Lorenzo's Italian Restaurant

Mr. Ref here, this month was my pick and I picked Lorenzo's Italian Restaurant in Belton.  As I have stated in previous blogs, Italian is my favorite food, I love spaghetti, lasagna, pizza and any type of pasta, so I have picked Italian restaurants a few times.  This month I wanted to pick somewhere other that Westport, the Plaza, downtown or the normal type places we go.  I wanted to see if there are other places around the city that compare to the normal places we like to visit.  Plus I wanted to be able to drive up to the front of the restaurant and be able to park without roaming around for ten minutes looking for a very small spot that looks like it was made for a VW bug and not a normal size car.  Don't get me wrong, I love the quaint little places we go to eat each month and almost all of the time the food is really good and the company is great.  But there has to be some other mom & pop joints around the city that can compete with those type of places.

Quite honestly, Lorenzo's was good, but it did not hold up to our norm.  Mrs. Ref & I, and one other, forgot to blog last month and so we had to provide appetizers for all, we had Fried Ravioli, Mozzarella Sticks & Meatballs.  The Fried Ravioli & Mozzarella Sticks were fine, and I enjoyed them, but they seemed very similar to store bought and not freshly prepared.  However the meatballs were a different story, the meatballs themselves were very good and the red sauce provided was even better.  The meatballs were definitely the best appetizer.  This may sound weird, but for my main dish I had a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and it was surprisingly good.  It wasn't the best I have ever had but the meat was tender and cooked very well, the onions and peppers were also very good, but there was not nearly enough cheese.  The cheese was good, but for me to make the sandwich perfect it needed more cheese so the whole thing would just melt in your mouth.  I also tried Mrs. Ref's Seafood Ravioli and it was very good and very tasty, and had large chunks of seafood in every bite.  I did like Lorenzo's and I would go back, but I would not make a special trip.  I gave it a 3.5 out of 5.

Family Friendly Neighborhood Restaurant

Ambiance is in the eye of the beholder.  Youngsters love Lorenzo's because there is room to move around and, at least on this occasion, enough privacy that no one is disturbed by toddler antics and the rest of us can enjoy their exuburance!  Probably not a great pick for date night, but if you are looking for an outstanding Italian red pasta sauce and a reasonably priced night out for the fam--Lorenzo's is the place in Belton!


We started with the fried ravioli, mozzarella sticks, and meatball appetizer.  The star of the bunch was the red sauce accompanied by each.  Lorenzo's meat sauce can't be beat.  Great depth of flavor makes this the "go to" selection from the menu.  That being said, don't overlook the seafood ravioli recommended by the server.  Honestly, I was worried that this was going to be frozen pasta cooked from a bag purchased at Costco, but the ravioli was full of big chunks of crab and seafood--very impressive for the cost.  My only disappointment was the edges of the dish were dried out including exposed areas of the ravioli.  Did it sit under warming lights too long?  While our server did a great job servicing our group of 9, perhaps the kitchen struggled with the timing of the pastas.  And let us not forget to mention a crisp, tasty glass of Riesling for $4.50.

Mrs. Refs final score at the restaurant was 3.5/5.0, but on reflection--I think I will move it to 4.0/5.0!

Just the right amount of Char makes the BBQ just perfect!

So what to say about Char Bar? Lets start by saying this is one of the best BBQ joints in KC. That is truly a feat considering the fine BBQ we have here.

To start off as we were walking up I notice this amazing outside place with Bocce and croquet and other lawn games. I stopped and told Erin "Man why can't we ever go to a cool place like this" As I turned the corner and notice this exactly where we were headed too. So it is one of the coolest places to eat at in KC.

Now that is out of the way lets talk about the food I tried just about everything thanks mainly to John ordering the platter that had all their meats and some amazing fries on the side and it was dankedy stankedy good. I had a sandwich was surprise to surprise... Good!

I would recommend Char Bar to anyone that enjoys BBQ or enjoys a good time... or just wants good food!

I will be going back and this time I'm playing BOCCE... Who's coming with?

4.8/5

Char Bar

For the month of June the group met at Char Bar.  A few weeks before Josh and I were in Westport and walked pass this place and commented how cool it looked.  It had not opened, however the fun courts outside were developed.  Little did we know when we heard the place we were going in June for GAS was this place!  When we got there we were so excited to be trying this place, since only a few weeks before we were commenting how when it opened we would love to go.  During this visit we sat inside so did not go out and play, so we will definitely be returning to do that!

So when we arrived we started by ordering drinks.  I was excited to hear they had Boulevards raddler.    It is such a great beer and perfect for the summer.  You can't find it everywhere, so when ever I do I order a few of them! :)

 We started with an order of hush puppies, which were unlike any hush puppy I had ever had and for the better! It was delicious.  It was like a hush puppy/cheesy tot combined!  Yummy!  For dinner I was stuck between choosing the Sweet Caroline, (I mean I am a Carolina Girl) or the CBGB Burger.  I asked our waiter (who by the way was awesome) what he recommended and he said the CBGB.  It was ground smoked brisket with smoked gouda, smoked bacon and caramelized onions on an egg bun.  Boy was it GOUDA! I had never had ground brisket which was made into a patty.



Next time we go, which will be soon I hope, Josh and I decided we are going to go with what John ordered and get the big daddy platter!

For what you get you really can't beat the price.  We have said we would love to go back with some friend and order this, some appetizers and drinks and just all split it!

I was really impressed with Char Bar.  The atmosphere, wait staff and food was all phenomenal.  I give it a 4.9/5.

A hunka hunka burnin' love at Char Bar

June's dinner selection went to my parents, who picked Char Bar in Westport. Way to go, Mom and Dad!

I had vaguely heard of Char Bar, but it must have been the catchy name. I had no idea what to expect. Hazel and I walked up from the north, and first saw a huge outdoor space with bars, tables, porch swings and happy people playing croquet and bocce on a lovely Missouri summer evening. Amazing!

We sat inside, being a large group. Service was excellent. I had a Boulevard raddler of sorts, and it was refreshing. I ordered the jackfish sandwich, and it was delicious. Full of large chunks of -- what's that, crazy Asian fruit! -- spicy jackfruit with avocado and cucumber. My side was a tasty and different carrot/golden raisin slaw. The hush puppies are a stand out too--wow. Just wow. Go and try them.

I sat right next to my dad, who ordered the largest platter of meat I've ever seen. (No, he didn't eat the whole thing despite some jokes from the waiters.) Everything I sampled from his platter was tasty. I think Char Bar can give the old BBQ standbys a run for their money.

Now to dessert. They offer a concoction called the Velvet Elvis: banana bread-peanut butter ice cream sandwich, spiced walnuts, bananas, cracker jacks, hot fudge and whipped cream topped with a bourbon-soaked cherry. I ordered it, because, come on, Elvis is awesome and you only live once. It was stupendous and fun to share. I probably wouldn't order it again, being just so big and full of stuff! But what an experience. That's livin'.

I can't wait to go back to share Char Bar with Justin, who didn't make the outing. Let's go, like, tomorrow.

My score: 5/5 stars. Perfect.