Remember a time when we could go out to eat at a nice restaurant and go to a movie, concert, play, or performance? As ticketed events got longer, venues started selling more hot food and cold drinks at their concession stands, often charging too much for too little. The people were left with two choices—eating at home before the show or try to squeeze in a full meal afterwards when there were not a lot of restaurants still open at that hour.
What is needed is a place with a wide selection of tasty food and creative cocktails that can be executed quickly, for a reasonable price, and should feel like an experience before the curtain even goes up. The newest place to pre-party is Triune, the handsome new restaurant and bar located on Kansas City’s Westside, but feel free to linger if this is your main event.
Located in a commercial building that used to house the Screenland Theatre at 17th and Washington Street, the building is now owned by Denver developer Ken Wolf. It sits within walking distance of both the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts and the Westside neighborhood, which means it’s perfectly placed to cater to both locals and visitors alike.
Triune is a stylish but casual, come-as-you-are spot that is priced right for everyday dining but feels special enough for almost any occasion. With so much talk these days about the “vibes” of a new restaurant and sometimes not much else, it is a particular pleasure to dine at a new place that knows who their customer is, what they want, and delivers it from day one.
This has a lot to do with the people running this restaurant. Owner Steven Blakey is a local restaurateur who also owns Sauced, a popular burger counter located in the Crossroads. For his first full-service restaurant, he has assembled a staff of industry professionals to deliver on his vision. Whitney Coleman is the maître d’, and she will gladly help you find the right seat with a smile. Rodolfo Rodriguez is the executive chef, who came from the kitchen at La Bodega, a favorite Spanish tapas restaurant in Kansas City. Pastry chef Graham “Fox” Farris, who also is a partner in Brady & Fox, the Irish pub located in East Brookside, is baking all the breads and desserts. Finally, there is Evelyn Brock, the bar manager, who has created a cocktail menu that pairs nicely with the Southern flavors found at Triune.
The space itself is small, but not too small. There are four areas for guests to sit and enjoy their meal. Each has its own merits, depending on the experience you desire.
There is a slender slice of a dining room with comfy banquettes that offer views of the kitchen. It’s intimate and quieter than the main room. It also has a groovy accent wall decoupaged with pictures that bring an artful touch to the space. The larger dining room has booths that fit four or more, and tables that can be pushed together to accommodate even larger parties. Along one side is a beautiful bar that also has plenty of comfortable seating. Finally, there is an outdoor patio, which will no doubt be packed on sunny days and cool evenings.
The Butterfly Sugar Baby cocktail, a light purple concoction made with the Brazilian spirit cachaça, hibiscus syrup, elderflower liqueur, and lime juice, was a perfect start. A slightly elevated version of a Brazilian caipirinha, it was lightly floral and sweet with a tartness from the lime juice to keep things in balance. I also sampled the Savannah Smash, a cocktail made with whiskey, smoked peach syrup, and fresh lemon juice. It was reminiscent of a drink you might sip on a front porch in the South.
The waiter suggested the bread plate, which comes with a house-made biscuit, sweet cornbread, and focaccia served with honey butter and smoked peach and rosemary jam. The different textures and flavors of each bread were delightful, but the tall, flaky biscuit—a bit crunchy on the outside revealing a soft and pillowy interior—was a favorite when spread with the accompanying butter and jam. I was beginning to see a Southern theme emerging in the menu.
There are more than 20 small-plate shareable dishes that run the gamut. There are zesty deviled eggs with smoked salmon, sticky jumbo shrimp flash fried and served with savory tomato jam, and charred asparagus with pickled mustard seeds topped with a sunny-side-up egg. Mexican elotes sit next to avocado toast on the menu, along with Cubano sliders and seared ahi tuna lettuce wraps. The variety was impressive.
Five larger platters on the menu—including coffee short ribs, chimichurri steak, seafood pasta, and a dish called “Roasted Duck, No Donald,” which is half of a duck with crispy skin, sauteed greens, and a hibiscus tea-reduction pan sauce—each can easily feed a whole table.
To put Triune to the test, I ordered a variety of small plates. First, there was the smoked and fried chicken wings recommended by the server—dry rubbed with aromatic Chinese five spice and served with a tangy blend of pickled vegetables on the side. The grilled octopus came with the same pickled vegetables, but in contrast to the wings, which were a bit dry, the octopus was quite tender, served with a schmear of Sriracha lime yogurt. The deeply caramelized, fried crispy Brussels sprouts were dressed in a bright apple cider agrodolce, a tart but sweet Italian condiment, and topped with generous shavings of salty, Italian grana Padano cheese.
Probably my favorite dish of the night was the simplest—the fresh burrata. It came with a healthy portion of the creamy white cow’s milk cheese served on a bed of rocket leaves and slices of house-made focaccia tucked amongst the sweetest confit cherry tomatoes sprinkled with a touch of salt and pepper. Simple, and yet it ate like summer on a plate.
For dessert, the lemon tart was an easy choice. The clean, bright, lemon filling topped a crust that was crisp and light as air. In an inspired move, a dollop of marshmallow fluff, lightly torched until golden brown, sat atop half of the tart strewn with slivers of candied lemon peel. It was nearly perfect, as was the entire meal.
A menu that begins in the South expands to include inspiration from dishes all over the world. Triune may not be reaching for much new ground, but much can be said for delivering popular dishes and doing them right. There were nice little culinary touches on every dish, and every element on the plate had a purpose.
The name Triune, which means three in one, comes from Blakey’s concept that there are three things that need to come together to cultivate culture in any restaurant—atmosphere, food, and drink. He and his team have put plenty of thought into this place and how they’d like it to feel, and they are confidently delivering all three.