A very quick post … sharing some photos I snapped on Labor Day morning, about 6:30am on my way back from the gym. Enjoy!
Along 63rd Street
The Roasterie..serving THE BEST lattes in KC.
This one is shooting east over Brush Creek
A shuttlecock at the Nelson-Atkins Museum
What do you love about Brookside? Let me know…email me…or visit my website
When I visit a restaurant, it’s about the food, yes, but it’s also about the atmosphere and service. Being a detail-oriented person, I watch carefully how others handle the details. If a restaurant has real half and half for my coffee…they pay attention to details. If it’s the cheap powdered stuff–that says something too.
So my friend Mic and I ate at the Well this afternoon for lunch. It was tough to choose a menu item, there’s a lot I’d like to try. We ended up getting basically the same thing: half rotisserie turkey sandwich and chicken noodle soup (for him), salad (for me).
$7.99
Our waitress Jennifer was sincere, pleasant, and generally pretty knowledgeable. I asked which salad dressings were made in house–she didn’t know, but thinks the orange pomogranate and ceaser are made on site. I ordered my half salad without shredded cheese–when she served it she actually noticed it had cheese before I had a chance to say anything! That’s rare. She immediately returned it to the kitchen. I did not care for the dressing–finding out later it was ‘fat free’–perhaps I didn’t notice that on the menu. It was very sweet and more like a thin marinade. A warm triangle of seasoned pita bread came with the salad.
The sandwich was good–fresh whole wheat bread (another fine detail) and a good portion size. Mic reported that the chicken soup tasted fresh, with plenty of large chicken chunks and vegetables. Alas, no long noodles…a macaroni noodle which Mic doesn’t care for. However, easier to eat with a spoon.
But it was the fries…oh yes, we had to try the fries! They were hot
and freshly cut and well seasoned and very very good. We split an order at $3 and it was plenty for both of us. Better than the hand cut fries at Murphy’s 10 blocks away? I have to say yes, partly because Murphy’s has gone downhill since it switched from Jake Edwards (that’s another post). Don’t miss the fries at the Well…our knowledgeable waitress also mentioned that menu favorites so far seem to be the pastrami and french dip sandwiches.
After dining I walked up to check out the roof top..and as Mic says, ‘Who doesn’t like a rooftop patio?” He’s so right. The view is of the nearby car wash, Commerce Bank billboard, Wornall Road and the MAX bus park and ride lot. But who cares? It was a comfortable atmosphere with it’s own small bar and a pool table. My next stop will be to check out the happy hour up on the roof.
Final words: on the way to the bathroom, there are several framed photos of old landmarks in Kansas City in the Waldo area. There is a map of the old trolley service–fascinating to stop for a moment and study these pictures. And I was very happy to see a clean bathroom, but with a pesky wall dryer for hand washing and no paper towels.
I can see the Well becoming a local favorite hang out..in part because they pay attention to the details and service. Support locally owned businesses by visiting the Well soon!
I am not a dog lover. I am not a pet lover at all..I can’t even fake petting a dog with enthusiasm. But I can understand the whole ‘my pet is part of the family’ emotion. Lots of my friends have dogs and love ’em like a child. I get it.
However, I have followed with great interest WOOF’s (Well Organized Off Lease Friends) three year quest to get an off leash dog park established in Sunnyside Park at 84th and Summit. Earlier this week the KC Parks and Rec Department once again ruined WOOF’s diligent efforts to get the OK for the park. The Parks and Rec committee, despite the recommendations of a task force that endorsed Sunnyside, voted in new guidelines for off leash parks that effectively exclude Sunnyside. Seven other ‘preferred’ sites were outlined, including one at 83rd and Oak. These new guidelines say, in part, an off leash area should be at least 5 acres. The Sunnyside park would have been approx 3.5 acres. The current KCMO off leash park at Penn Valley park measures….about 3.5 acres ….!!!
Yes, there was some neighborhood opposition to the dog park at Sunnyside. I didn’t hear or read too much reporting about those opposed. I didn’t attend any meetings. But what burns about this three year ordeal is the fact that the citizens put together a plan for the park, obtained funding, organized local support, went through all the proper channels of petitioning the city government, waited through meeting after meeting, commentary, city task forces, etc and kept inching towards their goal despite the roadblocks. They didn’t give up. A citywide task force then issued a report endorsing Sunnyside … and the Parks Dept said NO. It seems to me some sort of compromise could have been reached– a ‘trial’ period for the park at Sunnyside, perhaps–that would have included the WOOF supporters and recognized their efforts.
I don’t know Deb Hipp (buzzword: community organizer!!) but understand she’s giving up the fight. This city needs active, caring citizens like Deb to promote and enhance our neighborhoods and city amenities. A dog park is a city amenity. What has WOOF learned from this experience? That it’s no use trying to ‘fight City Hall” ? Don’t even try if you are the ‘little guy’? I remember recently reading accolades in the Star for a local neighbor who’s cleaning up Hyde Park (at his own expense) and praise for the wealthy Ward family who tends to the Rose Garden in Loose Park. City Hall seems fine with these projects To me, WOOF was trying to do something similar, and patiently went through the defined democratic process to get it done. Now, the leadership is burnt out on the fight and we’ll see how fast the city gets to setting up another dog park at 83rd and Oak. I’m betting it will take more than three years.
A dog park that would have been taken care of and supported by its users, with little or no city funding– even a non dog lover like me sees the value in that.
It’s the hot new spot…The Well in Waldo at 74th and Broadway, just across from the MAX bus stop. Although I haven’t dined there yet, the rooftop is the current place to hang out in the evenings. It looked like half of Waldo was up there having a great time this past Friday and Saturday night.
Stopped by recently to look at the menu ….and find out about happy hour specials. (I’m always on the lookout for a good happy hour deal …like most people, I’m watching my spending these days). Did not linger long at the entree selections, although there are several. I counted 14 sandwich offerings, most priced around $10…and an option of HAND CUT fries for the side dish!
(I love hand cut fries and the best I’ve had are at Murphy’s on Wornall just north of 85th).
There are 10 salad options, and something called ‘cheeseburger soup’ which my older daughter Erin will want to try–cheeseburger is her favorite food. There is a kids menu, lots of TV’s scattered about and a very lllloooonnngggg bar. But the hot spot is the top and I”m looking forward to the view from above. The Well is open seven days a week.
And what about the happy hour specials? Not just yet, the bartender says, maybe next week.
Have you tried The Well? If so, leave your comments!
Inside Brookside (And Waldo) 