KCRag Forum

You find that attractive? Looks like any other standard slap it up box peppering the area.

I said I love the density.

I don't have any problem with the design. It looks like a fine modern apartment building, built to a cost in a historically distressed part of town. It is the kind of privately funded infill development we need. Just need other developments focused on mixed-low income- but all do not need to be or should be that.

I do agree "East Brookside" is silly. If you want to get anyone to live there I guess it makes sense not to name it "Paseo Paradise" or something. Brookeside is a hot area, they want to ride those coattails. Maybe MLK Gardens instead if some in our community have their way

We had a similar thing happen here in Columbus Park. Some sissy developers came in and started calling it East Market. Glad that didn't last.

I'm still waiting for Tower East to catch on. But I do see a trend in these names.

East Bottoms East has a nice ring to it.

If East Brookside catches on, Brookside should rebrand as Prairie Village East.

I recall hearing it called Brookside East when I lived in the area. I think it's more of a way of telling people what part of the city you are in than anything else.

And Prairie Village is the one that should be re branded to Brookside West. PV is basically a Brookside wannabe, or at least it used to be. It's basically Raytown housing stock with Leawood prices and none of the charm of Brookside. PV is Raytown except that it stayed white when the blacks started migrated east out of KCMO into Raytown. PV is people that would rather live in Brookside, but prefer to live in Kansas and or don't want to deal with the more challenging schools.

I like this project. I don't get the anti-gentrification attitude that so many people have. Areas like that have been neglected for decades and then when they finally start seeing economic activity, people start complaining about gentrification. It's silly, especially in a city like KCMO which has dozens of sq miles of blight that would take generations to gentrify to the point of actually forcing poor people out of the city. And gentrification is not always white people moving in.

GRID wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 3:54 pm I like this project. I don't get the anti-gentrification attitude that so many people have. Areas like that have been neglected for decades and then when they finally start seeing economic activity, people start complaining about gentrification. It's silly, especially in a city like KCMO which has dozens of sq miles of blight that would take generations to gentrify to the point of actually forcing poor people out of the city. And gentrification is not always white people moving in.

say it louder for the people in the back! Couldn't agree more.

GRID wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 3:54 pm
And Prairie Village is the one that should be re branded to Brookside West. PV is basically a Brookside wannabe, or at least it used to be. It's basically Raytown housing stock with Leawood prices and none of the charm of Brookside. PV is Raytown except that it stayed white when the blacks started migrated east out of KCMO into Raytown. PV is people that would rather live in Brookside, but prefer to live in Kansas and or don't want to deal with the more challenging schools.

PV has some pockets of pretty attractive neighborhoods with old (ish) homes that have charm. Also, in the last 10 years, for better and worse people have been tearing down the "raytown" homes and building custom $900K+ homes which is very striking to see--some of these behemoths are directly next to 1,100 sq ft ranches. That said, I wouldn't compare PV to raytown b/c PV is immediately adjacent to very tony areas of Mission Hills and Old Leawood (and nice areas of KCMO) and Raytown is decidedly not. And PV itself has some pockets of very large homes on big lots that are similar to Old Leawood or the more approachable parts of Mission Hills. And kids in PV attend SM East and its feeder schools, which I understand even with the relative turmoil of SM schools are still very good and routinely send huge % of each class to college and esp. elite colleges (obv. economics of the families drives a lot of this).

We live in BKS now and we have a rough plan for our daughter's K-12 education, but if something changed we would probably consider moving to PV b/c you can get a BKS-lite experience (older home, hardwoods, big trees) but with great public schools, and still have pretty good access to the urban core to enjoy amenities like museums, restaurants, etc. You can also do the mid-century modern thing over there which is very appealing and which you do not get much of in KCMO.

I probably have to resign my KCRag moderatorship by defending PV, but even with its faults it is still a pretty darn nice place to live, esp. if you have kids. I would live in PV (or NE JoCo broadly) over many areas of KCMO and the rest of the metro, esp. burbs that are far more detached from the city like East Jack or way up north.

Back to Brookside, we continue to really love the area and would like to stay for the very long-term. The major thing that Brookside seems to lack are good restaurants. There are a few good places, but it seems incongruent with the neighborhood, esp. as the area seems to be getting younger overall.

I like Carmen's, but that's the only longstanding place I really like there. Although, I do think Hoopers is doing a MUCH better job with their kitchen the past few years than they used to. I also think Bella Napoli is a bit underrated.

But, Julian/Barrio, Brooksider, Jalapenos, Red Door, Avenues, Brookside Poultry, Heirloom etc. don't excite me at all. I actually miss Grotto. Thought that was a unique/quality place.

Interesting you mention Carmen's, we have never been there. Maybe we should?

