KCRag Forum

I think one thing that's gotten a little lost here--wasn't it a successful place out south?

I'm not saying I get the approach, but if it works, good for them. Since they've been around, I would love people who have been there to make recommendations.

Or, I would encourage everyone who's thinking about it to try something and post.

It was apparently pretty successful at 140something and somethinerother, where I somehow managed to actually not even know it existed. I'm pretty stoked to give it a shot and see what it's about.

Tried it over lunch.  Cool place.  Food is indeed overly ambitious though worth trying.  The menu is a wreck and they need to get rid of the 'build your own' concept.  Was laboriously complicated when we sat down and the server attempted to explain. We made a clear gesture of 'WTF!'.  I felt trapped in a Bubba Gump restaurant (yeah, have been pulled into one).

Starter spinach salad was quite good, with a lightly well balanced vinaigrette. I had a Vinnie Barbarino or something like that - italian meatball with stewed tomatoes open-faced on baguette.  Was OK, rather heavy but not bad.  I'll give another item a shot before judgement on food quality.  The menu absolutely needs to be simplified with fewer, specific dishes.  The 'build your own' thing with various tastes implies they don't know who they are and can't come up with their own competent dishes.  Just not a good idea - comes across as gauche.  The lunch prices are a bit steep too.

This place could be great if they narrow down with a specific focus.  The quality of preparation and ingredients is there, but much too ambitious approach otherwise.

Menu on line seems ok, just given Kansas City what they want. Can't wait to give them a try. Seems like a fun place.

supastudio wrote: Noticed they have Absinthe coctails.  Has anyone tried one there? Do they serve it using the traditional French method with the dripping ice water on a sugar cube?

I ended up going to Nica's 320 around 10pm last night to check out. First, the space is very nice. The front area has a long bar to the left and a bank of tables on the right. The back area has a second room with an additional bar and even more space for parties, events, etc.

When I got there, I was pretty much seeing the last of the dinner crowd. The tables in front were mostly leaving and just a trickle of people came after me.  It never felt crowded, but it never felt empty or dead, either. It was Saturday night and was hoping for a larger bar crowd, but I'm sure this will happen considering it's a new spot.

As for the menu, I had looked at it before on their website so I wasn't confused or overwhelmed but my friends who joined me were amazed by how much stuff they packed into into their menu and had a hard time deciding on what to get. 

We all got drinks, and I (to answer my own question) got the Absinthe. Without going into details about legality and what makes "real" absinthe, they did prepare it in the French manner with a trickle of water over a sugar cube. Absinthe can be green or clear and the brand they used was Mata Hari which is green. It did "louch" or get cloudy like absinthe should.  It was actually an experience for a few people in the restaurant when they did the preparation of the absinthe. I've only had Absinthe once before, but anything that is 60% alcohol make you happy eventually

As for the food, I got the Mac and Cheese with andouille sausage as my add on. It was pretty good and was surprised by how light it was, If Mac and Cheese can be described as ever being light. One friend had their Pot Smash and added ridiculous amounts of add ons. Our other friend enjoyed the beignets so much, she kept ordering more and ended up getting a savory crepe that came along with a salad that had a very nice vinaigrette that was sweet and had a little spiciness at the end.

We all decided that we are definitely coming back to try more of the menu.  The staff was super nice and friendly. Location is great, and is a good fit for the crossroads, especially for anyone living in the area and wanting breakfast. They are open from 8am every day and they close at 1am on Fri, Sat and Sun, 10pm the rest. Those type of hours is very bold and I hope they are successful.

Had lunch here today.  Menu is confusing but I think just for the first time....I can see taking out of town guests here as it is something different and I thought their stuff was pretty good.  I had the carnitas sandwich which was good but felt greasy....but they were carnitas....the salad and mac/cheese that came with it were both damn good.  Their coffee is some infused thing which was actually good. 

Had the beignets as well...wasn't impressed with them.

