Boulevard Grill

Boulevard Brewery is a brewery here.  Jeff was excited to try this restaurant, but we were surprised that it is located in the Sheraton.

We ate here on a Sunday and the place was almost empty.  They have big screens TV showing the KC Chiefs game and the place was empty. All the booth tables had their own TV.  It was not empty because the Chiefs were on.  They have the best record right now and Kansas City is very excited about them.  I think they just have a bad location being in a hotel.  We almost didn't go because they are located in a hotel.  Hotel restaurants tend to be pricey, but this place was not. 

We started our meal with sweet potato fries with a marshmallow dipping sauce.  It was really good.

Sweet Potato Fries with Marshmallow Dipping Sauce

I ordered a three cheese cheeseburger with bacon. The three cheeses were American, Cheddar and Colby Jack.  The burger was good, but I really couldn't tell there were three cheeses on it.

Three Cheese Cheeseburger

Jeff ordered a burger that was spicy. It was served with salsa. I can't remember the name and the menu is not available online.  It is really hard to find much about this place online and that is probably another reason that they do not have a lot of business.  Jeff said the burger was good.

We enjoyed eating here. The food was good as was the service.

Jack Stack Barbecue

Kansas City like Memphis is known for its' barbecue.  Jeff had eaten here before, but I had not.  He has been raving about the burnt ends, so I really wanted to try this place.  He warned me that we might have to wait in line, but we arrived before it became crowded. There was a long line when we left.

Jack Stack Barbecue

Chandelier

Inside Jack Stack.  Kitchen can be seen through the window.

We started our meal with a half order of breaded mushrooms.

The mushrooms were quite large. The dipping sauce was horseradish and was really good.

Jeff ordered a salad with his meal.

I ordered a combination of spare ribs and burnt ends.

Spare ribs and burnt ends.

Coleslaw was a side.

The waitress asked if we wanted additional BBQ sauce. We said no because it looked like their was plenty of sauce on the meat, but there wasn't.  We later asked her for more sauce which she brought.  The meat was really good.  I thought the bread was Texas toast, but it was dry toast.  I was not impressed with it.

Jeff ordered lamb ribs and burnt ends.  I didn't take a photo because it looked identical to mine.  He really liked the lamb ribs.  I tried them and didn't like them at all.

Our waitress was great.  The employees work at a fast pace, but they seem to work together which is nice for the guests.  We enjoyed eating here and I would like to go back.  Jeff actually has already made a return visit with co-workers.

Stroud's

Jeff heard really good things about this place from co-workers.  We were nearby when we visited the WWI Museum and decided to give it a try.  They open on Saturdays at 2 p.m. and we arrived shortly after that time.  I thought we would be the only ones there because it is between lunch and dinner time.  I was wrong.  The parking lot was full.  We left at 4 p.m. and people were waiting outside for a table.

On the outside, the restaurant looks like a house.

When we walk inside the restaurant, you realize you are in a log cabin.  If I read the history correctly, the log cabin was built in 1829.  The floors are not level.  The people next to us had a problem with their table not being level, so the waitress gave them shims.

The fireplace by our table.

The main item on the menu is chicken.  They are known for their pan fried chicken.

We started our meal with a mix of chicken liver and gizzards.  I have never been a fan of liver, but Jeff likes it. We decided to order a half order.

Half order of chicken liver and gizzards

We were surprised by the size of the half order.  It was huge!  We should have known that our meal portions were going to be large after seeing this.

We had a choice of a salad or soup.  We both choose salad.

Side Salad - notice the beet on the side.  I haven't seen that before.

I really didn't feel like chicken, so I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes.  It also came with green beans and cinnamon rolls.

Chicken Fried Steak which covers a large plate.

Mashed Potatoes - large enough for two people

I didn't take a photo of the green beans or the large bowl of gravy, unfortunately.  The chicken fried steak was very tender.  I could cut it with a fork.  It reminded me of Goodson's in Texas which claims to have the best country fried steak in Texas. However, after looking at the pictures I took at Goodson's, Stroud's definitely offers a bigger steak.

Jeff ordered the pork chop and chicken combination.  He ordered the cottage fries and his meal came with apple sauce.

Pork Chop and Chicken Breast

Cottage Fries are softer than regular fries

Jeff said the fried chicken may be the best fried chicken he has ever had.  I tasted a bite and it was so moist.  I wished I would have ordered that even though I enjoyed my country fried steak.

There was no way we could eat all the food.  It is crazy how much food you are given. We ended up just taking our cinnamon rolls home with us.

Cinnamon Rolls

Our leftovers!

We really enjoyed eating here. We are still amazed about the amount of food that is served.  It was all really good.  If you are ever in the Kansas City area, this is a must try.

