Dish & Drink KC: Your new daily breakfast spot, Curbside Notary will notarize your ballot while you stuff your face, and the events of the week

Photo by April Fleming

Brekkie time.

Something we never ever shall tire of is a good brekkie. Several years ago I had the fortune to be able to take a honeymoon trip to Australia, and without a doubt, the biggest surprise to me about the country was just how significant its dining culture is. (With Southeast Asia next door and a culture that at least used to dine out like New Yorkers, how could you not be, I suppose). One staple of the Aussie food scene is a hearty breakfast, or “brekkie” (it does sound better in an Aussie accent), and here in the US that influence has definitely crept into our own dining. We can thank Aussies for getting way more vegetables into our breakfasts – Aussies are credited for things like avocado toast (be annoyed with it all you want—it’s still good), and taking dishes like eggs benedict to new heights, with additions of things like kimchi and summer squash. We should even be giving them more regular credit for the flat white.

Kansas City has its own real-deal, good-as-hell Australian restaurant and bakery—it’s second now, in fact. Back in 2016, Robert and Kate Joseph, along with business partner Erika Vikor (all genuine Aussies), purchased Sasha’s Baking Company downtown (105 West 9th Street) from chef Ted Habiger to open Banksia Bakehouse, which established them as solid ambassadors for Australian food in Kansas City. Late last week, just over four years after opening their original location, the restaurateurs opened the second Banksia Bakehouse at 4800 Main Street, right next door to another of the trio’s restaurants, the dim sum specialty restaurant Duck & Roll, which also opened about two months ago. They busy. (If you haven’t yet tried Duck & Roll and you like dumplings or noodles, don’t skip it!).

Photo courtesy of Banksia Bakehouse

The new Banksia Bakehouse features essentially the same menu as the original location, including all-day breakfast items like—yep—avocado toast, though their version also features white miso, arugula, Szechuan pepper, ponzu-roasted sesame seeds, roasted cherry tomatoes, and a fried egg. You can also put down dishes like corn and zucchini fritters, heaped with avocado chunks, a fried egg, refried beans, and bacon; a whole selection of meat pies, a chicken banh mi. There’s also an extensive dinner menu with lots of shared veg plates, fresh seafood, steaks, and lamb.

This location also features an attractive nose-to-stern wall of live plants full-length bar that befits the extensive cocktail menu offered at both locations. Yet if you’re not quite ready for indoor dining, or bar experience, Banksia not only offers delivery and curbside pickup, but you can also get frozen quiches, frozen meat pies, sausage rolls, and even pizza. Not a thing wrong with any of this.

Banksia Bakehouse at 4800 Main Street is open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The downtown location at 105 West 9th Street is open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Sunday from Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit banksiabakehouse.com to learn more.

PSA: Curbside Notary is here to notarize your ballots, right where you eat.

Curbside Notary is making it easy to get your ballots notarized this fall.

Heather Riske over at Feast alerted us to a new and much-needed service popping up in Kansas City this fall. Curbside Notary is not only offering some clear guidance on how to get registered to vote and how to request a mail-in ballot for the November 3 general election (and when to get that ballot in a mailbox), but it is also organizing pop-up notary services at restaurants and coffee shops all over the metro. No appointments are needed, notarizations are free, and curbside services are even offered at select events.

The State of Missouri (likely deliberately) has made the absentee and mail-in ballot process a confusing one—it is legitimately difficult even for seasoned voters to tell which ballots need to be notarized and which do not. (The fact that a ballot needs to be notarized at all…). Curbside Notary was organized and is being run by Danielle Lehman, who also created the Open Belly Podcast and who also this year created CurbsideKC.com to help connect restaurants suddenly thrust into a new curbside business model with diners eager to support them. This is a lady who gets shit done.

Find out where you can access these hot notary services, get links to register to vote and information on to request mail-in ballots, and more – all via Curbside Notary’s website.

Event of the Week: Ribs and Rosé at Ça Va

Photo courtesy of Ça Va

In a typical year, Ça Va (4149 Pennsylvania) throws patio parties throughout the summer, usually on Sunday afternoons. Guests can show up to sip bubbles and cocktails on the bar’s adorable brick patio and watch chef Howard Hanna make a giant pan of paella, or chef Lee Maisel throw sausages on the grill. As this is the year of not normal, all things must adapt, and Ça Va has cleverly opted to move its party this weekend to the “backyard” – the grassy hill behind the bar. This Sunday’s social distancing-friendly barbecue is part of a traditional annual offering of ribs and rosé. Saddle up with a group of friends and for about $75 per person you’ll enjoy a bottle of wine (1 bottle for each pair of guests in your party), chef Ed Castello‘s slow-cooked ribs, and an assortment of French-inspired sides, along with a reserved picnic spot. Reserve your spot here or by email at info@cavakc.com; the party begins at 5 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Minglewood at Strang Hall

A few more events for your week:

• Bristol Social (formerly Bristol Seafood Grill) downtown is expanding its restaurant out onto 14th Street and is bringing in live music throughout the weekend;
• BKS Artisan Ales in East Brookside is hosting Chef and Smoker this Friday from 1-5 p.m.;
• Colonial Gardens in Blue Springs is offering a cheese board class with Green Dirt Farms on Saturday at 11 a.m.; and
• You can try some pretty tasty-looking chicken fried steak, pork sandwiches, and classed-up veggies at the new Minglewood food stall at Strang Hall in Overland Park.