Story by Dave Eckert / Intro photo courtesy of Aqua Penny’s
This is not my favorite time of the year. It’s cold, dark, and there isn’t a whole lot to look forward to, holiday-wise, other than Valentine’s Day. But there is one thing I love about the dead of winter – comfort food. It’s the time of year when soups, stews, roasts, and all things “stick to your ribs” appear on restaurant menus and your dinner table. There are many dishes from a vast array of cultures that fall under the umbrella of “comfort food,“ but they all have one thing in common – providing a sense of comfort, inside and out, to the diner.
It seems everyone has a favorite dish or two. Perhaps you’re conjuring yours as you read this. I wanted to hear what my fellow foodies and restaurant professionals had to say on the subject.
I start with longtime friend, freelance writer, and former Kansas City Star Food Editor, John Martellaro. “Comfort foods taste great, but that’s only part of the story. True comfort foods are not overly time-consuming or challenging to make. They evoke memories of family, friends, hearth, and home. And they fill your home with wonderful aromas to whet your appetite,” Martellaro shared. I asked Martellaro if he had specific dishes he gravitated to? Not surprisingly, he had many. “Classic homemade soups such as split pea with ham, beef barley and chicken vegetable; and tomato sauce classics – spaghetti & meatballs, and chicken or eggplant parmesan,” Martellaro told me.
Photos courtesy of Café des Amis
Guillaume Hanriot, the charming co-owner of Parkville’s Café des Amis, offered this take on the subject. “It is very easy to get into comfort food with the cold weather. I find that a French onion soup gratinée with Emmenthal cheese does the job for me. I would follow that with France’s famous beef bourguignon, the classic beef stew, slowly cooked with red burgundy wine sauce, then cap it all off with a chocolate soufflé. That’s a recipe for staying warm and comfortable,” Hanriot said.
Photo courtesy of La Cubano
I asked Lester Ruiz, co-owner of La Cubano restaurant in the Old Northeast, what dishes a Cuban national would consider comfort food. Ruiz listed four right off the top of his head. “Ropa Vieja – a Cuban braised beef dish with tomato sauce, peppers, capers, and olives. Lechon asado-a Cuban-style roast pork dish that most often features a suckling pig, Arroz Congris – a classic Cuban side dish with black beans, rice, bacon, and spices, and Yuca con Mojo – a root vegetable dish with garlic sauce good for any occasion!” Ruiz says you will find these dishes at family gatherings, celebrations, and everyday meals in Cuba. “So, as immigrants no longer living in Cuba, we find a little piece of home in their flavor. That was one of our goals when we decided to open La Cubano – to serve people a small piece of home and bring that flavor and feeling to the Kansas City community,” Ruiz remarked. Having recently dined at La Cubano with my wife, I can say Ruiz has done exactly that.
Here in Kansas City, nothing is more comforting than barbecue. I’d say it’s the best barbecue on the planet, although I’m more than a little biased! KC’s barbecue scene is wildly diverse in many ways. One example of that diversity is Q39’s Executive Chef, Phillip Thompson, a native of Great Britain who took over the top job at Q39 in 2022. Thompson says comfort food comes in many iterations with one unifying message. “Comfort food is exactly that, food that is comforting, makes you feel happy and brings a smile to your face,” Thompson told me. Having just dined on Q39’s brisket poutine and pork belly mac ‘n cheese, I know exactly what he means!
Photos courtesy of Bamboo Penny’s
Finally in my search for area comfort food havens, I traveled to Leawood for a visit to Aqua Penny’s and its much beloved sister restaurant, Bamboo Penny’s. At Aqua Penny’s, my wife and I shared an order of gumbo and lobster bisque, both of which put that smile Thompson mentioned on our faces. We then walked across the street to Bamboo Penny’s where the comforting ambiance and service made our dishes of a beef noodle soup and drunken noodles all the more delicious! Co-owner Penny Mufaka shared her thoughts on our choices. At Aqua Penny’s, the seafood gumbo is fantastic. I especially love the heat the andouille sausage gives me inside. The lobster bisque? Well, that’s like a warm hug. As for Bamboo Penny’s, the drunken noodles and beef noodle bowl take me back to my childhood home in Thailand. It reminds me of spending time in the kitchen with my mother. We didn’t have much, but we always put lots of love into our food. Sharing a meal is our way of showing our love & appreciation for each other,” Mufaka smiled.
Well, it just doesn’t get any more comfortable than that.
