Now Open: Zest

It’s been three years since Joe DiGiovanni sold Joe D’s Wine bar and Cafe and left the restaurant biz. But DiGiovanni is back, baby! “You could take my old place [Joe D’s] and fit it all in the kitchen and still have 200 feet left over,” DiGiovanni said as he showed me around his new spacious restaurant. He still seemed amazed at all the room.

Yes, DiGiovanni has left the cramped confines of Brookside for the spacious pastures of Leawood and, as readers of Pitch Fork already know, Zest is the result. With a modern  interior (featuring some of the nicest hardwoods I’ve ever seen custom-installed for a restaurant) and a playful menu, Zest is ready to capture the cool, hip crowd of Johnson County. And no, DiGiovanni does not see that as a oxymoron.