I'll first start off by saying I like this place. They are trying something a bit different to make themselves stand out and I applaud that. They also have obviously taken a lot of effort into making the place look good, and in creating the menu. One might say they put too much effort in the menu, but that's better than not enough.

The menu is pretty dizzying. Honestly, I don't really get the appeal of the pot smash. Its mashed potatoes with toppings, right? Reminds me of this bit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfan5MacmsI

The rest of the menu sounded very tasty. They have lots of pizzas which looked pretty good, but I wanted a sandwich. They must really like cheese, because not only do you get a side of mac and cheese (or a pot smash) but each sandwich comes with FIVE CHEESES. And I like cheese, so this pleases me, although it does seem like overkill a bit. I also got the carnitas sandwich. It was okay. I guess I was expecting something that was salty and let the carnitas and chorizo shine, but it had this tomato sauce all over it and that plus the spiciness kinda overpowered it. It wasn't bad though, just seemed like it had too much. I like that the sandwiches are open-faced. A tad on the pricey side though at $12.

The mac and cheese is VERY good. Kudos for them on that.

The breakfast menu looked really tasty - I'll have to get there in the morning sometime to try it. There are so many things to try, I'm sure I'll be back. They seem really eager to please. The service was very good. All in all, a great addition, although I do wish they'd tweak a few things.

Thinking about trying it for lunch, but having a hard time convincing coworkers that $12 for a sandwich is worthwhile. Sigh.

Sandwich, quality side, and a quality side salad.

I get that, but they see $11.95 and are all, "ack!" Of course, then we go to Beer Kitchen, and they get a $8-$10 burger and $2.50 side of fries or whatever, and that's OK. I don't claim to understand. I may just go by myself.

I agree get over 10 for lunch and people get gunshy. The salad helps.

KCPowercat wrote: I agree get over 10 for lunch and people get gunshy. The salad helps.

People I know don't complain about a $12 sandwich at Westside local anymore, but I have almost universally heard from patrons of Nica's that lunch seemed expensive.

It also has to do with their menu (sorry to bring it up again), but when you throw so many things on the menu, it makes new diners curious to order a few things.  So when you get a sandwich and an extra side or an app, it can add up.

How are their drink prices?  I've only ordered one drink, and if I remember correctly, it was average to slightly above average in price.  I plan to try to support their early efforts at quality hours here in the next few weeks.

When I went it was over $30 for two before tip, 2 sandwiches and 2 teas - included starter salad.  A bit steep for lunch.

Ingredient is a bit pricey too but no tipping.

I don't know what the alcoholic drink prices are, but they charged me $3.50 for an apple juice. 

KCMax wrote: I don't know what the alcoholic drink prices are, but they charged me $3.50 for an apple juice. 

I would hope they charge alcoholics the same as regular people. Otherwise, I'm going to be pissed. 

Crossroad’s restaurant to change name, menu

Nica’s 320 will officially close after dinner on Thursday. The restaurant will then reopen for dinner Friday as Lagniappe — Nica’s Cajun Kitchen.

“It can mean something sweet and unexpected and in the French Quarter it is considered a way of life to expect the unexpected,” said Bryan Merker, owner.

KCMax wrote:Crossroad’s restaurant to change name, menu

Nica’s 320 will officially close after dinner on Thursday. The restaurant will then reopen for dinner Friday as Lagniappe — Nica’s Cajun Kitchen.

“It can mean something sweet and unexpected and in the French Quarter it is considered a way of life to expect the unexpected,” said Bryan Merker, owner.

I was excited for this change, but then I got to the part where the entrees will still have your choice of sauces.

Same here. I don't think anyone really wants a bunch of "flavor combinations" or whatever to choose from with their entree. Toning it down a little from the previous ridiculous concept (reminiscent of the Sebastian's episode of Kitchen Nightmares) is an improvement, but I'd still rather just order a damn entree.

Yep. Reading down the article I thought, "Oh, looks like someone finally got through to him about paring it all down"...and then the sauces.

I thought it would be difficult to come up with a worser name than Nica's 320, but I was mistaken.