Spices Asian Restaurant now open in North Kansas City
North Kansas City already has a terrific bakery (Le Monde), a classic sports bar (Chappell’s Restaurant & Sports Museum) and a first-rate pizzeria (Kelso’s Northtown). In June, a very good Asian restaurant — serving the cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam and China — opened in a strip shopping center at 2417 Burlington. It has a catchy name, too: Spices.
Local restaurateurs Jessi and David Chouang, who have been operating one of Johnson County’s oldest Thai restaurants, Bangkok Pavilion, since 1991 (when they purchased the venue from its original owner), took over the Northland space formerly occupied by El Chupacabra Mexican Grill & Cantina. The pair totally revamped the interior to create a clean, simple setting. At Spices, the food is the star.
The menu is a crazy quilt of classic Asian favorites (curries, pho bowls, salads, noodle dishes) and more Americanized hybrids: a cheesy crab Rangoon dip with wonton chips, baby back ribs thickly glazed with a sweet chili-garlic marinade, General Tso’s chicken, and cashew chicken.
The ribs are succulent and delicious, and the Chouangs’ version of phad Thai is one of the best in the city (and if you order it hot, it’s mouth-searing, but so good that you’ll compulsively eat every bite).
The menu isn’t as extensive as the one used at the more established Bangkok Pavilion, but the choices are more appealing, and the prices somewhat less expensive.
Spices has a full bar (although the cocktail options are limited) and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; the kitchen stays open until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
