Extra Virgin
Posted on February 12, 2017 by Ching under Food and Drink.
I’ve fallen behind on the blog again so I need to do some catching up. These are pictures from our first time at Extra Virgin, one of the restaurants along the KC Streetcar route.
I took lots of pictures of the restaurant’s interior because of their interesting decor.
There are actually two affiliated restaurants owned by the same chef sharing the same entrance. This is the Extra Virgin side.
The interesting part about this is that Selena and I got off at the correct Streetcar stop but then we had trouble finding the restaurant because we were looking for a big Extra Virgin sign. The only sign that we saw prominently from where we stood was the giant Michael Smith sign. As it turns out, Michael Smith is the chef/owner of both restaurants.
When we walked inside and saw one restaurant to our left and another to our right, it finally made sense. We were at the right place, we just didn’t know what we were looking for. I was still a little bit confused though, so when we walked up to the host station I had to ask, “Is this Extra Virgin?” To which he replied, “Yes.” And that is pretty much how our first Extra Virgin experience began.
Here’s another picture of the interior. I took this one from where we were seated, which is toward the front of the restaurant, close to the bar area. Not sure what the purpose of this shelf is that is overflowing with books but it looked cool.
Here’s another interior photo that I took from my seat. I think this kind of puts into perspective where were were sitting. We were at a table with four chairs. Selena and I were sitting across from each other and we used the two empty seats next to us to put our respective purses and coats. I know this is a strange detail to add but this will come into play later so I hope you’re paying attention.
You can kind of see a corner of the bar in the upper left part of part of the above picture. Here’s a picture of the bar from where I was sitting. So I had my back to the bar and Selena sat across from me, facing the bar.
This is a picture of the empanadas that Selena ordered. We didn’t order much because the prices were kind of expensive. I think I have gotten spoiled by the cheap food during “happy hour” at Nara, which has quickly become my favorite restaurant along the KC Streetcar route.
I ordered the crab fried rice but I forgot to take a picture before digging in. It looks like a mess because it had a poached egg with a soft yolk.
It looked and tasted better than the photo but it was not what I expected. The rice has a crunchy texture which I’m not used to. I usually associate crunchiness with undercooked rice. Either that or bahaw (old, leftover rice). LOL. Selena liked the crunchy texture, though.
The funny thing is, I enjoyed the empanadas that Selena ordered more than she did and she enjoyed the fried rice that I ordered more than I did.
Since the portions were relatively small, we both agreed that we had room for dessert. We ordered two: chocolate flan (above) and churros (below).
The chocolate flan was very good. The churros were just okay. I like the churros dessert at La Bodega better.
Overall the food was just okay but it was service was great. Our server was attentive but the rest of the staff were too. I know this because something weird happened while we were eating. This drunk guy in his 20s randomly sat down at our table next to Selena and started to make some small talk with her.
I knew he was severely intoxicated so I didn’t want to engage. I looked down at my food and continued eating, avoiding eye contact at all costs. It was kind of awkward but I wanted it to be really obvious that we didn’t know this stranger. I felt really bad because Selena probably thought I was abandoning her. We couldn’t move because the drunk guy was sitting on Selena’s purse. If he wouldn’t have left after being made to feel unwelcome, I would have gotten up to ask the manager for help.
Luckily, they were paying attention. This woman who looked like the manager was watching the whole situation unfold. I suspect that they’d been observing this drunk guy for a while. It looked like she was trying to assess whether or not we knew the man. I suspect she didn’t want to ask him to leave if he was our friend. I was very awkward and stiff and not making eye contact so it should have been pretty obvious. Anyway, she disappeared and moments later reappeared with a man in a chef’s jacket (not Michael Smith but probably the man in charge for the night). She made eye contact with me while mouthing, “Do you know him?” I shook my head, “No.” He must have picked up on this because he said, “Don’t be shaking your fucking head!” He was quite angry and I really thought he was going to throw his drink at me. But, in an instant, the man in the chef’s jacket was at the edge of our table politely asking the drunk guy to leave. Drunk guy was like, “Can I finish my drink first?” I thought, here it comes. I really thought he was going to throw his drink at me but he didn’t. I don’t think he was happy about it, but he obeyed the request and got up and left. I was super grateful that the restaurant staff came to our table and escorted him out. I can deal with my drunk friends, but drunk strangers make me completely uncomfortable.
Anyway, Selena and I lingered at the restaurant for a while. I think that might have been part of the reason she was open to ordering dessert. We usually don’t get dessert. We took our time and I think deep down we were both making sure that he wasn’t waiting for us at the Streetcar stop. I think it was almost an hour after the incident when we finally got up to leave.
That’s the most eventful dinner we’ve had in Kansas City to date. I’m probably not going back there. It’s not the restaurant’s fault. They handled the situation perfectly. However, I thought the food was overpriced for what you got and it was just okay. Nothing spectacular. Also, I’m usually eating by myself and I really don’t want a repeat of that when I’m dining alone.
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