Kansas City Restaurant Novel Is Back With a New Look and Menu | Eater
"After relocating from a drafty 100-year-old Westside house where the two chefs met, the restaurant reopened in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District in a sleek, gallery-like space designed by El Dorado with artistic consultation from Peregrine Honig and a 50-foot glass mosaic by Laura Rendlen. The airy dining room, tall beamed ceilings, warm wood tables and new leather banquettes, plus a large outdoor patio, make the space feel much larger and better suited for bigger parties and private events (about 62 seats inside and 32 outside). Chef Ryan Brazeal (after a stint with Momofuku) and pastry chef Jessica Armstrong (formerly of Bluestem) have simplified the menu toward straightforward searing, grilling, and roasting, added rotating fresh handmade pastas — an agnolotti stuffed with braised duck neck and foie gras is an early crowd favorite — and begun baking bread in-house. Armstrong’s new lineup of artful desserts includes a raspberry chiffon cake, key lime pavlova, pineapple-upside-down carrot cake, and a coffee coconut cream pie with passionfruit caramel and pecan toffee. The beverage program is led by Jonathon “Tex” Bush (formerly of Manifesto) with a wine list curated by general manager Emily Katz, and the overall vibe is a polished, art-forward dining room that better reflects the chefs’ personalities and ambitions." - Jenny Vergara
