Food Critics: The Best Guilty Pleasures In Kansas City

When it comes to food, everyone has a guilty pleasure.

According to KCUR Food Critic Jenny Vergara, it may be something that’s full of fat and calories. Or it could be a retro throwback (like spinach artichoke dip) or a childhood favorite.

It could also be something that you like but everyone else thinks is gross (who else mixed Hawaiian Punch and milk? Anyone?). Or maybe it's that one dish from a chain restaurant that you crave.

“It’s just something you love to eat,” Vergara told host Gina Kaufmann on KCUR’s Central Standard. “You really just enjoy the pleasure of eating something. That’s really what a guilty pleasure is to me.”

Vergara, along with Food Critics Charles Ferruzza and Mary Bloch, searched out the best guilty pleasures in and around Kansas City.

Here are their recommendations:

Mary Bloch, Around the Block:

• Blvd Tavern — burger and fries. The burger has Wiebe Dairy cheddar, bacon, red wine shallot jam, peppercorn mayo, pretzel bun.
• Genessee Royale Bistro — classic cheeseburger. Not fancy, but perfectly executed.With cheddar, Bibb lettuce, roasted tomatoes and red onion on a soft bun.
• Q39 — burnt ends burger. It’s a brisket burger topped with burnt ends, spicy pickle slaw and classic sauce. With French fries, of course.
• Café Europa — Reuben and fries.
• Happy Gillis — Cuban sandwich.
• Pigwich — Cuban sandwich. Comes with homemade chips, to add a layer of indulgence.
• Betty Rae's — ice cream. To me, real ice cream is the ultimate guilty pleasure. No frozen yogurt, no low-fat, and Betty Rae’s fits the bill. I always go for anything involving coffee ice cream, which they make with Thou Mayest coffee.
• Princess Garden — a full-on feast. Hunan egg rolls, crab Rangoon, steamed dumplings, Szechuan noodles, dry cooked chicken with pancakes and harvest vegetables with fried rice.
• Port Fonda — el comedor pork butt dinner. It includes street corn, rice, beans, salsas and corn tortillas.

Jenny Vergara, Feast Magazine:

• Songbird Café — The Digger. Shamrock Shakes are a childhood favorite of mine back when I ate at McDonalds. The month of March is the only time you’ll find me through its drive-thru. When I can no longer get them at McDonalds, I get a similar fix from The Digger. It is a raw cashew vanilla shake with fresh mint, kale and organic cacao nibs. It is more like a mint chocolate shake, but it fills the void. Not every guilty pleasure has to be a calorie bomb.
• Sierra Grill — cheeseburger. When you crave one of these, simply nothing else will do. My favorite cheeseburger at the moment is the one chef Ryan Edwards makes at his new restaurant; it’s a half-pound burger, an all-beef patty that’s perfectly grilled. It comes with cheddar cheese on top and is served on a buttery toasted brioche bun with a housemade pickle spear. It is simple. It is juicy. It is unadorned. It is perfection. They don’t have French fries and you don’t need them. The juice from the meat runs down your arm when you bite into it. I put a little Dijon mustard on mine and ate every bite.
• Brady’s Public House — French fries. Fries are their own separate food group; I could eat them just as my meal. My favorite right now; they’re hand-cut, curry-dusted fries that chef Shaun Brady serves with a curry lime aioli that I am addicted to.
• Minsky’s Pizza. Pizza is really my true love over all of my guilty pleasures. I like either their straight-up pepperoni pizza or, if I am feeling fancy, I get the Tostada, their Mexican pizza. It’s hamburger or chicken with a spicy refried bean sauce, topped with Monterey Jack and cheddar, lettuce, red onions and tomatoes and served with side of salsa. It is basically a Mexican pizza, so maybe that qualifies for two guilty pleasures in one.
• Fric & Frac — hard-shell tacos. Hard-shell tacos are not something I would normally cop to eating, but I do enjoy them. I’ve heard them referred to as “mom tacos” because they are just like the ones that came out of the Old El Paso taco kits that our moms used to make for us for dinner. The best mom tacos in the city are here; they’re 3 for $3 on Saturdays only. They have the traditional hard shell, loaded with ground beef, topped with cheddar cheese, chilled iceberg lettuce and chopped tomatoes.
• Corn dogs. I cannot go to a festival or fair of any kind and not find myself searching for the foot-long corn dog booth. At Boulevardia every year, I have a Boulevard Beer in one hand and a giant foot-long corn dog smeared with mustard in the other. Sonic also sells smaller versions, which will do in a pinch.
• Pretzel Boy's — soft pretzels. Between Royals games, Oktoberfest and trips to the mall, I eat my fair share of soft pretzels. This is my new favorite. It is a made-from-scratch place that originally started in St. Louis but makes the hand-twisted soft pretzels that are found in Philadelphia. I get them with spicy brown mustard or jalapeno cheese sauce.

