KCRag Forum

I went to STRETCH's newly opened restaurant, Grinders, this afternoon for lunch. It was about 1:00 on Saturday and the place was pretty full. STRETCH was sitting in back holding court with friends and fellow artists.

The menu is pizza, cheesesteaks, meatball subs, burgers, and a couple other sandwiches.

I had an 8" pizza with 2 toppings, which ran about $6.00. It was actually pretty good. The crust was fairly thin, but chewy and the pizza had lots of toppings.

They also have a liquor license with a reasonably stocked bar.

Hours are 11-11 and 11-2 on Fri. and Sat. So this is a good option for late night grub in the Crossroads (18th ST, a couple blocks east of Grand).

Just to prove that he's not too full of himself, STRETCH has papered a wall with about 20 rejection letters received from various programs and projects that he has applied to.

Who is STRETCH?

Hoagies and grinders, hoagies and grinders, navy beans, navy beans, meatloaf sandwich....

SLOPPY JOES, SLOP-SLOPPY JOES!

STRETCH is one of the more famous local artists. He's a sculptor, primarily big industrial-looking metalworks.

http://www.stretchsculpture.com

I've been meaning to try this place. And it's open til 2am on Fridays and Saturdays?! Woohoo. This town may develop an afterhours scene yet.

Lord knows, I'm sick to death of Chubby's. It hasn't been the same in Midtown since Sidney's closed.

m.toast wrote: Lord knows, I'm sick to death of Chubby's.

Sidney's was always interesting, especially at night. There was just a certain clientele at Sidney's that one only sees at night.

About Chubby's: My dad and I ate there once a couple summers ago, and it was the most mediocre breakfast I've ever had in a restaurant. I don't know if it's always like that though...have just been there that one time.

Is this Grinders actually a W.G. Grinders? They have that in Columbia and it is mighty tasty !

Sidney's was always interesting, especially at night. There was just a certain clientele at Sidney's that one only sees at night.

Sigh. I miss putting the Ramones on the juke and listening to all the punk rockers in the whole place sing along simultaneously under their breath. That and the pumpkin pancakes they used to make in the fall. Dee-lish.

Hungarian food on Monday nights!

I was eating pizza here on Monday evening when a kind Hungarian man came up to us and asked us in a tiny voice why we weren't eating the Hungarian food.

"Huh?!"

He used to have a shop at the KCAI when STRETCH was there and now it's gone.  Apparently he's at Grinders every Monday.  Super nice old guy!  I'll have to give it a try next week.

My boyfriend and I stopped in for lunch a couple of months ago...thinking it would be a quick place to grab a bite.  We were wrong. 

It was busy, but not THAT busy.  We walked in and found a table right away...but then we sat, and sat, and waited and waited.  Our quick lunch quickly turned into an hour and a half away from our respective offices.  I wasn't too concerned, because I like to spend as much time as possible out of the office...but my boyfriend had work to get back to...as did the ladies a table away from us, who loudly grunted and voiced their displeasure throughout our wait.

The waitress was nice, and refilled my wax coated paper cup (YUCK) more than enough times...but aside from the wait, the food (we split a slice of pizza and a philly) just wasn't worth it.

with the exception of one of the bartenders, the service as grinders is terrible.  if anything will be the downfall of that place, it is service.  i have yet to wait less than 10 minutes before a server even notices i'm at a table. 

1) Don't go to Grinders for the service.  You won't find it.  It's approaching Fountain of Youth, Noah's Arc, and Lost City of Gold status.
2) Go for the beer.  You'll find stuff there you can't get anywhere else in town.
3) Go for most of the food.  It's pretty good.

Has anyone tried carryout?

well, i am fairly patient and can overlook terrible service, especially if i am just having a leisurely evening of beer and food with friends. 

however, i'm sure it is negatively impacting their business, particularly repeat lunch business.  getting a (REHEATED) slice of pizza and a philly in a restaurant like Grinders should take about 10 minutes, not an hour. 

the beer selection is my favorite in town and the Hippie pizza is one of my favorite pizzas in town, but i wish they would get the service under control so Grinders will survive.  for every Grinders devotee like myself, i bet they are alienating three customers who never come back.  for most people, a great tap selection and decent food does not excuse unprofessional service. 

regarding carryout:  i've done it many times.  it either works well or terrible, depending on what you get and how far you travel with it.  the pizzas travel quite well, and you can put them on a pan in a 375-degree oven for a few minutes to freshen it back up.  the Philly travels well ONLY if you ask them to NOT wrap it in paper and simply place it in the plastic container.  the chicken fingers travel well but the french fries do not (from there to raytown anyway ) 

I've generally had pretty good service at Grinders.  It's not fast and friendly but it is good.  I've never been there for lunch during the week, so that could be a completely different situation.

There was one bartender who was a complete waste of bar space.  She was just plain bitchy, hated the crowd who frequents Grinders and provided bad service to boot.  Happily, she has moved on.  I recently saw her at the Velvet Dog and she seemed much happier being fondled by the striped shirt mafia.

I hate Grinders. It's unclean, the preparation area is unclean and the bathrooms are unclean. Although the prices are very affordable and the beer selection is great, I haven't returned to the place since our last KC Scooter rally meeting.

In the end, I don't care how 'alternative' a place is or the quality of the food is heralded from the pseudo-yuppy to hipster crowd, it better be fucking clean if they want my business.

interesting.  my brother, a clean freak, nearly vomited when we ate there b/c he thought it was filthy.

i must be totally oblivious to these things.  what's so bad about it?  i admit the men's room can be pretty bad, but that's true of almost anywhere. 

I know the entire place isn't scrubbed clean, but I have been there at night when they close their kitchen and I assure you that they do a good job.

I guess every person has their own threshold of cleanliness... Grinders doesn't cross mine.

Also, I don't know about you, but I only pee in the bathroom.  I don't need a sterile environment to relieve myself.  Maybe you eat there... and if that is the case then I understand your complaint.

chrizow wrote: interesting.  my brother, a clean freak, nearly vomited when we ate there b/c he thought it was filthy.

i must be totally oblivious to these things.  what's so bad about it?  i admit the men's room can be pretty bad, but that's true of almost anywhere. 

My first horror story stems from my first visit. The cook used a wet rag that was sitting in a bucket of murky water to wipe down the preparation area. He also wiped his hands on the apron after handling raw food, then went to tossing dough for a pizza.

My second visit, a second cook did the same thing. He was handling raw food, pulled the cooked pizza out of the oven and brought our food to us without washing his hands. That isn't even to mention that the pizza was brushing up against his floured and freshly (glistening) stained apron.

My third visit, I had a few beers and that was it.

Thanks for the info. I don't think I'll be visiting this Grinders place ever, unless I'm just there to drink.

catfish1812 wrote: I know the entire place isn't scrubbed clean, but I have been there at night when they close their kitchen and I assure you that they do a good job.

I guess every person has their own threshold of cleanliness... Grinders doesn't cross mine.

Also, I don't know about you, but I only pee in the bathroom.  I don't need a sterile environment to relieve myself.  Maybe you eat there... and if that is the case then I understand your complaint.

I don't know too many women who pee standing up. If the men's restroom is nasty, so is the women's.

There are a few exceptions to the rule; I'll eat at the Peanut and it's pretty nasty overall. I don't know, perhaps it is what I cannot see that doesn't deter me. I am certain if the Peanut had an exposed kitchen, I'd likely never eat there again.

Moniker wrote: I am certain if the Peanut had an exposed kitchen, I'd likely never eat there again.

probably true of 75% of restaurants.