Metro Grill II – Andover KS(Best Food Ever Served on Styrofoam)

NOTE: The Metro Grill in Andover is no longer owned by Chef Michael Gonzalez, so the food and menu may have changed. Chef Gonzalez still operates the Metro Grill in Towne East as well as a freestanding building at the Waterfront shopping center.

The famous Metro Grill, dominator of Towne East mall food,  has finally opened up a second location in a free standing building. Their new location, called Metro Grill II,  is way out there in Andover,  just north of Andover Rd and Kellogg. We were excited to try the place out minus the mall atmosphere, so on Saturday night we dropped by and were  surprised to see just how popular the new location has become. There appear to be some initial growing pains; they were out of  flan and soup, and the pop machine was down.

The space is on the small side with maybe 10 tables or so. You order and pay at the counter and then find a strange, trendy, wobbly,  plastic bar stool to plop down on. Your order is called out to you, so you must pay attention. There isn’t a number or name system, they literally just call out the food you ordered, which causes some confusion especially on a busy night (They called our order 4 times before we realized it).

I went with the Pasta Mia. It is penne pasta in a pink garlic cream sauce. I added shrimp to mine and was happy that I did.  The pasta was absolutely fantastic. Michael, the chef and owner, added the perfect amount of cheese to the top and I loved the dish. The downsides are that the dish is served on a styrofoam plate and plastic silverware, and there isn’t enough food. Phil and I both left still feeling hungry and decided some ice cream sounded good to help top off our dinner.

Phil ordered the Pasta VIP which was awesome as well. It consisted of some linguini, cherry tomatoes, a nice white wine and garlic sauce, and a well seasoned bit of chicken and shrimp. I would have liked to have had a bit more for $10 dollars though.

From my two visits to Metro Grill I firmly believe  Chef Michael has the Midas touch when it comes to food. Everything I have had is amazing and he is probably making some of the best food in the city right now. I think the Metro Grill II has the chance to become a destination restaurant once more people find out about this little gem. Hopefully over the next several months some of the kinks will be worked out at the new place. I would suggest changing the ordering system, doing away with the plastic silverware at least, and maybe adjusting prices or portion sizes. Chef Michael is the perfect combination of entertainer and cook and I hope that he is able to smooth out the edges and enjoy long years of dishing out bad ass food.

The Hereford House – Andover KS

For my birthday I decided the family would eat high on the hog or in the case of the Hereford House it would be upper-middle of the cow. I talk of that magical area on the cow where the succulent ribeye cut comes from. The Hereford House has long been a KC mainstay with several locations in the metro area, although the original downtown location mysteriously burned to the ground a few years ago. The owners recently allowed a third-party to buy the name and open a location in of all places Andover. It is located in the opulent and sizable Terradyne Country Clubhouse. Due to the layout of the clubhouse there is a decent walk between the parking lot and the entrance. If you are lucky you can get a ride in the golf cart shuttle. Just make sure you keep your hands and feet inside the cart at all times. The decor of the restaurant has a western theme to it, yet still remains upscale. Large windows make up the north side of the dining area allowing you a glimpse of the golf course. While you enjoy a nice medium rare filet, you can watch the poor guy who has just lost his 20th ball due to the unforgiving links style nonsense of the golf course.

Alright, so if you go to the Hereford House you should probably order a steak, because that is what they are known for. As a recovering Filet Mignon addict I decided not to tempt fate and went with the ribeye (medium rare of course).  It had a great flavor and was cooked to perfection. My only gripes about the restaurant are the fact that their side dishes are rather underwhelming and their steak is about $5-10 more than it should be. My mashed potatoes were rather lacking, they came with no gravy and were devoid of any seasoning. Steph was also upset that they were no longer offering what was probably their best side dish, mashed sweet potatoes. I won’t dwell on their deliciousness since they can no longer be enjoyed here.

So the HH serves a good steak, but I would not say it is a life changing experience like some steaks can be. The high price makes it a tough place to visit often, but if you were ever in need of a date night location, the HH would be sure to impress. To put the HH in perspective I would rank it maybe a touch above the Scotch and Chesters, but they are all very close. Remember, if anyone should ask you where they can find the best steak around here,  tell them to drive to OKC or Omaha. It’s worth the extra driving time.