KCPowercat wrote:What do you tell tourists/friends about p&l?
This is a stupid, vague, and impossible to answer question. Who are these people? 96 year old couple from Dubuque, IA? Probably not going to advise them to visit the P&L on a Saturday night. Frat boys down from Lincoln? Dudes, you
gotta check out the P&L! Someone asking where the best place to eat downtown is? Not going to direct them to P&L. Someone asking where to catch a movie? AMC 6 is great, you should check it out!
There is no one answer. It depends entirely on context.
KCPowercat wrote:Most KC residents shrug it off and talk it down
No they don't.
chrizow wrote:fact. people will drive 30+ minutes just to eat at these places. we've done it several times at places 30+ minutes from KC - justus drugstore, krause dining, etc. or 15-20 minutes away like cafe des amis...
Thank you! I drive 30+ minutes from KC to eat at places on a fairly regular basis, too, weeknight or not. I don't think it is difficult to imagine someone in Shawnee coming to bluestem on a Tuesday. In fact, I'm sure it happens all the time.
KC-wildcat wrote:I don't hate the sentiment that it is currently underwhelming in various aspects. I hate the sentiment that P&L is a failure and it always will be.
I stand by what you quoted from me there. If Cordish had the ability to pull a major dining coup with a Bobby Flay concept or whatever, they would have done it already. That doesn't mean that the dining scene will never improve, but I don't think it is going overboard to say that, so far, they have utterly failed (there's that word again) to live up to expectations. To me, it is evident in hindsight that they didn't have the ability to get that kind of huge, game-changing culinary tenant. As I pointed out in the quote you offered: if they could have, they would have. And if they couldn't do it then, what reason should I have to believe they will ever be able to? Zero.
Again, that doesn't mean it can't or won't get better. It probably will--it has to, in my opinion, for the thing to survive. But will they ever be able to bring in a major celebrity chef name? Doubt it. That's what I was saying. And that's fine. They don't even need that to meet my current expectations. Just give me one really good restaurant that doesn't have a location or equivalent in the suburbs, or preferably anywhere else within 500+ miles.
"It is not to my good friend's heresy that I impute his honesty. On the contrary, 'tis his honesty that has brought upon him the character of heretic." -- Ben Franklin