Zest is located at 10681 Mission Road, Leawood, KS 66206
Cross Street: Mission Rd. & 106th, (913) 381-5678
Owned by Joe DiGiovanni and Mike Schreiber, Zest promises to be a refreshing new arrival on the Johnson County restaurant scene. You may recognize Joe from Joe D’s Wine Bar in Brookside. He has finally returned to the restaurant business and with his long-time friend Mike promises to deliver another great eating venue.
We were invited to a friends and family night at Zest on 11/18, prior to its opening on Monday 11/24. The décor is unique and while modern it manages a warm comfortable feeling. The stainless steel accents and bar trim are warmed up with tile and wood and a pleasing paint scheme. The effect is upscale, trendy, friendly and eclectic – just like Joe.
The menu is amazing. It truly has something for everyone. It is very kid friendly while offering a wide variety of choices for any palate. The prices are very low compared to anywhere else we have been when comparing Zest to other restaurants of its caliber. Seriously, the most you can pay for an entrée is $25.00. Of course you can get the caviar appetizer for $90.00, but you can also get a ¼ lb. hot dog with shoestring fries for $7.00.
Since it was pre-opening they were serving a taste list of full servings from the menu. Our first dish was the creamy baked brie & artichoke dip with spinach. Smooth, rich and so flavorful I actually finished it with my spoon when we ran out of crackers. Next was the chili con carne Kline. Mrs. Secret Eater loves chili so I didn’t get much but it was very meaty, somewhat spicy and had a homemade flavor that you just don’t find very often. Our entrees were the grilled boneless ribeye and the garlic and Romano coated shrimp. I’m normally not a big fan of ribeyes but this was the best I have ever tasted. Thick, done perfectly at medium rare, enough fat to make it flavorful and almost as tender as a filet – unbelievable. I would go back just for that. The garlic Romano shrimp was served over linguini and roasted tomatoes tossed in a garlic white wine butter sauce. The shrimp were perfectly sautéed and the pasta had to be cooked one portion at a time to be text book al dente on a night with a crowd that size. I am in love with chef Eric Ekard’s garlic white wine butter sauce.
We have been to openings & pre-openings before & there is always the expected lack of coordination between the servers, the kitchen and the hostesses. Not this night, not at Joe’s. He believes in hiring right & it shows. With an enormous and continuous crowd of people the staff handled themselves professionally and were attentive without being annoying. I especially liked a hostess walking up to us and inviting us to be seated. How did they do that with a capacity crowd? We waited about 45 minutes or so which we expected due to the crowd and she still found us. I love that touch. No disruptive announcements, none of those stupid little flashing vibrators that so many technophiles are in love with. Just old fashioned service. What a concept.
Joe & Mike will be wildly successful with Zest. Joe has brought his desire, experience and attention to perfection into focus and Mike is the perfect counterpart. If you were ever at Joe D’s before Joe sold it you know what this means. Mike was a fixture there and now he brings his warm friendly character as an owner. A restaurant is the ultimate culmination of the owners’ personalities. Zest is Joe D’s at a whole new level. We are headed back as soon as possible.
Next time I will talk about the wine list. There simply isn’t enough room today.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Taste Restaurant Overland Park, KS
Taste is in the same location as Tonic at 7938 Santa Fe Drive in Old Overland Park. My understanding is the former executive chef, Johnathon Dallen, bought Tonic and has re-opened it as Taste. As you might expect, the menu seems about the same as Tonic’s. The menu is moderately priced with the entrees between $14 and $35.
Mrs. Secret Eater & I had dinner there on Friday 10/17. The restaurant was not crowded at 7:30 but was rather noisy.
We started with a bottle of wine which leads me to the strange wine list. By strange I mean there are many red wine selections in the under $40 category which is good except that the wines are kind of mundane. Lots of common stuff like Blackstone, Coppola and Rancho Zabaco. People get tired of the same old things you see everywhere. The whites suffer the same fate. The cabs are limited and jump from $38 to $68 with nothing in between. Then there are two Bordeaux style blends at $90 and $210. With all of the great wines available today it is very easy to build a strong list with exciting selections in all price categories.
We ordered an appetizer from an extensive menu called First Tastes. There are some exciting sounding dishes on this list. We had the Bruschetta with mozzarella and tomato salad with balsamic reduction. It was good but the toast was so over toasted it crumbled in our hands. The balsamic reduction was used very sparingly but added a rich dimension to the salad.
For dinner we both had the Peppercorn Crusted KC Strip. This was supposed to be pan seared and served with a peppercorn and port wine sauce. Unfortunately it was not crusted with peppercorns, there was no sauce present and I couldn’t find any evidence of pan searing. It was kind of grey on the outside, fatty and somewhat tough. Due to the texture my first thought was it may have been frozen. The grilled asparagus and herb whipped potatoes were ok but nothing special.
Service at the bar was good but at the table I had to ask for water and ask for the fantastic filo “breadsticks” which were the highlight of the meal.
Maybe this was an off night but we had a very similar experience at Tonic not long after it opened. Restaurant competition being what it is in Johnson County a new place has to create a following quickly with great food and a solid dining experience then maintain that with consistency. I think Taste is probably a good neighborhood bar but the restaurant needs work.
The Secret Eater
Mrs. Secret Eater & I had dinner there on Friday 10/17. The restaurant was not crowded at 7:30 but was rather noisy.
We started with a bottle of wine which leads me to the strange wine list. By strange I mean there are many red wine selections in the under $40 category which is good except that the wines are kind of mundane. Lots of common stuff like Blackstone, Coppola and Rancho Zabaco. People get tired of the same old things you see everywhere. The whites suffer the same fate. The cabs are limited and jump from $38 to $68 with nothing in between. Then there are two Bordeaux style blends at $90 and $210. With all of the great wines available today it is very easy to build a strong list with exciting selections in all price categories.
We ordered an appetizer from an extensive menu called First Tastes. There are some exciting sounding dishes on this list. We had the Bruschetta with mozzarella and tomato salad with balsamic reduction. It was good but the toast was so over toasted it crumbled in our hands. The balsamic reduction was used very sparingly but added a rich dimension to the salad.
For dinner we both had the Peppercorn Crusted KC Strip. This was supposed to be pan seared and served with a peppercorn and port wine sauce. Unfortunately it was not crusted with peppercorns, there was no sauce present and I couldn’t find any evidence of pan searing. It was kind of grey on the outside, fatty and somewhat tough. Due to the texture my first thought was it may have been frozen. The grilled asparagus and herb whipped potatoes were ok but nothing special.
Service at the bar was good but at the table I had to ask for water and ask for the fantastic filo “breadsticks” which were the highlight of the meal.
Maybe this was an off night but we had a very similar experience at Tonic not long after it opened. Restaurant competition being what it is in Johnson County a new place has to create a following quickly with great food and a solid dining experience then maintain that with consistency. I think Taste is probably a good neighborhood bar but the restaurant needs work.
The Secret Eater
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