Dish & Drink KC: Two tasty weeks in a Food Editor’s life

Varsity Club // Photo by Sarah Sipple

Varsity Club / Disco Burger

Being “a regular” somewhere is special. I hope you’re a regular somewhere. Maybe not a bar, but at least a coffee shop or neighborhood restaurant. It’s not like every single staff person knows me, but I do feel like a regular at Varsity Club. 

I’m sticking with my spaghett there for a drink, but Disco Burger (a food trailer parked outside with a comfortable patio) recently made a change that inspired a new order for me. 

For now, Thursdays are “veg nite,” when you can find me posted up at a high top with my beer cocktail and two veggie dogs from the special menu. I skip fries with this order and go all-in on the veggie hot dog with lentil chili. Disco Burger has a small menu, but they’ve always kept room for a meatless item or two, and I appreciate that inclusivity. 

Varsity Club is located at 319 Delaware St, Kansas City, MO 64105 and Disco Burger is parked on the same lot.

Bay Boy Blue Blaze // Photo by Sarah Sipple

Bay Boy Specialty Sandwiches

Look, there are some restaurants that I have to actively hold myself back from writing about as often as I’d like to. For Pitch food coverage, we want to keep things spread out and diverse. As for my own eating habits, a few places have earned a spot on my frequent repeat list. 

Bay Boy is not just one of my favorites; it is home to a sandwich that has become part of my legacy. At least once a week, I get tagged on social media by someone who learned about the Blue Blaze sandwich from me. Someone even suggested I get a Blue Blaze tattoo. (I might.)

So when I received an automated email with a discount code for my birthday, I literally added a Bay Boy visit to my calendar that week because it was a priority. Happy birthday to me! 

Bay Boy Specialty Sandwiches is located at 4706 Holly St, Kansas City, MO 64112 (stairs required for dine-in and some hours of carry-out) and 110 E 18th Ave, North Kansas City, MO 64116.

Marco Polo’s Italian Market

I think we should be eating inside restaurants more often. But when that’s not the move, I recommend Marco Polo’s dinner special as a filling carry-out plan. 

For around $14 before tax (even though the website lists $12), you can walk out with a truly generous portion of pasta, a small tossed salad, a cup of minestrone soup, a roll with butter, and ice cream. The entree depends on the day of the week, for example, lasagna on Tuesdays and fettuccini alfredo on Wednesdays. I paid extra to add chicken to my fettuccini alfredo, and still, it was the first time in a while that I felt like I received a great value. 

The pasta dishes are best when eaten fresh, so if you have an inkling that it will be too much food, plan on splitting it with a pal. Also, spring for a package of Scola’s Italian cookies at the register. I enjoyed trying bites of each flavor in the variety pack over a few days.

Marco Polo’s Italian Market is located next to Jasper’s Restaurant at 1201 103rd St, Kansas City, MO 64114.

Taco Naco takeout // Photo by Sarah Sipple

Taco Naco

When I get a craving for tacos, Taco Naco quesabirria is the answer for me lately. I’ve ordered it twice in February alone. 

It’s a warm and rich dish, but served with cool and crisp veggies to freshen the palate. It’s satisfying without anything added on the side, but still leaves room for a sweet treat afterwards. (I like the churros.) 

Taco Naco is one of the very few places that lets you choose your protein for this type of taco, though the broth or consomé for dipping likely contains juices from multiple meats, primarily beef. Now consider yourself warned: this might be the messiest meal you ever devour. Grab extra napkins. I find myself hunched over my table, grease dripping from my fingers, nailing the Gollum-like posture. These are my precious.

I admit to ordering this for carryout more often than not (partially because of the Gollum situation), but each time I pick it up from the Westport location, I’m reminded why it’s a fun place to dine in. There is a small market to shop from, a wide variety of drinks at the bar, and an overall light atmosphere. Plus, if you go through your salsa way faster than your chips–it can’t just be me…–you can march right back to the counter to order a refill. 

Taco Naco has locations in Westport, KCMO on Stateline, and Overland Park.

Pizza Tascio North KC // Photo by Sarah Sipple

Pizza Tascio

My husband and I are on a big Pizza Tascio kick. We conveniently reside between two locations, and we pick our weekly carry-out spot based on which location has the shortest wait. That North KC shop must be wildly popular or uncharacteristically slow, because the wait is usually an hour long, no matter the day. 

Our current order: cheesy breadsticks ($17). It’s simple; not a balanced meal. But I never promised to be a nutrition expert. I just know what’s good.

And with its greasy, evenly cooked, garlic-infused olive-oiled, thoroughly Bacio mozzarella’d, strip-cut pieces, it is a bit better than good. It’s the evenness of the cooking that keeps each piece uniform, and the flavor of the generous olive oil that seal the deal for me. Some nostalgia is at play here, though. After a summer day at the lake, my family would stop by a Buzzard’s Pizza location for buzzard bread, which is an okay alternative if you find yourself in Lyndon or Pomona, KS. 

Pizza Tascio has multiple locations.