The Gaf

A quaint Irish pub.You know the type someone named Shamus boiling pork in the back . But what makes them special was the Curry Fries. No that's not my bad Chinese accent ordering at Arby's. I said Curry Fries - now listen up Voltron, they take delicious lightly  salted  fresh cut fries and add a bowl of curry sauce for dipping. Sweet with a little zing.  As Connie Chung once said "Maury these fries are making me moist." We also tried the loaded fries but they ruined the fries by adding too much gloop on them. Thats right I said gloop- Cheese,bacon,sour cream, one of shamus' fingers. So stick to the curry fries and have a pint on me.
3 spoons.

Gates BBQ

Yes, I know, its a Kansas City institution. That doesn't make it good.
I haven't been to Gates in years, and when a buddy wanted to go there for lunch, I gave an inner groan. Don't get me wrong, I always used Gates as a control if you will, when it comes to KC BBQ. Somewhere in the middle. The meat's okay, the sauce is so-so. Everybody else is either better or worse.
We went to the "original" location at 1325 East Emanuel Cleaver Blvd. It was clean and I didn't get yelled out immediately when I came in. Good start. The menu's a bit confusing for the uninitiated, and Gates has a long tradition of the ladies behind the counter screaming "MAY I HELP YOU?!!!!"
I ordered a beef sandwich, BECAUSE THERE WERE NO BURNT ENDS. No burnt ends at a BBQ place. Yes, they have them at other locations, but really?
$11. That's what I paid for a sandwich and a drink. No sides. $11.
My friends that ordered sides walked out paying almost $20. Twenty bucks for so-so BBQ? To quote Rudy Ray Moore, "Bitch, are you for real?"
The dining room was clean, the server very attentive and helpful. The food was, as I hoped against all hope being great, was just okay. There were a few other customers. I remember when the place was packed, but now that I know it's almost $20 to eat lunch, I understand why people aren't flooding in. I don't pay that much at a decent sit down restaurant.
2 spoons. That's all.

Chappell's

Someone should call the police because someone stole all the flavor out of this place.
A friend told me this is his go to place to take his  wife. I'm guessing  they  sleep with a sheet in-between them.  Wow don't go here.Walking in we were very impress of all the scratch up vintage football helmets adorning the ceiling. A warm cozy fire inviting us to sit and order some comfort food. Homemade mac and cheese anyone? How about (as they claim)  the best burger in town served on an english muffin with bacon? How can you go wrong with that? No seriously,  how can you mess that up it. The fries were even bad. It was like eating with a sock on my tongue. We saw the owner hanging out in the restaurant  I just wanted to shake him and yell "why  dear god why?"

Lonnie Ray's BBQ (Harrisburg, MO)

This was not the usual Greasy Spooners expedition. A group of guys I went to high school with, all piled into a Tahoe and drove 2 hours outside KC to Lonnie Ray's in Harrisburg, MO. Why, you ask? Well, the owner of Lonnie Ray's is Mike Whitely and a friend to most of us for 30+ years, but Mike has been off the radar so to speak since high school. So, once we found him, we had to make the trip to get caught up, and eat some BBQ.
Harrisburg is about 20 minutes north of Columbia, and the crossroads that make up the town center consists of a general store, a Lion's club hall, and Mike's place. We walked in, Mike greeted us, and set us up with some of the best BBQ I've had. I'm a native Kcer, so it's in our blood to know BBQ. We started off with pulled pork and two sauces, one hot and one sweet. I'm not a big sweet sauce guy but really like this one.
Then came the brisket, which was gorgeous and delicious. Beautiful smoke ring, and fall apart good. This was followed by ribs, a pork steak and some of the best home made tamales ever. I'm definitely going to make this a yearly pilgrimage. If you're ever on the way to St. Louis or Columbia from KC (or vice versa) make the 15 minute trip north of I-70 to Lonnie Rays.
Food: 5 Spoons
Kitch: 4 spoons (even had a picture of the now demolished 40 Hiway drive-in, which used to show porn after 3am)
Locale: 1 (wish it was closer)

Me, Dan, Andy, Mike (the owner) Ken and Brian

40 Hiway Drive-In

GrandStand Burgers

We all had high hopes for this one, it looked like the perfect greasyspooner establishment. But dreams were shattered at what I am about to say. The signature burger "The Kelly" a cheese burger with a slice of Ham and bacon. I don't believe I'm about to write this but... Having a ham steak on top of your burger does not add anything it just gets in the way and makes it hard to eat.....( I know I didn't believe it either,  -holding back a tear) Bacon is all you ever need so stop it people.  The rings were OK but the fries were a joke -crinkle cut crap. The best thing going for this place was the hand dipped malt and the over the top christian quotes on the walls. God damn it I really wanted to like this place.    -    2 spoons.

Saturday addition-Courthouse Exchange

I was up at the historic Independence square for the opening of their holiday season and stopped into one of my favorite places, the Courthouse Exchange. This place is in the basement, ala Cheers, acroos from, what else?-the courthouse. It's known for it's comfort food, open faced roast beef sandwich, hearty soups, etc. But, I found they added a whole section of mac-and-cheese dishes. Macaroni and cheese top with: bar-b-que pork, or chili, or other things. I had to have the chili-mac. Mmmm-mmm!
They've also added chicken and waffles, too. Well worth the trip to the heart of Indy.
3.5 spoons

The Well

The Pitch awarded The Well in Waldo for best hamburger for 2009. I beg to differ my dear. Its a great atmosphere - dining on a beautiful sunny day on the roof with a pool table but the burgers were only average. Plus they were too sweet. I love caramelized onions but it distracted from the flavor of the burger.   The  fries were good - fresh cut and  I like the socks all the waitress wear. Points for the  chili , which tasted like it was straight out of a high school cafeteria (and we mean that in a good way).  Go there to drink and for the view skip the meal. At least Blanc Burger didnt win this year.

2.5 Spoons