Spring Break
Food Review
Jessie Burche
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Culture
- Page 1 of 2 next >
|
Flea Market
817 Westport Road
The words "flea market" always make me think of a flea circus. You know those books where fleas are trained to do back-flips and jump through flaming hoops and people pay to see it?
Westport Flea Market is a circus in its own right. It's not just some random name - flea markets line the building. They provide a place for customers to buy jewelry or pictures of people they don't know. There is an arcade room and a dart room.
To walk into the restaurant for the first time and not be overwhelmed is an accomplishment. It was busy both times I went. No one greets you at the door. No sign tells you whether to seat yourself or to wait to be seated - you seat yourself. There was just a line going from the bar to the back of the dining room.
This line is where you order food. When your order is up, a cheeky announcer calls your name. He makes each name stand out in a different way.
Westport Flea Market advertises the best burgers in Kansas City. The restaurant gets its meat from McGonigles - one of the few real butcher shops in the city.
On our first trip to Westport Flea Market, Nick, Adrian and I ordered burgers. There are two kinds of burgers: the mini market burger, $5.99, which is five-and-a-half ounces, and the flea market burger, $7.99, which is 10 ounces.
The burgers are greasy, be forewarned of this. The meat is good, but it didn't stand out in any way. The curly fries are fine; they have no kind of seasoning on them so you don't have to worry about having a sodium-induced heart attack.
Of course, they messed up my burger. They put American cheese on it instead of cheddar. Yes, I am a cheese snob. I can't stand American cheese and taking one bite of it made me gag.
The second time I went, Laura and Nadine accompanied me. I got the veggie lovers panini, $6.79. It has three different kinds of cheese, onions and bell peppers. Nadine got the Fritz's smoked hot dog, $4.99. Laura got the BLT, $7.29, with a quarter pound of bacon. Laura also got onion rings, $1.50, and I got a chocolate cupcake, $3.
The best thing I had was the cupcake. My panini was disgusting. It was greasy, falling everywhere and the peppers tasted pickled. The cupcake, however, was orgasmic. It was like going on vacation and finding out your flight is cancelled - then getting to spend more time on the beach.
Be the first to comment on this story