Eat and Drink This Now: The Town Company

Beet Salad at The Town Company. // Photo by Sarah Sipple

From the enticing smell of hearth smoke, gold-embossed menus, and fresh flowers on every table, the expectation of a fine dining experience begins the moment one enters The Town Company. Or, perhaps, even before, in the artfully-curated hotel lobby dripping with mahogany and rich textures. We would be remiss not to mention the six-story chandelier near the restaurant entrance. The Town Company restaurant is located in the boutique and historic Hotel Kansas City. 

Attention to detail continues in the table setting, with napkins that look like rustic burlap but are thankfully a soft cotton blend, custom handmade ceramic dishes, and lighting just dim enough to create a romantic ambiance. The Town Company relies on seasonal ingredients from local farmers, and each dish and drink elicits a double take after the first taste. 

The “Country Girls Make Do” cocktail has a light peach flavor followed by mezcal warmth. The cream corn soda in this drink lends a hint of earthiness as the taste evaporates from the tongue. This inexplicably smooth and light concoction works as a slow sipper throughout the meal.

Country Girls Make Do. // Photo by Sarah Sipple

The beet salad is a perfect example of the dichotomy of Town Company dishes. A complex sensory experience yet somehow so pure and natural. Named simply “Beets,” the sliced soft and juicy beets are served with watermelon radishes, hibiscus, crunchy cashews, and salty cashew cream, then topped with mint leaves and a chili dusting. 

The Town Company and Executive Chef, Johnny Leach, are proud of their locally-sourced produce. In this dish, the beets come from Woodland City Micro Farm in KC’s Ivanhoe neighborhood. Watermelon radishes that are thinly sliced and add a sense of playfulness to the salad’s appearance are from 2 Birds Farm in KCK. Lastly, the mint leaves adding color to the dish are from Juniper Gardens Training Farm in KCK, which helps refugees start and operate independent vegetable farms.

The salad is vegan, though the richness will impress any type of eater. This visually-stunning salad (singly elevating the food subgroup always) has every taste and texture known to the brain while remaining natural as if it were a gift from Eden.

Between courses, an amuse-bouche is served to cleanse the palate. With flavor combinations that frequently change, this was a shot of strawberry, pineapple, and pawpaw bitters topped with soda water. The staff compared it to kombucha and pointed out that pawpaw is the only large fruit native to North America. 

Ricotta Dumplings at The Town Company. // Photo by Sarah Sipple

To round out a cozy dinner, enter elevated comfort food. The “Ricotta Dumplings” are served with butternut squash, green tomato, pumpkin seeds, and feta. Five expertly-formed dumplings by Leach are decadently rich, tangy from the ricotta, and doughy without being sticky. A pleasant crunch is added by toasted pumpkin seeds. The butternut squash is from Thane Palmberg Farm, located in De Soto, KS, and the feta is from Green Dirt Farm Creamery in Weston, MO. The green tomato is from Juniper Gardens Training Farm.

The dumpling dish, as with all Town Company fare, is designed to be shared but makes a filling main course when dining alone.

Local farmers are not just a source of individual ingredients. “The inspiration with every menu at The Town Co. comes from the changing seasons and what gifts they bring; cooking pristine ingredients with thoughtful technique; our amazing group of growers, breeders, and thinkers; and finally cooking with fire in different ways,” says Leach.

To combine that fire with a fine dining experience, The Town Company is in the process of developing a small tasting concept at the chef’s counter that is focused on value, fun, and small bites not featured on the dinner menu. These reservation-only seats will provide a front-and-center view of the custom-built hearth and the passionate chefs working with seasonal produce and local meats.

The Town Company is located at 1228 Baltimore Ave. Kansas City, MO 64110. They are open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5-10 p.m. and for brunch Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.