Tomfooleries (Northern Kansas City)

[moosnsqrl]

I just returned from Zona Rosa and I think they misnamed it. I imagine it was intended to evoke the area of the same name in Mexico City but it reminds me more of Zona Dolorosa. Some former colleagues were taking me to lunch and Tomfooleries was the only non-chain place in that area we could think of (I had an errand nearby); yes, I know there is one on the Plaza but I think that's all and it was, at least originally, local investors so it 'passes' in my dictionary .

They ordered things I wasn't interested in tasting so I can only report on my own lunch. I would strongly discourage anyone from ordering the Tuna Kahuna. Actually, if you could get the Kahuna sans tuna, it wouldn't be bad. That fish hadn't seen water since the continents drifted apart.

[Zeemanb]

HA! HA! HA! HA! Oh I'm so glad to see someone else get suckered into venturing into Zona Rosa! That place is like Hell's waiting room! God it would have been worth going just to see the look on your face!

The ultimate irony, and this is not nearly as funny, is that you were just a stone's throw from In-A-Tub.

That's kind of a rough spot if you're wanting to avoid chain restaurants. The highway is flanked on both sides by pretty much all of them. Back over near the big Lowe's store is a Houlihan's.

Oh my God, lunch at Zona Rosa on a beautiful Friday afternoon. It's going to take you a while to shake THAT one off. Man that's rich.

Oh I'm sure I'll pay for my laughter at your expense later, but it will be worth it.

Try not to let your buddies talk you into Rockfest next weekend instead of the Italian Fest right across the street.

[chileheadmike]

Zona Rosa does this mean "All things to all people"?. I hear they're going to replicate the Bamboo Hut up there next.

Edited June 2, 2006 by chileheadmike (log)

[moosnsqrl]

HA! HA! HA! HA!  Oh I'm so glad to see someone else get suckered into venturing into Zona Rosa!  That place is like Hell's waiting room!  God it would have been worth going just to see the look on your face!

The ultimate irony, and this is not nearly as funny, is that you were just a stone's throw from In-A-Tub. 

That's kind of a rough spot if you're wanting to avoid chain restaurants.  The highway is flanked on both sides by pretty much all of them.  Back over near the big Lowe's store is a Houlihan's.

Oh my God, lunch at Zona Rosa on a beautiful Friday afternoon.  It's going to take you a while to shake THAT one off.  Man that's rich. 

Oh I'm sure I'll pay for my laughter at your expense later, but it will be worth it.

Try not to let your buddies talk you into Rockfest next weekend instead of the Italian Fest right across the street.

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Glad I could brighten your day. Hell's waiting room pretty much captures it alright. And they have some serious traffic engineering issues. It took as long to exit off Prairie View onto Barry Road as it took to age my tuna. Actually maybe that's what happened to it - maybe it was fresh when it started its voyage and was 'off' by the time the delivery guy could get through Dante's ninth circle to drop it off. God I hope the Briarcliff area where Tim Doolittle's new place is going to be is better-conceived.

[ulterior epicure]

I just returned from Zona Rosa and I think they misnamed it...

You weren't the only eGulleter in that black hole of a district today... while you were surfin' the dry shores of "Kahuna," I was browsin' the binds at Barnes.

I'm goin' to back up Zeemanb on "In A Tub" - total hole in a wall grease pit - but dang good tacos - my favorite in the Northland.

u.e.

[MarketStEl]

Zona Rosa received passing mention in a Wall Street Journal feature on the growing phenomenon of "New Urbanist" shopping centers--shopping centers designed around a street rather than an enclosed mall, with housing on top of the stores. It appears that there is some of this at Zona Rosa, though I sure didn't see anything that looked like that on the drive in from MCI. Maybe it's on the side of the project that's away from I-29?

Since someone brought up Houlihan's: So what's at the site of the original "Houlihan's Old Place" these days? (I heard it closed not long after that devastating Brush Creek flood back in '77.)

[dividend]

I work right up I-29 from Zona Rosa. In my opinion, Tomfooleries is an ok place to go for a drink after work with my co-workers, if I can't drag them down to one of my favorite bars in Westport. Nothing much sets it apart from the generic bar 'n' grills that dot the landscape up here. As for Zona Rosa itself, the first time I drove into there, I was immediately struck by how much it felt like Disney World - some bizarre combination of Main Street, USA, and that fake movie set backdrop that looks like a city street. Creepy. I feel the same kind of anxiety there as I get walking through Oak Park Mall. I think it must appeal to people who are attracted to new places they are already familiar with. My best friend's mother moved up to Tiffany Greens recently from the middle of Johnson county, and she loves Zona Rosa. She thinks that people from down south will flock to it because it's "like the Plaza, only in much safer part of town."

