Talk of the Town Bar & Grill: Overland Park (the original)

Deal: $10.99 12 oz KC Strip 2 sides and a side salad

Talk of the town holds a special place in my heart. I grew up on the other side of Stoll Park where Talk of the Town is located. So I was ecstatic to learn they had a steak night. I called up two dinning partners, who happen to live in my childhood home, and we headed up to Talk of the Town. 

Talk of the Town is a classic neighborhood sports bar and grill that has been serving some of the best burgers in town for more than 20 years (personal favorite is the surfin' burger). From your little league celebrations to your night out with friends this place has something for people of all ages, and an appropriate time to have fun for all ages as well. Unfortunately when I was there they had a sign up saying they were about to remodel, hence the lack of pictures of the ambiance. 

We arrived and were seated very quickly. I was surprised at the small crowd as the chiefs game was 15 minutes from starting, but that allowed us more attention from an excellent server. It should be noted that the entire staff at Talk of the Town was friendly and helpful. I know that later on in the evening there were lots of people there for the night-life and revelry.  

They had a number of great drink specials for a Saturday night. I ordered a Free State Storm Chaser IPA. Free State is one of the better breweries we have in the metro area, if you haven't tried one I'd suggest stopping into your local store and picking up a 6 pack. They also had a Goose Island Honker's Ale and Flying Monkey on sale for $3.  They also had 5 dollar bomb shots for later on in the evening.  

Talk of the Town has an excellent beer selection. They have to try and compete with their neighbor Barley's Brew house next door.  For those who haven't been Barley's has one of the best beer selections in town. Yards in the Legends and the Flying Saucer in P&L are the only other places that come to my mind that have a similar level of selection. Here is Talk of the Town's beer menu. 

Everyone at the table decided that they would order the steak. The steak came with a side salad, and two sides. I got the mashed potatoes and green beans.    

Talk of the Town has an excellent number of awesome dressings. I stuck with the classic Ranch, but wished I had tried something else. One of my dining companions got a pear gorgonzola vinaigrette that was excellent.  

This was a fairly standard salad, romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, croutons  tomatoes and bacon.      

Onto the steak!  

This was easily the largest steak I've had so far in my steak night adventures. I ordered my steak medium rare as always, and this steak came out nice and pink in the middle.   

  

As for the flavor, I would have liked a little more salt and pepper on the outside, but it wasn't terrible. The cut was pretty good for a bar's steak night. This was a choice cut of beef.  The mashed potatoes were pretty dry on their own, I'd suggest getting the gravy with it. The green beans were excellent, not a ton of flavor but very crispy and well cooked just the way I like my green beans to be.  

Overall this is a pretty good steak night and it is on a Saturday night.  If you are out in Johnson County and want a steak on a Saturday head to Talk of the Town.  

To sum up this Steak Night adventure: 

• Restaurant: Talk of the Town Bar & Grill 
• Location: South Johnson County - 11922 W 119th St, Overland Park, KS 66213 
• Ambiance: Classic sports bar
• Steak: Huge, well cooked, and needed more salt 
• Sides: Ok 
• Salad: Great dressings 
• Service: Excellent 

Pierpont's Lounge - Always Steak Night

Deal: Applewood bacon wrapped mini tenderloin's stuffed w/ blue cream cheese, and fries - $10.95 

Entering into Union Station always fills me with a sense of awe. The building is such a beautiful treasure here in town. I am always impressed and inspired by the intricate detail and magnitude of the building when I enter. I believe the concept is to inspire under the city beautiful movement so well done Jarvis Hunt (architect).

This steak night became a pretty funny story. I had been studying from about 9 AM to 10PM every day for 3 weeks prior to this evening. I was going a little crazy and hadn't left my house except to go to the grocery for about 2 weeks. So on a Friday night I decided to have a steak at one of my favorite places in town - Pierpont's Lounge. I arrived at the Pierpont's lounge in Union Station around 7:30 PM. It was strangely dead. I sat down and asked the bartender why it was so dead for a Friday. He looked at me with a big smile and informed me it was in-fact only Thursday. Time does not fly when you're studying for the bar.    

Story time aside I am now unemployed and not studying for the bar, so I have time to write about steak again. Pierpont's has one of the best lounge menu's in town where you can get a great steak. It also happens to be one of the better steak houses in town if you venture past the lounge/bar area. For an excellent review of other items on the menu read around the block's review of the lounge.  A few items have been added since the review, but it is an excellent overview. I'm here to talk about red meat.

Pierpont's has a classy old world elegance that is captured throughout the restaurant. Between the location in Union Station the "library style" liquor cabinet, or the ornate decoration Pierpont's is a gem. If you have not been it is a great place to go to impress a client/date, a special event, or a wonderful happy hour in the lounge. They have two great steak deals, later on I will do another review (don't throw me into the briar patch)!

I arrived and ordered my first drink a classic gin martini, which in the lounge is only five bucks. The bar tenders and servers are professionals who mean businesses. This is one of the few places I can order a gin martini and know that the bar tenders will get it perfect every time. I got my martini took the first sip, and enjoyed my ability to relax a little even though I had lost track of what day it was.

I decided to look over the lounge menu to see if any changes had been made.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had added many new items tasty looking items. One of which will be discussed shortly. After looking over the menu I sat back for a few minutes to enjoy my martini and take in the atmosphere. After I realized I was being a bit of a nerd I got the bar tenders attention and ordered myself an appetizer.  I ordered pountine, which is very difficult to find in Kansas City.

Pountine??? What does the delicious Canadian dish of gravy, cheese and french fries have to do with steak? Pierpont's added steak to it! Yes they found a way to make the perfection of pountine even better. Pierpont's has a braised beef poutine with a Gruyere cheese sauce and a Cabernet jus. Pountine happens to be one of my favorite things on earth, and I didn't know that it could be improved upon. But what isn't made better with some steak added to it?
Sorry about the picture I ate a bit before taking it. I was hungry and excited to have poutine. 

After the poutine I decided it was time for a glass of red wine. A glass of red wine in the lounge is only $4 (as is white wine). You can also get a host of other martini's for $5.25 and boulevard beers are $3.50. The lounge operates during usual Pierpont's business hours M-F and from 4-6 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Not only is this a great place to get a steak, but you can go any day of the week.

Onto the Steak!

I ordered the applewood smoked bacon wrapped mini tenderloin's that are stuffed with a small amount of blue cream cheese in the middle, and a balsamic-fig reduction on top. It also comes with fries. Needless to say this was a taste explosion of awesomeness in my mouth. The blue cream cheese was not overpowering, and did not distract from the flavor of the steak.  The bacon was smokey and sweet.  The balsamic glaze added another hint of sweetness to the overall flavor, but nothing was so overwhelming of a flavor that the excellent cut of meat that they used was unable to be tasted. This is truly the best place to get a reasonably priced steak that is always quality and delicious.

This is one of my favorite steak nights in town, and one of my favorite bars in town. It happens every night, and I'm looking forward to going back for part 2 - the KC Strip.

So to wrap up -

• Restaruant - Pierpont's at Union Station
• Location - 30 West Pershing Rd, Ste 900, Kansas City, Missouri 64108 
• Ambiance - old world classy 
• Steak - Oh so good 
• Service - consummate professionals

If you want to have a great relaxing time in a classy atmosphere that won't break the bank check out Pierpont's lounge.