Grinders West

Large Marge - Look at those grill marks

On The Road...KCMO
To those who have followed me from the beginnings on gothamBURGERS and gothamPIZZA, thank you. Thank you for continuing on this journey, or should I say progression to 5BFG. That said, my most recent road trip took me to Kansas City, Missouri for some Yankees' baseball and good food. While I did get my Yankees baseball, good food became a bit more of a challenge than hitting Mariano Rivera's cutter.

My KC research started with a web search for "best burgers KC" and then "best pizza KC" just for the heck of it. Ironically, one place showed up on both and immediately, Grinders was vaulted to the top of my hit list. Killing two birds with one stone, especially in foreign territory is a blessing. As it was, Grinders was the first, and perhaps, best meal I'd have out there (more on that later).

The interior had flava. I really liked the decor and the hand crafted tables were really cool and fun to look at. **Note the tables are done by local artists and are for sale at the restaurant. Back to why you're here, the food! I knew I wanted a burger and since they had one called "Large Marge" that one my approval. As a Simpsons fan, a burger bearing the name of the matriarch of the cartoon clan was worth a try. Marge, of course, delivered! Thick, juicy, full of flavor, cooked to order.

Bengal Tiger

The other reason for Grinders was the pizza and I was encouraged by the waitress to try the Bengal Tiger - a slice with Tandoori Chicken. Ironically, this was the one slice I singled out as not wanting since I am not the biggest fan of Indian food and, well, I wish I would have stuck to my guns. I actually enjoyed the pizza, not much thicker than a tortilla and everything was fresh. I just wish I sampled a different slice.

Fortunately, I was steered in the direction of the Reuben sandwich, which was "to die for." And this is how I rounded out my meal and was glad to get the taste of tandoori out of my mouth.

Burger Rating - 4.5/5 - just about as good as a burger can get! Nice and fresh. Delicious. Perfectly sized bun. Not a deep burger menu.

Pizza Rating - 3.5/5 - Lots of options here. Not like your momma's pizza but a lot of interesting options that merit a look and probably a second look. If I was rating just the piece I had, considering I knew I would not like it, I'd still give it a 2.5 but I am bumping it up because there was definitely something good there just needed a different "flavor" to satisfy my pizza cravings.

Their site - http://grinderspizza.com/index.php?/grinderswest/

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