And yeah, dining options up here are pretty limited. I mostly hit up Chipotle or Panera on those rare occasions when I forget my lunch and can't stomach a burger from our Aramark cafeteria. I may have to give In A Tub a try - it's hard to tell which of the quirky strip mall restaurants are worth trying, and which are a waste of time, and that's not one I would have picked based on it's name. And there are alot of crappy places to spend your restaurant dollar up here.

[Zeemanb]

I may have to give In A Tub a try - it's hard to tell which of the quirky strip mall restaurants are worth trying, and which are a waste of time, and that's not one I would have picked based on it's name. 

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In-A-Tub is worth checking out, BUT I don't know if I'd go there and expect to get any work done for the rest of the day. Their tacos are total grease bombs. I mean that in the best way possible, they just have the tendency to hit your system like a big valium. I think everything on the menu with the exception of the loose meat sandwiches is deep fried. Oh, and they only take cash.

It's not in the immediate area by Zona Rosa, but LC's Hamburgers farther south on Prairie View Road (in the same parking lot as Pizza Hut, Sun Fresh, etc.) is great if you're looking for a good burger at lunchtime.

Across the highway, over near Yankee Candle, I believe I spotted a Planet Sub. If you're in the mood for a toasted "Quizno's" style sub, that's always a good option.

My parents are really into Mimi's up in ZR for breakfast, so I meet them there from time to time on the weekend. The food is pretty good, there's a huge breakfast selection and the service is adequate. The secret is getting there before all the other businesses open up, but even then it's out on the fringe of ZR so a couple of traffic lights and you're free.

Edited June 5, 2006 by Zeemanb (log)

[moosnsqrl]

I work right up I-29 from Zona Rosa.  In my opinion, Tomfooleries is an ok place to go for a drink after work with my co-workers, if I can't drag them down to one of my favorite bars in Westport.  Nothing much sets it apart from the generic bar 'n' grills that dot the landscape up here.  As for Zona Rosa itself, the first time I drove into there, I was immediately struck by how much it felt like Disney World - some bizarre combination of Main Street, USA, and that fake movie set backdrop that looks like a city street.  Creepy.  I feel the same kind of anxiety there as I get walking through Oak Park Mall.  I think it must appeal to people who are attracted to new places they are already familiar with.  My best friend's mother moved up to Tiffany Greens recently from the middle of Johnson county, and she loves Zona Rosa.  She thinks that people from down south will flock to it because it's "like the Plaza, only in much safer part of town."   

And yeah, dining options up here are pretty limited.  I mostly hit up Chipotle or Panera on those rare occasions when I forget my lunch and can't stomach a burger from our Aramark cafeteria.  I may have to give In A Tub a try - it's hard to tell which of the quirky strip mall restaurants are worth trying, and which are a waste of time, and that's not one I would have picked based on it's name.  And there are alot of crappy places to spend your restaurant dollar up here.

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Welcome, Dividend! I see you've been online for a few weeks but I'm afraid this is the first I've noticed. Great to have you.

In some apparent form of self-flagellation, I seem to find myself in one of the twilight zones everyday. I think it's some kind of penance for not working for a while. Whatever the motivation, I found myself on the 119th corridor a couple of hours ago. Now I fully appreciate Z's comment about the mirror-image affect between ZR and that area (whatever it is called). I still haven't felt the need to subject myself to the 151st area. I'll have to work up a lot more guilt about slothfulness before subjecting myself to that. Your comments about 'a new place to go that seems familiar' and the Disney/Main St/movie set facade are spot-on and I'm afraid I know Oak Park syndrome well enough that I got a vague queasiness reading your post.

It looks like the KC population on eG is tipping northward, with Z's and UE's relocations and your work location. Surely there's something up there that won't cause some kind of coma (whether boredom- or grease-induced). Happy hunting.

And I'll sign-off with the standard apology to Katie for dissing her hood. Maybe I should just make it part of my tagline.

[Zeemanb]

Unless anyone can list some very bad experiences there, I think Ixtapa on Barry Rd. (directly across from the gates of Hell) is going to be my next Northland stop. A brief look at their menu shows several seafood dishes, as well as huitlacoche quesadillas. Several family members and some of my friends are going crazy for Abuelo's over in ZR, so it would be nice to find a good locally owned option for Mexican right across the street. I did go to Abuelo's once, and other than chile rellenos that have actual heat and flavor, I really don't see what the long lines are all about. Maybe it's the humongous portions, they do have those.