Charles Ferruzza, 435 Magazine:

• Humdinger Drive-In — triple cheeseburger with a chocolate milkshake. Guilty is an understatement at the 55-year-old restaurant. Forget fries; get a small order of deep-fried shrimp instead.
• The Farmhouse — biscuits & gravy. They’re not bad at Winstead’s or a dozen other places in KC, but this diner classic is an extraordinary morning dish at The Farmhouse. The quality of the ingredients and the masterful preparation takes this dish to a new level.
• André’s Confiserie Suisse — The Matterhorn. A pastry I dream about; it’s ridiculously rich and fattening. The Matterhorn has long been one of the best-selling signature sweets at André’s. The base of the pastry is a crisp butter cookie, and it's piled high with a combination of chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream whipped together until light and fluffy, then dipped in rich chocolate fondant.
• Classic Cookie — herbed potato and sausage casserole. I try to stick to granola or oatmeal in the mornings if I’m dieting, but they’re so boring. What I really want (and occasionally order) is this.

Listener recommendations:

• Jerry's Café — the Big Al. Texas toast, corned beef hash, hash browns, eggs, and American cheese, all smothered in sausage gravy. I have to get a half size because the full is too much, but it's soooo good! Great hangover cure.
• Town Topic — Truckstop Omelet.
• Town Topic — Haystack Sandwich.
• The Ship — pancakes.
• Corner Café — biscuits & gravy.
• Happy Gillis — biscuits & gravy.
• Arthur Bryant’s — sausage sandwich.
• Gates BBQ — large baked beans and extra pickles.
• Danny Edwards — Big D.
• Joe’s Kansas City — Z-Man and fries. Always and forever.
• LC's Bar-B-Q — burnt ends. Basically meat candy.
• In-A-Tub — tacos. Four regs extra hot. #powderedcheese #deepfriedtaco.
• Dixon’s Famous Chili — all-you-can-eat tacos. Still remains a hugely guilty pleasure for me.
• Light's Snack Shack tacos and QuikTrip hot dogs are my kryptonite!
• Taco Via — sanchos. Also, nachos with peppers. To be clear: I have no illusions that this is objectively good food.
• Latino American Restaurant in Independence — tacos al pastor.
• Latino American — papusas. I dream about them, especially the zucchini and cheese. My mother and I live for this little family-owned piece of heaven.
• Taqueria Mexico — Melcajete a la Mexican.
• Port Fonda — brunch chimichanga. Doesn’t matter what they stuff it with, as long as there’s an egg on top.
• Paleterias Tropicana — Cubana torta. Beef tenderloin, chorizo sausage, eggs, onion, avocado, cheese, chipotle dressing, all on bun.
• El Patron — queso fundito appetizer. Cheesy chorizo-y goodness. And you can feel your arteries hardening.
• Empanada Madness all the time.
• Jose Peppers — enchilada especial.
• Ça Va — croque madame.
• Summit Grill — corned beef brisket Reuben.
• Kitty’s Café — pork tenderloin and fries.
• Strip's — pork tenderloin sandwich and fries. So good!
• Char Bar — Hot Brown sandwich.
• The Peanut — the super-deluxe bacon sandwich.
• You Say Tomato — five-cheese grilled cheese.
• Westside Local — grilled cheese.
• Summit Grill — ultimate grilled cheese.
• You Say Tomato — BLT.
• Brobeck’s BBQ — ham salad. White bread, smoked ham and so much mayonnaise.
• Grinders — Philly cheesesteak.
• Dixon’s — chili. Plate double, soupy, side of cheese, lots of pepper vinegar.
• Blue Koi — dumplings.
• Beignet — red beans and rice.
• Captain D’s — hush puppies and fried fish. I miss it out here on the East Coast and try to get it every time I come back home.
• Go Chicken Go — chicken livers with G sauce. Yes, yes, yes.
• Go Chicken Go — gizzards with butter-soaked biscuits.
• Chili N Spice — methi chicken. Best in the city! It’s Indian comfort food; complex, slightly spicy and absolutely delicious.