Rheinland

Rheinland is a German restaurant located in Independence.  I have not had much exposure to German food even though my Great Grandparents are from Germany.

We ate here for lunch on Saturday.  The restaurant has a cozy feel to it.  I think many of the customers were regulars.

There are many decorations throughout the restaurant. The glass case at the front reminds me of an old store.

The ceiling

A piano sits in one corner.

I decided to order a tenderloin sandwich with fried potatoes. The sandwich was supposed to have swiss cheese.  I am not fan of swiss cheese, so I ordered it without it.

Tenderloin sandwich, yes there is a bun under it.  LOL 

The sandwich was really good.  It had mustard on it, but could have used an onion.  The fried potatoes were excellent.

Jeff ordered FleischKäse ( Bavarian Loafer ) open-faced which is a thick slice of German loaf, topped with sauerkraut and served open face on German rye bread.

FleischKäse

Jeff said the sandwich was good.  He thought it would be more like a meatloaf, but he thought it tasted like Spam.  He agreed that the fried potatoes were good.

We enjoyed eating here.  It was fun to be "transported" to Germany for an hour.

Granite City Food & Brewery

Jeff had heard good things about this place, so we decided to eat here on Saturday night. We arrived at 6 p.m and had to wait about ten minutes.  We left a little after 7 p.m. and there was a long wait for a table.

Jeff started his meal with a Caesar salad.  He said it was good.

 

Caesar side salad

He ordered the Grilled Chicken and Asparagus Linguini which was made with chicken, prosciutto, garlic, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, onions, fennel, linguini, basil and pine nuts.

Grilled Chicken and Asparagus Linguini

 Jeff said it was good, but a little dry.  He expected it to have a little sauce to it.

I ordered the Grilled Salsa Verde Flank Steak which is a flank steak seasoned in a southwest marinade and topped with green chili salsa verde.  I ordered a loaded baked potato and seasonal vegetables as my sides. I really enjoyed this meal.  The flank steak was so tender and it was seasoned just right.  The seasonal vegetables were also delicious.  The loaded baked potato was so loaded that I had trouble finding the potato.  LOL

Grilled Salsa Verde Flank Steak and seasonal vegetables.  There was more flank steak hidden behind the vegetables.  It was quite a big meal.  My baked potato was left in the kitchen and that is why there is space on my plate.

Loaded Baked Potato

Our waitress was very good and the service was quick.

We enjoyed eating here.

Courthouse Exchange

This restaurant is located in Independence, MO and is across from the courthouse.  They say they have been in business since 1899.  The restaurant is located below street level.  The inside has rock walls, so it is very unique.  I bet these walls have some stories to tell.

The walls of the restaurant.

The bar

We were seated in the bar area, but there is a much larger dining area which filled up quickly when a busload of tourists arrived.

We ordered fried pickles as our appetizer. The ranch dipping sauce was really good which made the fried pickles even better.

Half order of fried pickle

I ordered the Courthouse Exchange Burger which is a burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce, lettuce and tomato on a kaiser bun.  It was good, but not great.  I probably would order something different if I ate here again.

Courthouse Exchange Burger

Jeff ordered the Mac N Brisket which is creamy mac mixed with pulled BBQ brisket.

Mac N Brisket

Jeff said that his meal was good. It definitely looked different to me.

Our waitress was very friendly and the food was reasonably priced. We enjoyed eating lunch here.

Galena Steak House

Galena Steak House is located in Dixon, IL.  We were in town to visit the John Deere Historic Site.  We had been in Dixon a month ago to visit the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan.  It is a nice town.

I liked the decor in this restaurant. There is a fireplace in the center of the dining area.

We started out our lunch with fried pickles.

Fried Pickles

The batter on the pickles lacked flavor, but Jeff said the taste of the pickles came through better that way.  I would rather have some seasoning.

I ordered a cheeseburger with bacon and fries.  The fries were $1.   It came with a salad.  I could have ordered the salad bar for $3, but since it was lunchtime, I just had the salad.  The waitress prepared my salad from the salad bar.  When the restaurant became busy, she let everyone make their own salad.  I would have preferred that only because I could put on what I wanted.

Cheeseburger with bacon and fries

The burger was good, but not as good as I had expected from a steak place.

Jeff  ordered the blackened chicken sandwich and the salad bar.  The sandwich didn't come with cheese, so he asked to have that added. The waitress didn't ask what kind of cheese he wanted.  He didn't tell her because he told me he wanted to be surprised.  I told him I bet she put American on it and that is what they did.  It didn't seem like a good choice for that type of sandwich and he agreed. The waitress seemed surprised that he wanted cheese added.  He said the sandwich had good flavor, but it definitely needed cheese.  No picture of the sandwich since it basically looked like a burger.

We enjoyed eating here and I would love to go back sometime and try a steak.