[Katie Nell]

I work right up I-29 from Zona Rosa.  In my opinion, Tomfooleries is an ok place to go for a drink after work with my co-workers, if I can't drag them down to one of my favorite bars in Westport.  Nothing much sets it apart from the generic bar 'n' grills that dot the landscape up here.  As for Zona Rosa itself, the first time I drove into there, I was immediately struck by how much it felt like Disney World - some bizarre combination of Main Street, USA, and that fake movie set backdrop that looks like a city street.  Creepy.  I feel the same kind of anxiety there as I get walking through Oak Park Mall.  I think it must appeal to people who are attracted to new places they are already familiar with.  My best friend's mother moved up to Tiffany Greens recently from the middle of Johnson county, and she loves Zona Rosa.  She thinks that people from down south will flock to it because it's "like the Plaza, only in much safer part of town."     

And yeah, dining options up here are pretty limited.  I mostly hit up Chipotle or Panera on those rare occasions when I forget my lunch and can't stomach a burger from our Aramark cafeteria.  I may have to give In A Tub a try - it's hard to tell which of the quirky strip mall restaurants are worth trying, and which are a waste of time, and that's not one I would have picked based on it's name.  And there are alot of crappy places to spend your restaurant dollar up here.

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Welcome, Dividend! I see you've been online for a few weeks but I'm afraid this is the first I've noticed. Great to have you.

In some apparent form of self-flagellation, I seem to find myself in one of the twilight zones everyday. I think it's some kind of penance for not working for a while. Whatever the motivation, I found myself on the 119th corridor a couple of hours ago. Now I fully appreciate Z's comment about the mirror-image affect between ZR and that area (whatever it is called). I still haven't felt the need to subject myself to the 151st area. I'll have to work up a lot more guilt about slothfulness before subjecting myself to that. Your comments about 'a new place to go that seems familiar' and the Disney/Main St/movie set facade are spot-on and I'm afraid I know Oak Park syndrome well enough that I got a vague queasiness reading your post.

It looks like the KC population on eG is tipping northward, with Z's and UE's relocations and your work location. Surely there's something up there that won't cause some kind of coma (whether boredom- or grease-induced). Happy hunting.

And I'll sign-off with the standard apology to Katie for dissing her hood. Maybe I should just make it part of my tagline.

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Yes, welcome dividend... nice to see new faces, or at least new names!!

Moosnsqrl, (you have one of the hardest names to type, at least for me!) you may have to add cwench to your apology list too!

In all serious though, I think there are bad parts and good parts to anywhere you live... you just have to decide what matters to you most. Myself, I like that I only have a 5-minute drive to work, (among other aspects) or better yet, a 5-minute drive to get my happy-ass out of my boring job and home!! And it's not like I can't visit other areas of KC, and we do, often! You take the bad with the good, no matter where you are! But, hey, I'm from Topeka, so I know all about that!

[chicagowench]

Katie Nell and I will simply have to form a posse, moosnsqrl.

I'm sorry, I'm still coming to terms with

My best friend's mother moved up to Tiffany Greens recently from the middle of Johnson county, and she loves Zona Rosa. She thinks that people from down south will flock to it because it's "like the Plaza, only in much safer part of town."

Somehow, I don't think burned out shells of buildings, rampant drug dealing, and intermittent gunfire when I think of the Plaza. But, um, topic. I'm starting to travel enough (and find myself out by MCI with time to kill often enough) that I'm compiling a list of good places to grab a quick meal.

[MarketStEl]

Somehow, I don't think burned out shells of buildings, rampant drug dealing, and intermittent gunfire when I think of the Plaza.

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Burned-out shells of buildings? Rampant drug dealing? Intermittent gunfire?

Sounds like my part of town. (Gertrude Stein's famous quote applies to my boyhood home: "There's no there there." I had heard that it had fallen into the hands of a drug gang from my brother, who now lives in Seattle, and I had also heard that it had been torched by a rival gang a couple of years ago in a dispute over territory or something like that, but I still wasn't prepared for the weed-covered lot where 4138 Bellefontaine Avenue once stood. Actually, the block I grew up on is in okay shape--minus my house and one other--and the across-the-street neighbors, whose house is still neat as a pin, tell me the block has been very quiet since the dealers were burned out of it. The neighborhood is still lower-middle/middle-class black and looks much like it did when I left it for good in 1976.)

But I don't think of that stuff when I think of the Plaza either. You never can tell what crazy notions can enter the heads of suburbanites whose impressions of the Big Bad City are formed largely by what they see on TV, though.

Okay, back off my soapbox to ask again what's in Houlihan's Old Place's old place. Dividend: Wanna talk instant urbanism? PM me. That sort of stuff I love to eat up (see my foodblog).

[joiei]

I am thoroughly enjoying these mental images of the Plaza as a little Beirut.

[chileheadmike]

I took my oldest daughter to In-a-Tub a few months back. Dang near needed to pack a lunch to get there from South Olathe. She wouldn't touch any of the food. Said the place was "creepy". She didn't like the orange cheese powder much either. I tried to explain that the OCP combines with the greese to form cheese. Alchemy. She still wouldn't go for it. Kids

I can't wait to get back.

