Restaurants in Raymore

Despite the daunting zoning-permit hurdles and giant helicopter fees, the folks at Chartroose Caboose have managed to relocate a chunk of Philadelphia real estate to Kansas City with their delightfully authentic cheesesteakery. Each Chartroose Philly boasts 6 ounces of lean beef flavored in the restaurant’s exclusive mixture of spices. If that’s a little too much red meat for you, Chartroose is happy to retrofit your cheesesteak with chicken, turkey, ham, or even salmon. These sandwiches come with a Rocky-style training montage as each cheesesteak is grilled fresh to order with onion, mushrooms, and peppers sizzled up right before your eyes, nose, and impatient mouth.

"A computer can't understand a handshake," says Jack Schwindler, explaining why he retired after 32 years as a food broker. He missed the face-to-face aspect of the business, which diminished as technology swiftly advanced. So when he and his wife found a defunct marina on Lake Lotawana, where Jack spent his childhood, he found his calling. In 1993, Jack and his wife opened Marina Grog & Galley, and now, Jack says, "I'm shaking hands again."

Marina Grog and Galley is run by a tight-knit crew of longtime employees, including servers who have worked there since 1996. Their menu boasts dry-aged steaks from a local purveyor and fresh fish flown in from Hawaii three times a week. The smell of steaks searing over mesquite charcoal drifts out to the front driveway, creating an aroma that attracts passersby and envious traveling steak peddlers. Other specialties include baby-back ribs crafted from a recipe Jack penned when he was 21 years old, and a range of fried, boiled, and stuffed shrimp.

Every night, Jack visits with guests at the tables arranged around the dining room, which look out at the lake or a 1,500-gallon saltwater tank that houses a 48-foot living reef. Leather seats in cobalt blue comfort backs, and stone fireplaces warm the stone walls and light wood around the restaurant. Outdoor tables along the water seat up to 150 people, and on-deck fireplaces keep diners comfortable. "Something happens every night in the restaurant business," says Jack, and he doesn't want to miss a minute of it.

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).