Chef Alex Pope, Part Two: cabeza burritos, the West Bottoms, and an unhealthy love of mayo

 
It’s fitting that chef Alex Pope was wearing a Boccalone T-shirt when we sat down at R Bar to talk earlier this week. Because in another life or time, he very well may have been an artisan butcher — running a shop similar to the San Francisco craft-meat purveyor. The chef who kept the American in prosciutto for literally years is now cranking out all manner of sausage in the West Bottoms for the menu at R Bar. 

Yesterday, he talked about convincing Celina Tio to order a whole pig at the American and about how he got to Kansas City from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Today, he’s gushing about his favorite condiment: mayonnaise. And tomorrow, Pope will share how he got into the home-brewing of beer.