[dividend]

Somehow, I don't think burned out shells of buildings, rampant drug dealing, and intermittent gunfire when I think of the Plaza.

I am thoroughly enjoying these mental images of the Plaza as a little Beirut.

I almost spit coffee on my monitor when I read these replies. Hanging out here could become a technical hazard as well as putting a dent in my productivity.

The stereotypes held by people from various parts of this city about other parts of the city never cease to amaze me. Ditto for the amazing diversity of food (and food related) offerings. I've found gems in places my JoCo friends are afraid to go, but had equally great food adventures in the middle of strip mall hell. (None so far in Zona Rosa though )

Thanks for the welcome guys. I'm happy to have found a group of like-minded, food-obsessed people - particularly ones who can appreciate the everyday absurdities that make me laugh.

[moosnsqrl]

(Gertrude Stein's famous quote applies to my boyhood home: "There's no there there.

I've been mistakenly attributing that to Marshall McLuhan for years.

"Okay, back off my soapbox to ask again what's in Houlihan's Old Place's old place.  Dividend: Wanna talk instant urbanism?  PM me.  That sort of stuff I love to eat up (see my foodblog).

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I wasn't ignoring your question, just couldn't remember. It's difficult to tell from the map I just looked at but I *think* it's the California Pizza Kitchen. Anyone know for sure? I'm donning my kevlar and heading that way to meet someone at 5:30 - if no one has confirmed or refuted by the time I leave I'll swing by there.

[chicagowench]

I'm pretty sure it's CPK. Joy.

Hey, Katie Nell! Did you see that? moosnsqrl on the plaza around 5:30. Get the minivan and the giant handbag, we'll administer a Joco beatdown.

[moosnsqrl]

I'm pretty sure it's CPK.  Joy.

Hey, Katie Nell! Did you see that?  moosnsqrl on the plaza around 5:30.  Get the minivan and the giant handbag, we'll administer a Joco beatdown.

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Bring it on, 'Wench(es)! You'd better hope for my safe return, now that you're on record as having issued a threat.

[Big Country]

I'm pretty sure it's CPK.  Joy.

Hey, Katie Nell! Did you see that?  moosnsqrl on the plaza around 5:30.  Get the minivan and the giant handbag, we'll administer a Joco beatdown.

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Bring it on, 'Wench(es)! You'd better hope for my safe return, now that you're on record as having issued a threat.

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It'll take more than two JoCo Ladies To bring it to a Woman from Bonner!!! Go WYCO!!!!!!

[ulterior epicure]

... I moved here for this? Shees, I leave eGullet Heartland for a day and look what it's turned into!

u.e.

[moosnsqrl]

It'll take more than two JoCo Ladies To bring it to a Woman from Bonner!!!   Go WYCO!!!!!!   

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While I appreciate your vote of confidence, I fear it is misplaced. I am a rather recent transplant and don't actually live there, although it is my mailing address. I'll do my best not to let you down, though

[Katie Nell]

I'm pretty sure it's CPK.  Joy.

Hey, Katie Nell! Did you see that?  moosnsqrl on the plaza around 5:30.  Get the minivan and the giant handbag, we'll administer a Joco beatdown.

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Bring it on, 'Wench(es)! You'd better hope for my safe return, now that you're on record as having issued a threat.

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It'll take more than two JoCo Ladies To bring it to a Woman from Bonner!!! Go WYCO!!!!!!

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I may be little, but I'm feisty!!

And you obviously don't know us JoCo ladies and our handbags... we pack a mighty punch... what with our cell phones, lipsticks, powder, mp3 players, pepper spray for those times when we visit the war zone better known as the Plaza... the list goes on and on!!

[ulterior epicure]

And you obviously don't know us JoCo ladies and our handbags... we pack a mighty punch... what with our cell phones, lipsticks, powder, mp3 players, pepper spray for those times when we visit the war zone better known as the Plaza... the list goes on and on!!  

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...this thread has become about tomfoolery in more than one sense!

Katie Nell, I'm sure us Northlanders could easily distract you with a nice thick slice of something sweet topped off with some kind of frozen cream! As for wench, we could just repel you by chucking peppers and eggplants at you!

We may be poor and unsophisticated, but we ain't dumb!

u.e.

Edited June 6, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)

[Katie Nell]

And you obviously don't know us JoCo ladies and our handbags... we pack a mighty punch... what with our cell phones, lipsticks, powder, mp3 players, pepper spray for those times when we visit the war zone better known as the Plaza... the list goes on and on!!  

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Katie Nell, I'm sure us Northlanders could easily distract you with a nice thick slice of something sweet topped off with some kind of frozen cream!

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Touché! You know the way to my heart!