Restaurants in Grandview

Though the pit masters manning the grills at Burnt End BBQ know a good deal about how to bring out the complex flavors of a slab of barbecue, they’re not here to tell you how to eat it. That’s why most of the dishes on the menu are mere suggestions, allowing clients some flexibility on what meat and homestyle sides they choose to chow down upon. Customers can cull from six core meats such as the signature burnt ends, brisket, or pulled pork with sides ranging from the sweet and spicy slaw to creamy cheese corn. The chefs do create a few signature sandwiches and barbecue bowls to combine the best of their smoked meats and sides over a chewy mound of cornbread, which is the kind of mound from which gingerbread men pitch. Meats and sides are also available á la carte by the pound and pint, easily combining into full meals.

Roaring flames rise and fall inside the kitchen of Wai Wai Thai Place Express. Some might think that a dragon lives there, but it’s just the dramatic cooking methods of Pa Noi and Pa Nut, the restaurant’s culinary team. The pair also makes noodles tumble through the air at this edible circus, where flavors from Thailand coalesce in classic dishes such as pad thai, panang curry, and galanga chicken soup. Guests can witness the performance from nearby booths and tables that sit within view of the kitchen, where cooks chop bell peppers rather than fashioning them into clown noses. The stove’s heat summons the veggies’ crunch for ginger-laced stir-fries, and scallions and garlic unlock the flavors that dwell within the peppers' colorful shells. At a handful of outdoor tables, diners can marinate in fresh air and sunshine as they munch soft spring rolls and crispy pork ribs kissed with garlic and sriracha.

Next to the cash register at Mai Thai, a small white saucer next to a statuette holds crackers or other offerings made every morning to signify wealth and good luck. The diminutive goddess and happy Buddha statues subtly hint at the eatery’s roots beneath pendant lights and a tile mosaic. Servers glide across the wooden floors, toting dishes including pad thai and panang, which further solidify the connection to Thailand. Chefs draw from adventurous ingredients when crafting sweets, which Kansas City Star reporter Jill Wendholdt Silva expounded on in a recent review, saying, “Another dessert that I'm not likely to soon forget is the taro ice cream made from a tuberous potatolike vegetable with a purplish tinge. The color is both beautiful and odd, but the taste is reminiscent of pistachios and coconut. The ice cream is accompanied by fried bananas.”

As the doors to Gaslight Grill's back room swing open, the sounds of Dixeland jazz and the aromas of sizzling Angus steaks waltz forward together to greet guests. Lynn Zimmer and the Jazz Band play rollicking tunes from the 30s and 40s on Wednesday–Sunday nights as diners tap their fingers across the surfaces of menus filled with hand-cut steaks, pistachio-crusted salmon, and jumbo prawns drizzled in beurre blanc. More than 200 wines complement meats from land and sea, and a nimble barkeep dishes out mixed drinks and jetpack fuel for the ride home. It might be difficult to say goodbye, however, to a stately dining room lined with plush booths and illuminated by twin chandeliers.

When diners arrive at Frida's Contemporary Mexican Cuisine, they glide across sleek hardwood floors toward plush booths and tables surrounded by coral-hued walls and modern hanging lights. Amiable staff members whisk colorful dishes topped with regional spices and seafood toward their waiting taste buds. After filling their bellies with the authentically Mexican fare, guests can lounge in the bar area, harnessing enough low-alpha brain waves via nine big-screen high-definition TVs to properly digest a meal.