why Rob Dalzell is a genius...

Rob Dalzell has done a difficult thing. He has successfully opened four distinct restaurants in a city full of good eats; and has done so without cutting corners or shirking on ingredients or taste. This man is a hero to the masses, at least he should be revered as one in Kansas City.

1924 Main: This is somehow my least favorite of his restaurants. I went there for my birthday this year, and several things irked me. The service wasn't great, at least not what I would expect for a restaurant of its caliber. I don't know if it was our age, but we were pretty much ignored except when our food was brought out. It also felt like they were rushing us, even though there were a bunch of open tables all around once we'd finished 1/3 of our meal. They didn't bring me a spoon for my soup, and I had to eat it cold. The soup, with truffle oil and pesto, was good though, even cold. The tenderloin was bland, and that was the dish I was most excited to try. The fried green beans that everyone raves about, tasted like raw flour, because there was raw flour on them. I will say that the bread pudding was the best thing I've ever had, well at least it was close. Too bad it was too little too late. The guy next to me liked his oatmeal stout cake, but he was really annoying; this is why the tables should be placed further away from each other.

Pizza Bella: This is a really cute place. Like, if they were shooting a Hollywood movie about a guy and a girl going on a date, they should shoot it here. The margherita pizza was very good, even though my dining partner thought there was too much open crust with no toppings. I had the sausage pizza which was awesome, but it's sausage so you can't go wrong. The pizzas are very minimalist in terms of ingredients, but they pack a punch in taste. Also, the crust is perfect; and it even has the "almost" burnt parts that I love. The decor is cute with the wood paneling, and you can see the pizzas baking in the wood fired oven in the very, very intimate dining room. The people sitting next to us were really staring at us, and in a restaurant where you are seated far from your neighbor, you wouldn't notice. Here, I was keenly aware of it. I do like that they pour your water from a glass bottle though, but I like fanfare during meals.

chefburger: Okay, so I really only have one problem with this place, and it isn't even its fault. There is nowhere to park in the Power and Light district at lunchtime. I drove around for a half and hour last Tuesday AM ( I came at 11), and had to give up. I couldn't do it. But, I went back that night (determination is my game), found some garage parking, and let me tell you...it was worth it. I really like this place, and will be going back very soon. The French Onion burger with gruyere was amazing. Why didn't I think of this before, French Onion soup is one of my favorite foods? This is why Rob Dalzell is a genius. This burger was HUGE, and cooked to perfection (I asked for medium-well); it was very greasy judging from its wrapper, but I actually didn't taste that much grease. It was super fast; I barely waited for my to go order, and I can't want to try some of the other options (BBQ burger with bleu cheese, milkshakes...yum). I also love that they offer fries, rings, sweet potato fries, and fried green beans; it's really sensory overload, those dishes are all I've ever wanted in a restaurant. They even have spiked milkshakes, which seems like a totally horrible idea because then you'd be vomiting up like thick creamy stuff; says the girl who likes Baileys with ice cream. Even though I was semi-disappointed with the green beans at 1924, I ordered them because I love green beans. This is what I was wanting the first time; crispy, perfect green beans with actual bread crumb like breading; not tempura, not flour breaded. The order was huge (a good deal at $2.99 for sides), and it was seasoned PERFECTLY. I love this place so far.

Souperman: The name of this place makes me want to sing Soulja Boy. This is my favorite of the four, although chefburger is definitely racing towards the finish (time will tell). I picked this as my fav because I go here fairly often. I usually get the combo (comes with a sanditto, like a sandwich version of calzone and a soup or salad), but the soups are by far the best thing about this place, we'll get to them. The chicken caesar sanditto is okay, it can get a little bit wet. The BBQ brisket with bleu cheese is very good, but also gets a little mushy. I'm a philly cheesesteak purist, so I'm not a fan of the type of brisket? they use in their version. I don't know cuts of meat. All I know it that I love cheesesteaks on a griddle with chez whiz smothered all over it. Thank god I didn't go to school in Philly (was very, very close), I would be in more trouble than I am here. The Chinese chicken salad is good; I really don't think you can really mess up classic salads. Now, I really like the Lemon Chicken Artichoke with wild rice soup. The wild rice is such a great addition to this, providing a nice little nuanced crunch. The broth is perfectly lemony (snicket). The broccoli cheddar is very good too, even if it doesn't taste like the classic...it might be better. My favorite soup is the chowder. I don't know what they put in this stuff, but it seems lighter even if it isn't. I think they put rosemary in it, and I love it. The chunks of clam are really big and there's a generous amount.

Run to your nearest Dalzell establishment, and then run to the next one, they are only a few blocks away from each other. I would be lying if I said that I didn't lie awake at night praying for the chef to open a dessert bar. No whammies, no whammies, bread pudding, stop!