now. They love the squirelly weather. Chiles too.

Edited to fix chilehead's quotes

Edited June 17, 2008 by chileheadmike (log)

[moosnsqrl]

sounds good - with this squirrelly weather, I hope they have ripe tomatoes by then

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Not to get too off topic, but mine have set fruit and are going freakin nuts right now. They love the squirelly weather. Chiles too.

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That's unnatural. Everything is stunted at our place. Guess we'll be eating from your garden this year. Do let me know when you'll be delivering to our neighborhood.

Edited to fix the Chilihead's quotes

Edited June 17, 2008 by moosnsqrl (log)