Lemon Lemon Lemon

I can't get enough lemon lately; I don't know if it's the heat or scurvy. For a brunch at the house yesterday morning I made both lemon poppy seed muffins and lemon ginger muffins simply because I couldn't decide between the two. Both sounded so good and so...lemony. (If you have the same quandary, go with the lemon ginger. They were outstanding.)

For my lemon fix earlier in the week, I treated our household to a box of lemon cookies from Connie's Cookies. They were soft, cakey, and perfectly frosted with a delicious lemon frosting that added a little of that perfect sugary crispness to the top of the cookie. The lemon cookie is their cookie of the month, but you can't go wrong with their frosted sugar cookies if lemon isn't available.

Connie's Cookies
9224 Metcalf Ave in OP
913*649*6700

Quick Bites

**Last weekend we had an exceptionally romantic meal at Cafe des Amis in Parkville. I love how cozy the dining rooms are, and how wonderful the service. I love long leisurely meals where no one leaves the check and then tells you not to rush; at Cafe des Amis you sit and sip your wine and finish your conversations (and eavesdrop on those around you) and then ask for the check when you're ready.

By far my favorite part of the meal was the mussels. Their Moules Marinieres Facon Odile are steamed in sherry wine with shallots and garlic and finished with cream. I wanted to ask for a straw to fully clean the bowl when the bread from our bread basket was gone, but I thought better of it. And I've thought about those mussels every day since, which I think means that they were exceptionally delicious. The rest of our meal was so good - but not mussels-good. I think I'm going to start using that as a new unit of measurement. I'm obsessed.

Cafe des Amis
112 1/2 Main St in Parkville, MO
816*587*6767

**Yesterday, we spun the lunch wheel at work and were ordered by fate to eat Chinese food. I love our lunch wheel - it has been altered to suit our favorites and weed out the spaces that always make us spin again, like "Donuts." It takes all the painful indecision out of lunchtime and tends to lean heavily toward the "Indian Buffet" space we created. It is a magical lunchtime tool - if you'd like to use a virtual version, try the Wheel of Lunch.

We decided to try someplace new to us and so we ventured out to Pei Wei, which is the fast casual concept from the PF Changs people. I loved my lunch - the Thai Dynamite with chicken had a zippy Sriracha chili sauce with Thai basil, garlic, and soy and was served with a huge mound of brown rice. The order of edamame was completely unnecessary but good, and I saw so many other tasty things whizzing by our booth that I hope we spin Chinese again next time.

Pei Wei Asian Diner
9222 Metcalf in OPKS
or
15141 W 199th St in Olathe

Tienda Casa Paloma

They have received their fair share of awards - Best Breakfast, Best Mexican, 10 Best in KC - but I'm going to add my voice to the choir in case you haven't made your way out to Tienda Casa Paloma in Overland Park. When I walked in the door Monday I was kicking myself for not making it more often, and the kicks became a little more insistent once I sat down with a big bowl of their Tortilla Soup. It's Monday's special and it beats the hell out of any other tortilla soup I've ever had. Big chunks of moist and tender chicken, really fresh-tasting stock, little bits of veggies, and a big wedge of avocado on the top; it is perfect in its simplicity, and after a big squeeze of fresh lime juice from the salsa bar, it is nothing short of a cure all. I felt better immediately after eating it, and annoyed that I hadn't been eating it every single Monday. They have daily specials that will make you feel this way, too. Save the beating on your legs and just go.

Tienda Casa Paloma
8220 Metcalf Ave in OP
913*385*9044

small bites

• One of my most favorite recent bites was the Jalapeno and Cheese Tamales at Tarahumara (1001 W 87th Street in Overland Park). Perfectly moist and surprisingly hot and spicy. Sooo good.
  
• Enjoyed last week's KU game at the Tower Tavern on Martini Corner (31st and Oak in KCMO). Lots of TVs, excellent soft pretzels with beer cheese dip, and really good 12" pizzas. The pizzas had crusts that were both crunchy and chewy, great toppings (BBQ Chicken pizza with cream cheese and applewood smoked bacon...yum), and one was enough for two people, when paired with their excellent salads.
  
• Arun Thai Place (7th and Walnut in downtown KCMO) was home to the spiciest meal I've eaten in recent memory. You know how you order something "hot," expecting something less than hot, and then it comes out exactly as hot as it should? It was a deliriously endorphin-inducing experience. My Phad Kee Mow was incredible...and even hotter as leftovers the next day.
  

Mi Ranchito

I simply must not wait a day longer to tell you to drive...quickly...to Mi Ranchito to have dinner. I don't have photos to back up my claims (when I do, I will post them) but I have to tell you that it was some of the best food I have had in a very long time. From the fresh chips and salsa to the fat slices of avocado on my cream cheese chicken enchiladas, I was in food heaven. Their tortilla soup was perfectly spiced and filled with big chunks of white meat chicken, the carne asada tacos were loaded with tender carne asada and an excellent pico de gallo.
My only complaint is that there isn't a location closer to my house. I guess that's what I get for living in Missouri.

Mi Ranchito
3 locations:
13000 W 95th Street in Lenexa
7148 W 80th Street in old OP
920 S Harrison in Olathe

La Cocina del Puerco

I like different Mexican restaurants for different reasons - I have a favorite for just about every mood. I really love Mexican food. For the Fajita Quesadilla with Shrimp, I love Sol Azteca. For a couple of tacos that it feels like we could be eating on the street in Mexico, we go to Cancun Fiesta Fresh in Westport. For really good nopales, we go to Guadelajara Cafe. And for a great happy hour special and pretty darn good fish tacos we go to Sol Cantina. This is only part of the list. I could go on.

We've heard people rave about La Cocina del Puerco, but I was never all that interested. For one, I'm not a big pork person. And I hate to admit this, but on their website they have an illustration of a pig, in sunglasses and a hat, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, and drinking a margarita; for some reason, the fact that they seem to have a easy-going porcine mascot made me not want to eat there. It seemed a little Jimmy Buffet. I'm not saying that I always make sense.

Anyhow, tonight we tried to indulge in some Indian fast food at 91st and Metcalf, but the place was closed and I was all out of ideas. Despite the fact that a vocal supporter of Fuddruckers (he loves any place that has a fixins bar) was driving the car, we ended up at La Cocina del Puerco. It was half-price carnitas night. They looked good, but I was really happy with my chicken mole. And the best part was that the hot sauce was peppery and hot. Truly hot. Finding actually hot hot sauce will make me turn a blind eye to any goofy-shirt wearing animal.

La Cocina del Puerco
9097 Metcalf
Overland Park
913*341*2800

Maui Express

In an attempt to try to eat in Johnson County at least once in a while, I tried Maui Express last week. I'm normally leery of eating at establishments that leave coupons on my car, but I've been doing lots of things that are outside my comfort zone lately (filling in on the Walt Bodine Show, appearing in the Star...), so I figured that one more thing really wasn't going to hurt. I'm slowly discovering that my comfort zone is not really the most exciting place to be.
Maui Express was completely empty at 8:20 on a Thursday, but the food was made fresh and the service was still cheerful. At the counter, we ordered Teriyaki Chicken (with the spicy house-made teriyaki sauce, rather than the mild) on noodles and Teriyaki Beef on steamed white rice. The meats were tender and grilled, the vegetables were still pleasingly crisp, and they had Sriracha sauce on the front counter to pump up the spice a bit. The Maui Roll was like grocery store sushi but ice-cold and served with a wasabi soy sauce. The food was quick, healthy, and very tasty.

Maui Express
8750 Santa Fe Dr in Overland Park
913*649*6284