I have to admit to something a little shameful. It’s taken me a long time to realize this and it came on so quickly that I wasn’t entirely sure what hit me. I have an “eggs benny” addiction. There. I said it. I had never tasted eggs benedict until about a year ago, which is a shocker for even me, the fearless chicken-heart, raw egg eater (another story for another time). But the first time I tasted it, I knew it was what heaven was made of. We would just sit on infinite amounts of poached eggs and swim in hollandaise sauce for hours until we dried off using bacon … and I let that metaphor get away from me.
Anyway, in the middle of my addiction, I begged Michael to take me to this brunch place where he said he had the best eggs benedict of his life. I begged to differ (too much begging going on) because I’d been to way too many places to list in the past month where I had only ordered eggs benedict. I really hope someone out there reading this is nodding his or her head saying, “I know how you feel,” or I’m going to feel a bit shameful after this is posted online for the world to see.
He happily agreed and off we went to visit Westport Bar and Cafe. Now, Westport is the bar scene of Kansas City with a little bit of hipster and a whole lot of drunk college kids thrown in. It’s a pretty interesting scene. But originally, Westport was known as being the furthest place west in the US, hence the name, and was the edge of civilization. With the name of Westport Bar and Cafe then, you’d picture a more rustic looking place, but you’d be wrong. Once you walk in through deep red curtains, you are transported to a small parisian cafe–which is funny when you consider that Kansas City is known as the Paris of the Midwest.
With four small tables tucked into the windows, also covered with elegantly draped red curtains, you walk onto a traditional black and white checkered floor littered with small little wooden tables and beautiful and elegant mirrors listing the bar’s drinks on the exposed brick walls. After we sat down and ordered, Eggs Norwegian for me and Crispy Fried Chicken for him, we admired the general splendor and fresh florals before our meals were squashed onto our tiny window table.
The eggs norwegian is a traditional eggs benedict with one change–instead of bacon, there’s a thin layer of lox. It’s absolutely scrumptious and I feel better about eating salmon than bacon, so there’s that. With a healthy layer of hollandaise and the perfect poached eggs, it’s a masterpiece of a meal. If I could eat it every day, I think I would. This also comes with some great hashbrowns, which are also delicious.
For the crispy fried chicken–which Michael gets every time we visit–it’s two huge pieces of fried chicken in the best breading ever. It’s sweet and salty and crunchy and just the right amount of breading to chicken ratio. It also comes with brioche french toast and gravy for the chicken.
I hadn’t tried Michael’s meal until this time because I was too busy stuffing my face with eggs benny, but Michael gave a quarter of his chicken to try (meaning take a little nibble and then return) … and I couldn’t stop. And then I ate half of his french toast. I apologized, but I really wasn’t sorry. Though we usually get orange juice or a soda for brunch, there’s a free drink (that means alcoholic drink for those of you who prefer that) with every brunch meal, which makes this a steal of a deal.
Despite the fact that they help fuel the fire of my eggs benedict addiction, it’s one of our favorite places to visit in KC. If you just so happen to be there on any given Saturday, there’s a good chance you’ll see us at our little window table tucking into our favorite brunch in the city.
Westport Cafe and Bar (419 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO // 816.931.4740)
Tracy ballard
Yum! Love the photos.
Brooke
Thanks Tracy! 🙂