• Governor Stumpy’s — Rattlesnake Pasta.
• The Rieger — pork soup.
• Howard’s Café — cheeseburger and fries.
• Johnny Jo’s — classic Stromboli.
• Avelluto’s — ham calzone.
• Pizza Hut — thin and crispy Supreme pizza dipped in ranch.
• The Brick — The Oklahoma hot dog.
• Martin City Brewing Company — mac and cheese with bacon.
• Blind Box BBQ — burnt end mac and cheese.
• BRGR —  mac and cheese.
• Tomfooleries — mac and cheese.
• HopCat — mac and cheese.
• McCoy’s – mac and cheese. With chicken, bacon and double-broccoli.
• Korma Sutra — lunch buffet. But it has to be the one in Overland Park, because they have the happy happy guy. It leaves me unable to eat or move for the next 24 hours. Kinda like a python after consuming a large mammal.
• India Palace — lunch buffet.
• The Peanut — chicken wings, cheese fries and a Miller High Life.
• Strouds — fried chicken.
• Corner Café — fried chicken.
• Red Door Grill — jalapeno chicken.
• Niecie’s — fried chicken.
• Gus’s — fried chicken.
• Taste of Brazil — coxinha. It’s shredded chicken and this magically creamy cheese wrapped in what is essentially corn masa, shaped in a fat teardrop shape, breaded and deep fried. It's sin.
• Kross Lounge & Ernie's Restaurant in Sugar Creek — chicken livers.
• Jazz — chicken a la mer. (special on Tuesdays). Smothered in gravy with shrimp.
• McCoy’s — chicken fried chicken.
• Kauffman Stadium — cheesy corn brisket-acho. The ultimate guilty pleasure.
• The Blue Line — nachos.
• Johnny's — nachos.
• The Well — nachos.
• Rudy’s – the ginormous chicken nacho pile.
• Summit Grill — pot roast nachos. Scallions, peppers, pepper jack, house-made pot roast and chipotle cream sauce on fried flour tortilla strips. So it's kind of like really crisp pizza slices almost as opposed to a pile of chips.
• Blind Box BBQ — barbecue nachos.
• Westport Flea Market — fried pickles.
• Ollie’s Local — fancy pants tots. With sweet and spicy sauce, blue cheese fondue, bacon crumbles.
• Avenues Bistro — bacon-wrapped dates. Yum.
• El Puebilito — Asada fries.
• Thai Place — crab Rangoon.
• Garozzo’s — Sicilian garlic dip.
• Beer Kitchen — cheesy ancho corn dip.
• Red Robin — 18-inch tower of onion rings. Crispy and delicious, OMG.
• The Peanut — cheese fries with bacon. With a side of wing sauce.
• Gojo Steakhouse — yellow sauce.
• Blue Koi — awesome sauce. Like crack to me.
• Jalapenos — jalapeno dip. It’s just a giant bowl of cheese.
• Movie popcorn.
• Cookie Jar Bakery — brownies filled with salted caramel. The caramel is perfectly gooey and the brownie is rich and fudgy.
• LaMar’s Donuts.
• Christy’s Tasty Queen — vanilla ice cream cone. Wyandotte folks know.
• Lidia’s — Sunday brunch dessert table. Tiny cookies and cakes, tiramisu, bread pudding — oh my!
• McCormick & Schmick’s — chocolate box.
• Paleterias Tropicana — tres marias.
• Grand Street Café — the fudgy, nutty brownie. It’s smothered in ganache, wrapped in phyllo dough, baked and served hot,  la mode, of course.
• d’Bronx — red velvet cake.
• Rye — lemon meringue pie.
• Tippin's French Silk pie.
• You Say Tomato — pies.
• Dairy Queen — Butterfinger Blizzard.
• Winstead’s — skyscraper.
• Town Topic — vanilla shake.
• Tous Les Jours. I'm all about getting a tray full of Korean/French pastries.
• Seva — mango drink.
• Ponak’s — margaritas.
• Pancho's. Must be late at night, must be under the influence, must regret it in the morning. Specifically steak fries, which is a mess of seasoned fries, cheese, guac, cheese, sour cream and more cheese.
• Town Topic. For late at night.
• Winstead’s on the Plaza. 2 a.m., a big bag of singles with two orders of tots and a limeade from the drive-thru.

Jen Chen is associate producer for KCUR's Central Standard. Reach out to her at jen@kcur.org and follow her on Twitter @JenChenKC.