Bella Napoli is probably the best place in BKS, offering a nice package of quality and atmosphere (esp. during patio season). BKS Poultry's product is pretty good, but to be honest it's hard to drop that kind of $ on a whole-chicken dinner we can and do make at home on a regular basis (with nearly the same quality).

Hooper's is our go-to for casual drinks and our daughter will eat the food there. It is solid for a neighborhood bar (and grill) for sure.

Heirloom kind of makes me want to self-immolate in protest. That place SHOULD be great, but they burn half the pastries in the case, every day. Burned pastries shouldn't exist, and certainly shouldn't be $4. Their bread game is also severely lacking. They need to either get it together or sell to Ibis or someone who knows what they are doing. Nice space and should be a lot better than it is.

I was excited to see that Jarocho was going into the Domo spot, but apparently it's a "sushi" concept. I will reserve judgment but that does not seem like a great plan.

We haven't made it in to BKS Artisan Ales yet but it would be cool to see more breweries in the area. Bier Station is obv. a highlight although not in the BKS/EBKS core.

You should try Carmen's. It's not the best Italian I've ever had, but it's a nice combination of good atmosphere and good execution. It probably won't blow your socks off, but it's well worth a try.

I also co-sign on Barrio being very underwhelming, although clearly I am in the minority b/c that place is routinely slammed, esp. during patio weather. If the place doesn't work out, at least the next tenant will have a nice build-out to work with!

I can make a case for Jalapenos b/c I am very forgiving and accepting about 1980s style tex-mex and they are incredibly gracious and welcoming to small children (which probably annoys those without small children). I've found some things on the menu I like and they have negro modelo on tap, which is nice...

We tried Brookeside Poultry recently as we were in the area and agree with above. I thought the food was good, but cost was steep. I am 100% about supporting local businesses but $16 for a chicken sandwich, a few green beans and cheese potatoes is a tough sell. Sandwich was ok, sides could have been better. Chicken fingers were delicious. Glad we tried it but not someplace I'd make regular trips to.

I liked Carmens food, atmosphere could use some updating. Garozzos food was probably a little better if you're into that old school heavy creme Italian food.

chrizow wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:02 pm Back to Brookside, we continue to really love the area and would like to stay for the very long-term. The major thing that Brookside seems to lack are good restaurants. There are a few good places, but it seems incongruent with the neighborhood, esp. as the area seems to be getting younger overall.

Couldn't agree more. None of the restaurants stand out. The only reason Barrio is packed to the gills is that it is new and, to your point above, the area lacks "good" restaurants.

My two cents on some of the staples down there:

Avenue's - fine. service is always off. Best luck has been with brunch
Carmen's - again, totally fine. Nothing that jumps off the charts. Food is fine and service is solid.
Forbes grill - never been and will never go.
Barrio - wife loves it. I have never been but again, it is new and will probably do well as it is a shade above the rest.
Bella - good atmosphere and food
Red Door Grill - as a parent of three kids, this place is surprisingly good with families.

BKS Artisan Ale is great.
Flying Horse is a good beer spot too and I like their flatbread pizzas.
Carmen's is fun to sit at the bar and eat. Like others have said...okay food. Nothing I've ever craving to go back to.

To Chrizow's earlier post about BKS and PV/Schools etc. We have been in Armour Hills since 2002. Our daughter did KCPS via Border Star and has been at Lincoln from 6th to now 8th grade. Lincoln's been a fine school and she does well, but it really lacks any kind of neighborhood public school experience. Not surprising as it's a Signature school. It's really hard when best friends live all over town to make it work beyond being best friends during school hours and hanging at WOF during the summer. She's decided she wants to go to a neighborhood school and with her being a freshmen next year, we are in process of selling our house and looking at homes in the SME and SMS school districts. Nothing south of 435. I have my limits. It's tough though because we love our house, our neighbors, the area, but want to do what's best for our kid. Life's trajectory can be funny.

Looking at houses has been depressing thus far. Terrible flips, updated homes with some of the worst craftsmanship work I've seen, people overpaying like crazy, cinderblock basements(ugh). I'm sure we'll find something, but it's going to be a big change for us.

Forbes Grill is not horrible, they run some nice specials. They do a 11.95 all you can eat brunch which is a good deal

One place I don't understand why its so popular is Summit Grill, i know its in Waldo, but I feel like they draw a lot of people from Brookside and PV. I guess maybe the menu is kind of boring to me, nothing really stands out for the prices you a paying.

Agreed. Summit Grill and Red Door seem very similar to me. Large, loud places with very broad menus with "something for everyone" and executed pretty well. It's easy to get people (like 70 y/o parents or coworkers) to agree to go there b/c the menus are safe, and my wife and I can deal with it b/c the food is decent and they have above-avg beer/wine/cocktail programs. But I agree it's a harsh toke to drop $60 on a kind of "upscale Chili's" experience, but at this point it seems like it's hard to eat anywhere other than $1 taco nites for less than $50.