Restaurants in Grain Valley

Early risers swoop to Succotash for a burrito of love (a buttermilk pancake wrapped around scrambled eggs, two strips of bacon, and cheddar cheese, $6.95), cake and a smile (smiley face of two eggs sunnyside-up and a bacon mouth atop a buttermilk pancake), or Count of Monte Delicious (Black Forest ham and Derby sage cheddar triple-stacked between layers of Hawaiian french toast, with home fries, $7.95) from the breakfast menu. If you're still asleep dreaming of steel children and living motorcycles between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., catch culinary action with a quick cheese and seasonal fruit plate ($7), cup of tomato bisque ($2.95), heartwarming smoked-gouda and artichoke-heart sandwich on grilled sourdough ($7.25), or heart-beefing roast-beef sandwich ($8.25). No breakfast or brunch is complete without a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice (large, $3.75) or steaming mug of Café du Monde coffee ($1.50), and you can always get a $1 side of gravy to pour over your meal or dining pal's shoes.

Burgers reign supreme at Fred P. Ott's, gracing the extensive menu donning both classic and specialty cloaks of accouterments. The hickory burger comes topped with barbecue sauce and smoked bacon, and the Texas variety charms tongue buds with thick accents of chili, cheddar, and onion bud (both $7.99 for 1/3-pound, $9.60 for 1/2-pound). "Ott" dogs, prepared with Black Angus beef, offer an upscale take on the ballpark classic. Try the original Ott with lettuce, tomato, and pepper relish ($6.29), or the Spanish Flyer with chili, nacho cheese, and scallions ($7.29). If you'd like to keep your meal as light as a globetrotting eccentric's hot air balloon, opt for a garden salad with eggs, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheddar, scallions, and bacon ($6.59). Sandwiches and barbecue bites round out the menu.

At Blanc Burgers + Bottles, burger doesn’t just mean a basic grilled patty. In addition to American beef, there’s also hormone-free chicken, carnitas-style pork, and curried lentils among nearly 20 protein options. Chefs stuff or pile each with eclectic extras such as wasabi aioli, foie gras butter, and housemade pickles. Hand-cut fries, beer-battered cheese curds and onion rings, and chicken wings marinated in housemade sauce make for marginally less elaborate sides. Though the options might seem overwhelming, servers with deep culinary knowledge acquired by sleeping on a copy of the menu every night are on hand to sort through them all.

Though the burgers take a wide-ranging, global approach to their flavor palettes, Blanc’s décor is decidedly space-age American. Stylized orange starbursts and flocks of bubbles decorate white and glass walls around sleek furniture. Behind a long white counter recalling a luncheonette just opened in 1959, barkeepers pour wine, refreshing seasonal cocktails, and nearly 100 varieties of domestic, imported, and American craft brews, including steam beers, lagers, hop-rich IPAs, and specialty lambics. Even youngsters can hop on the craft-beverage bandwagon with more than 30 boutique sodas in flavors such as apple, blueberry, and pineapple, available with or without cocktail onions.

The expansive menu at Paradise India is filled with delectable delights from the Northern and Southern Indian Mughlai–style tradition, and all the dishes are freshly cooked and prepared from scratch daily with homemade spices. Round up a group of gastronomic globetrotters and share a traditional order of two vegetable samosas ($3.50), an order of vonda, three deep-fried vegetable balls ($3.50), and one of Paradise's nine naan flatbreads, such as garlic naan ($2.95). Popular dishes include the butter chicken, a Punjab delicacy of marinated white-meat chicken in a butter-tomato sauce ($12.95), the lamb korma (fresh-spiced lamb cooked in a cream curry, $12.95), lamb seekh kebab (egg-marinated minced lamb, $12.95), and chicken malai kebab (juicy chicken marinated in cheese and herbs, $12.95). For a vegetarian twist on tried-and-true curry, the paneer tikka masala, baked cheese in a tomato-cream curry ($10.99), crams elephant-sized flavors into an ordinary-sized dinner. Heat-seeking mouth-missiles can order the Goa coast's specialty: lamb or chicken vindaloo slow-cooked with potatoes in a fiery sauce ($12.95, shrimp vindaloo $13.95). Paradise India prepares much of its regular menu to suit many tastes, including vegan, gluten free, spice free, and dairy free. Stay warm with the chai ($2.95, free refills) or cool your palate with the euphoric flavors of mango kulfi ice cream ($2.95).

The Grand Street Café dazzles diners with creative, tasty, contemporary American fare compiled from fresh, quality ingredients, all of which are pulled from overturned top hats by on-site magicians. Treat a deserving tongue to a wide array of options on the dinner menu. Prime the palate with the white-cheddar fondue, which arrives with Granny Smith apple quarters and Bavarian pretzels poised for dunking ($6). Scratch a gastronomically green itch with a tender family of baby greens, avocado, egg, tomato, cheese, artichoke hearts, hot mustard, and balsamic vinaigrette that nurtures an orphaned fried-coconut chicken in Bill's Chicken Salad ($11). One of the restaurant's signature entrees is the bone-in pork chop, which is brined and marinated and adorned with apple-pecan compote, green beans, herb-whipped potatoes, and ham-hock sauce ($13–$20). If brunch beseeches you, choose a main dish ($14.95) such as the eggy, cheesy, beany, and chorizo-ish huevos rancheros, and head to the included appetizer buffet to grab a snack while your stomach contemplates the pros and cons of being full.

At Room 39, the dinner menu doesn't start with appetizers. Instead, the top of the carte features a short profile of a local farmer, followed by a list of all the small family farms that provided ingredients for the night's dishes. This choice signals the commitment of chefs and co-owners Ted Habiger and Andy Sloan to making local, sustainable food a part of fine dining. At both of the restaurant’s locations, they construct elegant New American dishes, such as blueberry-goat-cheese pancakes at breakfast and housemade pappardelle with bolognese at lunch. They're also no slouches with seafood—their spicy sautéed shrimp was named one of the best restaurant dishes of 2007 by Food & Wine magazine. Behind the bar, craft beers flow from local breweries such as Boulevard, Free State, and Tallgrass, as well as classic cocktails from local negroni wells.